VET fee-help fiasco: public money, private profits, inevitable rorts

By Richard Mulgan
Updated April 24 2018 - 9:53pm, first published October 26 2016 - 2:03pm

The VET fee-help scheme, which federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham finally axed last month, will be added to the list of government fiascos from which public servants can draw valuable lessons. The scheme began in 2012 under the Gillard government, with a simple and ostensibly uncontroversial objective: to extend HECS-style student loans originally designed for university students to those studying for diplomas and advanced diplomas in vocational education and training. Treating VET students taking courses lasting several years in the same way as university students would help to level the playing field in tertiary education and encourage more people into vocationally oriented education.

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