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The enemy within
ACPET’ s Camm says the private sector must weed out its own bad apples.
By James Wells
Private VET must self-regulate effectively to stop dodgy providers, the Australian Council for Private Education and Training has said.
In his response to the Senate inquiry into the sector, ACPET chief executive Rod Camm acknowledged systemic flaws in private VET that have led to widespread rorting. Figures from the Australian Skills Quality Authority show about 10 per cent of private colleges have engaged in dodgy practices and Camm says these operators have caused reputational damage to the whole sector.
For the industry to keep its integrity, it must self-regulate and lobby government for more effective punishment for those who break the rules, Camm says.
“ The industry can’ t just sit back and say it’ s government’ s or a regulator’ s problem,” he says.“ We need to look at every single measure we can put in place to ensure that our membership, and the industry more broadly, is only focused on … the quality of the student and of the student’ s education. We need more measures in place to ensure our colleges are externally validating the quality of their assessment, and the quality of their teaching and training teams, and ensuring that the recruitment process is about the right education, the right qualifications, and the right support strategies.”
Creating effective self-regulation takes time. Camm calls on government to cut funding immediately to those who break the rules. Government has the data it needs to determine when and where unscrupulous practices are occurring, regulatory agencies just need to use it effectively, he says, adding that this data could also shoot down untrue accusations of unethical practice.
Camm says the education minister, Simon Birmingham, is“ on top of this issue” and that the suite of changes he has introduced are effective.
During his time as assistant minister for education and training, Birmingham banned VET providers from imposing withdrawal fees on students who leave courses early. Luke Hartsuyker, the minister for vocational education, has put new laws before parliament cracking down on dodgy providers, including a cooling-off period for taxpayer student loans, fines for unethical behaviour and a requirement that providers check potential students’ numeracy and literacy skills before enrolling them.
Camm calls for the establishment of a national ombudsman, so students who become victims of dodgy practice have“ got a really clear line to who they can go to for help”. This body must be national, he said, and should be funded by industry – with problem providers who receive more complaints paying a greater share.
“ I’ m really pleased that Queensland has introduced an ombudsman and I’ m pleased that Victoria’ s doing the same,” Camm says.“ South Australia has got an advocate [ as well ] but they’ re state-level responses. We need a national ombudsman and I’ m relaxed about the Senate inquiry finding [ that says ] it can be industry funded.”
VET brokers, which were a key element of the Senate inquiry, are prevalent in private and public sectors, Camm says, and regulation needs to crack down on them. While he acknowledges many brokers act ethically, evidence shows unscrupulous behaviour by some of them contributed to scandal.
Rogue brokers cause issues for private and public VET, he says. ■
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