The AEU's submission sits alongisde the hundreds made my members of the public who wrote in to the review with stories of the damage done by the TAFE changes.

The union's submission says the Government's Skills Reforms have been riddled with contradictions, sown confusion in the sector and driven students away with higher fees, loans aimed at debt-averse families, and abolished entitlements to concessionary rates.

It urges the Government to guarantee a fully-funded, government-supported place for any student taking a qualification at Certificate III level or below, and the return of the $55 concession rate that was axed in the review.

The AEU also urges the abolition of "full-fee" places for Australian students. Under the reforms, students who already have a diploma or higher must pay full fees for any course at the same or lower level. The change has proved one of the most damaging aspects of the reforms, with career changers and university graduates who need TAFE qualifications to specialise or reskill forced to pay fees that can top $10,000.

Diploma and advanced diploma courses have seen enrollments plummet since the changes came in with teachers reporting to the AEU group sizes of eight to ten students, compared with numbers more than twice as high last year.

The union also calls for measures to prevent low-quality, low-cost private providers creaming off funding for the most popular courses. It says private providers should not be eligible for the same or higher hourly funding rate as TAFEs unless they:

• demonstrate a comparable investment in social and student welfare as TAFE institutes, and
• employ teaching and training staff with at least the same level of qualifications and under the same employment conditions as TAFE.

The union also says the Government must raise funding to at least the national average. At present, hourly funding per student is almost 12% below the average across all Australian states and territories.

You can read the full AEU submission here. The review has closed to the public, but TAFE4All.org.au will continue to publish stories about how the TAFE changes have affected you. Just email us.

— Posted by Anna Kelsey-Sugg