The NSW Teachers Federation has condemned Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson's plans to abolish free TAFE, a program that has provided vital vocational education opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Australians.
The Coalition has signalled its intent to cut free TAFE, with Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson referring to the program as "a $1.5 billion expense" and dismissing its impact. This stance ignores the approximately 600,000 Australians who have enrolled since the program's introduction, many in construction and other priority sectors facing critical skills shortages.
"Free TAFE has been transformative for students by removing significant financial barriers for those pursuing vocational education and creating opportunities to explore diverse career pathways, particularly in areas experiencing extreme skill shortages," NSW Teachers Federation President Henry Rajendra said.
"TAFE delivers superior educational outcomes for students and represents the most cost-effective investment governments can make in the vocational education and training sector.
"The previous Coalition Government's privatisation agenda devastated TAFE, resulting in campus and course closures, job losses, and mounting student debt. We now face the same risks if a Dutton government is elected."
The Federation issued a stark warning that the Coalition's plan to scrap free TAFE would not only harm individuals seeking qualifications but would directly undermine Australia's capacity to address the housing crisis by limiting the supply of skilled workers.
"The housing affordability crisis affects countless Australians, and the Coalition's plans to cut free TAFE will strangle the supply of skilled tradespeople and undermine efforts to tackle this national challenge," Rajendra said.
"It's simple: you can't build homes without qualified tradespeople, and you can't train these essential workers if you gut TAFE funding.
"Eliminating free TAFE would be short-sighted and damaging, with working Australians bearing the brunt of the impact. This move would worsen existing skill shortages, especially in the construction industry, hampering efforts to address Australia's housing crisis."
"Free TAFE represents the most effective pathway to developing the workforce needed to build the homes that Australians desperately need. Abolishing it is not just poor policy—it directly threatens Australia's ability to address skills shortages and secure our economic future."
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