Strengthening TAFE SA
Tuesday 14 October
Second Reading Debate - TAFE SA Bill 2025
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (17:27): I rise today in support of the TAFE SA Bill, which seeks to repeal and replace the TAFE SA Act 2012. This bill seeks to place TAFE SA back where it belongs: firmly in the community's interests. Since 2012, TAFE SA has operated as a statutory corporation under the Public Corporations Act 1993 at the direction of an independent board of directors.
TAFE SA is a public provider. It should be transparent, directly accountable to the public and given every opportunity to be the strong public training provider that South Australians deserve and need. This bill does exactly that, transitioning TAFE SA to a statutory authority, aligning it with other important state institutions. Similar to the Adelaide University Act 2023 and the South Australian Skills Act 2008, the bill before us today provides new objectives that reflect our contemporary and aspirational values for the vocational education and training sector.
South Australians rightfully expect a TAFE SA that functions unequivocally in their best interests, delivering high-quality, industry-leading education and training. No matter where they live, South Australians should have equitable access to the relevant and transferable skills that vocational education provides, and then have the opportunity and qualifications to give back to their communities.
In my community we have the incredible Tonsley TAFE, a place where I have always been very welcomed. I am so grateful to all the staff who have facilitated my visits there. It is incredible to meet with the people who are learning there as well as the people who are teaching them. It is an amazing place where you can basically see, before they put the concrete down, before they do the slab, all the sections that have been taken out of the soil—the place inside—so that people who are learning plumbing can actually learn how to do the plumbing before a foundation goes down.
There is also a section where you get up high and you can do some roofing. There is a lot of space for electrical work, refrigeration. There are some beautiful bricklaying examples, some fantastic painting. There is so much there. In construction, you can see people putting together frames of homes inside these facilities. It is really incredible.
After more than a decade of conservative government in the federal parliament, South Australia is not alone in facing a skills crisis. Across industries from defence to health, construction to early education, we need more skilled workers. This issue is most apparent in addressing the housing crisis, where, after years of gutting vocational and skills education, some of those on the conservative side of politics are now stoking fear and blaming housing accessibility and affordability on immigration. This is unproductive at its best and blatantly racist and offensive at its worst.
On this side of the house, we are focused on getting on with the job, providing South Australians with the skills they require to complete the work our community so desperately needs. We know that supply is the issue. To build more homes, we need more tradies. We need more carpenters, more bricklayers, more plumbers and more electricians.
By strengthening TAFE SA to train these workers, we are giving our state the best chance to meet this urgent challenge. Whether it is training workers for the Torrens of Darlington (South Road upgrade) project that runs through the guts of my electorate or for the new Women's and Children's Hospital, South Australians are relying on TAFE SA to provide the pipeline of workers to deliver these generational projects. But it is not just major projects. TAFE SA plays a critical role in training nurses, aged-care workers, childcare workers, disability care workers and a critical role in agriculture, clean energy and our sovereign capability, just to name a few things.
I am particularly proud that the Malinauskas Labor government is delivering on our commitment to build five new technical colleges across metropolitan Adelaide as well as regional South Australia. This is particularly exciting for my community, as construction is now complete and enrolments are open for students to begin their studies at the new Tonsley Technical College next year.
Just last sitting week, my office was contacted by Ewa, who had read in one of my previous community newsletters that we are opening the Tonsley Technical College and thought this might be of interest to her 15-year-old son. Guess what? He is now enrolled to begin to start at Tonsley Technical College next year, which is really exciting. This is an absolute game changer for my community and the broader southern suburbs of Adelaide, providing new pathways for young people to pursue trades, apprenticeships and technical careers. By establishing the Tonsley Technical College, we are not just building new learning environments; we are building new opportunities—new opportunities for more South Australians to learn hands-on skills, ensuring they can step straight into secure, well-paid jobs.
Another game changer for my community has been our delivery of fee-free TAFE in collaboration with the Albanese Labor government, which has already seen as many as 700 students in my community alone enrol in fee-free tuition over the past three years.
This bill also ensures strong government oversight for TAFE SA. It retains ministerial directions power and includes a new ministerial statement of priorities, which must be reflected in the new annual business plan and requires an annual report to be tabled in parliament. By providing strong government oversight, we can ensure that TAFE SA is at the centre of public interest, delivering on our government's priorities in a manner that is responsive, accountable and transparent.
In closing, I would like to thank our Minister for Education, Training and Skills and everyone in his team for all of their work in bringing this bill before us today and their ongoing commitment and dedication to transforming vocational education in our state. Today and every day, the Malinauskas Labor government is delivering on our commitments we made to South Australians, like building the Tonsley Technical College, to ensure we have the skilled workforce we need to build the houses, staff the hospitals and deliver the projects that will shape South Australia for decades to come. I commend this bill to the house.