Hansard debates

Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (11:15): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I ask that my second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard.

Incorporated speech as follows:

Today, I introduce a Bill to amend the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Act) to:

a) strengthen protections for Victoria’s apprentices and trainees;

b) strengthen the permission to teach scheme; and

c) ensure that schools remain safe places of learning and work by:

• introducing a statutory principle into the Act which enshrines the expectation and intention that all Victorian schools are safe and respectful places of learning and work;

• important updates to strengthen the permission to teach registration scheme administered by the Victorian Institute of Teaching; and

• further protecting school staff and students from harm by strengthening and streamlining the school community safety order scheme.

I turn firstly to the apprenticeships and traineeships regulatory reforms in the Bill.

Victoria’s 62,000 apprentices and trainees form a crucial element of our economy and society. Apprenticeships and traineeships play a critical role in enabling our workers to develop their skills, participate in the workforce and provide employers with access to a skilled supply of labour to support Victoria’s economic growth and sustainability.

To do these things effectively, we need an apprenticeship and traineeship system that is modern and flexible, keeping pace with a dynamic and changing domestic and global environment, that is fair, that promotes safety, manages risk and drives a quality experience for workers.

But the framework that governs the Victorian apprenticeship system is outdated. It has not kept pace with the changing nature of apprenticeships and traineeships, and Victoria’s rapidly transforming economy. The current legislation was established 20 years ago. It does not provide adequate protections for apprentices and trainees, it is not risk based in recognising the particular vulnerabilities of this cohort of workers, and it does not enable the regulator, the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, to act quickly in response to harms, and risks of harm to our workers.

In recognition of the need to make the system safer and fairer for apprentices and trainees, a key Victorian Government election commitment in 2022 was to establish an Apprenticeships Taskforce.

In July 2023 the Government established the Taskforce, investing $1.5 million to support its work. The Government stated its role would be to advise the Labor Government and provide recommendations to improve safety in workplaces across the state. The Government recognises that the perspectives and lived experience of apprentices and trainees is critical to informing this work, and further notes that an Apprentice and Trainee Reference Group would be established to advise the Taskforce.

The Taskforce was chaired by former President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sharan Burrow. Justice Iain Ross, former President of the Fair Work Commission served as special adviser. As well as being advised by apprentices and trainees, the Taskforce membership comprised numerous employer representatives and unions.

Additionally, the Taskforce consulted extensively with apprentices and trainees, including from priority cohorts such as women and First Nations apprentices and trainees, unions, peak bodies, regulators and employers.

The Taskforce finalised its report in March 2024 and made 16 recommendations to reform the apprenticeship system, strengthen the regulatory framework, improve the apprenticeship and traineeship journey and enhance collaboration and coordination across the regulatory landscape for apprentices and trainees.

The Victorian Government has accepted all of the recommendations in full or in part.

The Education and Training Reform Amendment (Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Schools and Other Matters) Bill 2026 delivers on the government’s response to the recommendations to strengthen and modernise the regulatory framework for apprenticeships and traineeships.

Various regulatory schemes work together to ensure workers are safe and protected from harm. But there are specific vulnerabilities and regulatory risks in the context of apprentices and trainees that mean it is critical that we have a strong, robust, flexible and highly targeted risk based regulatory framework.

The Taskforce found there can be a significant power imbalance between apprentices and trainees and their employers which can make them vulnerable to workplace exploitation. In addition, they are young. The majority are less than 25 years old, and a relatively large proportion are less than 19 years old. This means many may have limited or no previous work experience and are inexperienced in understanding their rights, recognising appropriate treatment in the workplace and knowing where to go if they need help.

Younger workers have also been found to be more prone to workplace safety incidents. Apprentices and trainees in the construction industry face greater health and safety risks given the inherent risks associated with working on a building site.

Over the past few years there have been safety incidents in Victoria which have resulted in death and serious injuries to apprentices. These incidents are tragic, preventable and unacceptable.

We also know some apprentices and trainees have experienced workplace bullying, harassment, discrimination and wage theft.

These harms, risks and specific vulnerabilities of this cohort point to the imperative to introduce a strengthened regulatory framework that provides greater oversight and protections, and is proportionate and accounts for risk, rather than the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to regulating this sector.

The Education and Training Reform Amendment (Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Schools and Other Matters) Bill 2026 will deliver on these critical elements.

In summary the key amendments in the Bill regarding apprenticeships and traineeships will:

a) transfer regulation of apprenticeships and traineeships from the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria

b) establish an expanded set of compliance and enforcement powers for the new regulator

c) establish a new licensing scheme for employers of apprentices and trainees

d) establish a framework for new employer standards to set expectations for the employer’s role

e) provide additional protection for apprentices and trainees engaged by labour hire providers

f) establish new requirements for training plans

g) facilitate greater information sharing between co-regulators

h) provide for a five-year statutory review of the new scheme

i) provide for a dedicated statutory Commissioner position and a consultative committee.

I will now speak to each element of the reforms in the Bill regarding apprenticeships and traineeships in further detail.

Transfer of Regulatory functions from the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria

The Bill will transfer apprenticeship and traineeship regulatory functions from the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to Workforce Inspectorate Victoria. With its strong capability in industry regulation the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria is positioned well to take on these functions.

It will also enable the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to focus on its core remit, being a regulator of schools and vocational education and training.

More enforcement tools to enable the regulator to take action in response to risk of harm

The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority does not have a modern regulatory toolkit to enforce non-compliance with apprenticeship and traineeship laws. Enforcement action is limited to cancelling an employer’s approval to engage a worker, cancelling or suspending a training contract or prosecuting an employer in relation to training contract obligations.

These tools are at the upper end of the enforcement pyramid, and do not provide the regulator with flexibility to deploy a graduated, proportionate approach based on risk relativities.

The Bill provides for the regulator to issue notices to produce, compliance notices, infringement notices, official warnings and enforceable undertakings. The regulator will also be able to issue adverse publicity orders and there will be civil and criminal penalties for breaches such as providing false information and failing to comply with an Authorised Officer.

These tools will enable the regulator to act quickly, effectively and proportionately relative to the level of regulatory risk. This approach is consistent with other Acts that give effect to contemporary regulatory schemes, such as those established under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 and the Social Services Regulation Act 2021.

Ongoing Oversight of Employers through new Licensing Scheme

The Taskforce analysis found that the existing approvals process for prospective employers of apprentices and trainees is static, it occurs at the beginning of the process, and does not enable an assessment of employer suitability in an ongoing way. Employer suitability is also solely based on a self-assessment process.

The new licensing system will enable regulatory oversight over the lifecycle of the apprenticeship or traineeship.

It will provide the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria with greater capacity to manage poor performing employers which in turn will improve apprenticeship and traineeship completion rates.

Apart from the initial licence assessment process, a subsequent ‘light touch’ reaffirmation process allows the licence to continue for another 12 months. The requirement for annual renewal has been designed to minimise burden on employers.

The Bill envisages that the licensing scheme can be operationalised through the ICT system in a way that streamlines the application and approval processes for employers.

New employer standards

The Bill enables Standards to be prescribed in regulations to provide clarity to employers on what the expectations are for a successful apprenticeship and traineeship journey. These expectations are not explicit under the current scheme.

Stronger regulation where apprentices and trainees are employed by labour hire providers

Labour hire providers employing apprentices and trainees attract a higher risk profile than other employers as these workers are working for a third party, meaning there is often limited or no oversight by the regulator.

The Bill provides for stronger obligations on labour hire providers who employ apprentices and trainees through the introduction of a specific standard to be prescribed in regulations, for this class of employer. The Workforce Inspectorate Victoria will also be able to consider current licences by the Labour Hire Authority in considering regulatory risk, and to impose additional licence conditions for this class of employer.

New requirements for training plans to promote quality

Effective training plans facilitate shared expectations between parties. The Bill proposes the inclusion of minimum requirements for information included in training plans, such as the vocation that the apprenticeship or traineeship relates to, details of employment-based training to be provided by the employer, details of the training scheme course which the apprentice or trainee is enrolled in, and intervals at which the registered education and training organisation must assess the skills of the apprentice or trainee.

Improved information sharing across co-regulators

Apprentices and trainees are relevant to the remit of multiple co-regulators, and these agencies often hold valuable intelligence about issues and incidents of concern for apprentices and trainees. The regulatory landscape can be fragmented and confusing, and there is no consistent approach to information sharing across agencies. The Bill will enable co-regulators to share information with each other consistently and comprehensively, creating opportunities for improved coordination – for example by sharing regulatory intelligence and opportunities for joint investigations.

Governance arrangements

A new Apprenticeship and Traineeship Commissioner will be established in Workforce Inspectorate Victoria. This will be a dedicated statutory role to support enforcement of the new regulatory scheme. Under the Bill, the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria Commissioner will be appointed to the role, in addition to their existing role.

The Bill will also provide for a consultative committee comprising industry, employee and other key representatives. The committee will advise the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Commissioner on current risks and issues requiring consideration in relation to regulatory priorities, ensuring broad stakeholder perspectives are taken into account by the new regulator.

Five-year review

To ensure the new scheme is efficient, effective and fit for purpose, the Bill proposes a statutory review of the scheme within five years of commencement, to be tabled in Parliament.

Implementation

The Bill outlines the apprenticeships and traineeships regulatory reforms will commence by 1 July 2029 or a date earlier to be proclaimed, but we have committed to deliver the reforms by 1 July 2028. There are a number of complex transitional activities required to support the new scheme, including transferring staff, assets and liabilities from the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria. An ICT solution for the new regulatory scheme is also required as the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority’s existing ICT system is at end-of-life stage. A new ICT system will be required to be built.

A carefully designed system will be important to support a sophisticated, efficient, risk-based regulator that minimises regulatory burden for employers, and can also effectively support co-regulation and coordination with other entities.

These reforms are significant, there will be adequate opportunity for broad consultation with relevant sectors and key stakeholders on draft regulations and implementation, to inform careful implementation design.

The Victorian government will develop targeted communications informing relevant sectors and key stakeholders including employers, peak bodies, apprentices, trainees, unions and affected agencies about the reforms and the new obligations in the lead up to the reforms being implemented.

A range of regulations will be required to operationalise the scheme, including standards employers need to comply with, conditions on employers’ licences and infringement offences and penalty levels. Development of regulations will be undertaken in a consultative manner.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Sharan Burrow, Ian Ross and the Apprenticeships Taskforce for the work and engagement they have undertaken throughout 2023 and 2024 which informs this Bill.

I would also like acknowledge the important role of the Apprentice and Trainee Reference Group, and to thank numerous other stakeholders from unions, employers, peak bodies, regulators and apprentices and trainees, for your ongoing and thoughtful engagement in this process, and your contribution to the Bill before the house today.

I would now like to address the reforms to schools and other matters contained in Chapter 3 of the Bill.

In regard to these reforms, the key features of the Bill include the below amendments.

Statutory principle

The new statutory principle of the ETRA enshrines the expectation and intention that all Victorian schools are safe and respectful places of learning and work. This embeds the importance of safe and respectful school communities as a key principle underpinning the Education State.

Permission to teach

Permission to teach (PTT) is a form of teacher registration that enables an individual who does not meet the qualification requirements for registration as a teacher to undertake the duties of a teacher in a limited capacity based on their skills and experience. This registration can be used to address workforce shortages and is also granted to pre-service teachers on employment-based Initial Teacher Education pathways. In the majority of cases, PTT holders will be actively engaged in Initial Teacher Education and progressing towards provisional registration.

In 2025, the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) reviewed the PTT scheme and recommended a suite of improvements to ensure the scheme is fit for purpose, including in response to sector concerns about adverse outcomes for the teaching workforce under the current PTT policy and its application.

The reforms I am introducing today will provide a clear co-regulatory lever to make sure PTT holders have access to the support they need to meet the conditions of their registration while appropriately balancing employment with study requirements and, for the many PTT holders who are engaged in Initial Teacher Education courses or pathways, increase the likelihood that they progress to provisional teaching registration and go on to long and successful teaching careers.

Changing the name of the scheme

The amendments update the name of the registration category of “permission to teach”, to “conditional authority to teach”, (CATT) to better reflect the conditional nature of this registration category where a person is only permitted to teach in a specific place, for a set time, under specific individualised circumstances.

Formalising employer obligations

The amendments formalise the existing employer obligations for CATT holders by providing the VIT with the ability to enter into supervision and support agreements with principals or other responsible persons of bodies engaging a person with CATT. A grant of CATT will be conditional upon an agreement being entered into by the responsible person. This benefits both CATT holders and the employer.

Sector stakeholders who employ CATT holders, and the VIT, have recognised a desire for a co-regulatory approach where the conditions of the CATT grant are sensitive to the context of the individual employer or school system and CATT holder, rather than being overly prescriptive. Formalising these agreements enables the VIT to apply grant conditions that are responsive to such context.

Supervision and support agreements will contribute to a greater awareness of and compliance with the scope of the roles that CATT holders can perform, the standards and outcomes that the CATT holders must attain during their employment and the support and supervision that an employer must provide to them.

The Bill will enable the VIT to monitor whether a responsible person is complying with supervision and support requirements. It enables the VIT to work collaboratively with the employer to assist it to improve its practice. Importantly, where a responsible person has contravened a supervision and support agreement, the Bill also enables the VIT to refuse to make future grants of CATT to the same responsible person or employer.

It is important that CATT holders receive the support they need to remain in the teaching profession and to provide quality teaching to Victorian students. Many CATT holders are still studying Initial Teacher Education, and it should be a priority for them to graduate successfully and become provisionally registered teachers.

The sector has expressed concerns about adverse outcomes for the teaching workforce under the current policy and its application. These reforms address these concerns and are a step towards a more sustainable teaching pipeline for Victoria.

School community safety order scheme

Our school staff work hard every day to educate students and ensure their wellbeing is supported. Sadly, there has been an increase in violence, threats, and abusive behaviour directed at school staff. School community safety orders help protect the safety and wellbeing of students and staff, reinforcing the right of everyone to learn and work in a safe and respectful environment.

The Bill amends the ETRA to strengthen the school community safety order scheme, giving principals simpler and more effective powers to protect staff and school communities from harmful, threatening and abusive behaviour. The changes implement recommendations from a recent statutory review into the scheme and aim to improve school safety, reduce red tape while maintaining the scheme as a last resort measure to protect school communities.

In particular, the Bill:

a) expands the protections afforded by ongoing school community safety orders by enabling digital content school community safety orders to be made, which prohibit a person from using an electronic communication platform or channel, including social media and messaging platforms, to harm school staff and students;

b) streamlines the process for making immediate school community safety orders (immediate orders) in Division 2 by:

i. expanding the circumstances in which immediate orders may be made by removing the imminency element from each of the grounds for issuing immediate orders;

ii. requiring an authorised person to provide the person to whom an immediate order is proposed to apply with a reasonable and proportionate procedural fairness process prior to the order being issued;

iii. removing the requirement that an authorised person review an immediate order after issuing the order;

iv. simplifying the requirements for issuing oral orders;

v. limiting the number of immediate orders that may be issued against the same person within a defined period specified in the Ministerial Guidelines;

vi. empowering an authorised person to extend the duration of an immediate order by a further 7 days where the authorised person requires additional time to issue an ongoing order;

c) streamlines the process for issuing ongoing school community safety orders (ongoing orders) in Division 3 by:

i. replacing the show cause notice process with a requirement that an authorised person must provide the person to whom an ongoing order is proposed to apply with a reasonable and proportionate procedural fairness process prior to the order being made;

ii. empowering an authorised person, other than the authorised person who made the order, to vary an ongoing order;

iii. empowering an authorised person to extend the duration of an ongoing order for a further period not exceeding 12 months;

d) improves the process for reviewing ongoing orders in Division 4 by:

i. allowing an application for internal review to be submitted to a reviewer directly, in addition to a school;

ii. empowering a reviewer to accept an application for internal review beyond 28 days after the reviewable decision was made in exceptional circumstances; and

iii. clarifying and putting beyond doubt that an application for internal review and external review cannot be made with respect to an ongoing order that has expired or been revoked.

Protecting school staff against social media abuse

Harmful online behaviour towards school staff and students is increasing. In many cases, the existing school community safety order scheme cannot protect staff and students from this type of conduct.

The school community safety order scheme will be expanded to enable authorised persons to make a new category of ongoing school community safety orders, to be known as digital content school community safety orders, which prohibit or require the removal or amendment of certain content or material published or information communicated, on social media or other communication platforms or channels, with the specific purpose of reducing harm to staff and students of the school and significant disruption of school activities and operations. This includes platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as private messaging services such as WhatsApp. This change will ensure the education system is safe and effective for both staff and students.

Digital content school community safety orders will protect against the unacceptable risk of harm to staff members and students by targeting harmful, abusive, intimidating or threatening online communications. These orders will also protect against the unacceptable risk of interference with students’ wellbeing and safety, or of significant disruption or interference with school activities or students’ educational opportunities, by targeting online communications that directly impact a school or its students.

As social media and online content can occur anywhere and anytime, including outside of the school grounds or school hours, the Bill provides for the specific harm which it is seeking to prevent or address to have an appropriate nexus to school operations by requiring that the information, material or content to be prohibited, amended or removed, directly impacts or is reasonably likely to directly impact, the capacity of a staff member from being able to perform their duties or work for or at the school, or a student from being able to participate or engage with the educational and learning opportunities at or provided by the school.

Digital content school community safety orders will ultimately ensure students can fully engage in education, and that teachers and other staff members can safely and effectively perform their duties to provide education opportunities to students, without significant disruption or interference, as part of our state’s strong compulsory system of education.

Simplifying immediate orders to protect the school community faster

The Bill simplifies the way immediate orders are made to allow swift action to address harmful behaviour towards the school community.

The circumstances in which immediate orders can be made will be expanded by removing the requirement for there to be an imminent risk. The review found that this threshold is too high to be practical and rules out the majority of circumstances that require an order to be made urgently.

The requirements to make an immediate order orally will be simplified, and the requirement that an authorised person review an immediate order as soon as practicable after making the order will be removed.

The Bill also empowers an authorised person who makes an immediate order to extend the order by a further 7 days and up to a total of 21 days, if they reasonably believe that the grounds for making the immediate order still exist.

To ensure the rights of parents and carers are protected despite these changes, there is a new requirement for authorised persons to provide reasonable and proportionate procedural fairness before making an immediate order. What is reasonable and proportionate will depend on the circumstances and will be expanded on in the Ministerial Guidelines underpinning the scheme. The number of immediate orders that can be made within a specified period is also limited to minimise misuse.

Simplifying ongoing orders to better manage longer term harmful behaviour

The Bill simplifies the process of making ongoing orders including by replacing the requirement that an authorised person provides notice that an ongoing order will be made, with a requirement to provide reasonable and proportionate procedural fairness to the person who will be subject to the order, prior to the order being made. The statutory review found that the time and administrative burden involved with preparing a notice and considering the response from the subject led to orders not being issued expediently, leaving school staff at risk of further harm.

The Bill also allows an authorised person to extend an order for a period not exceeding 12 months if the grounds continue to be met and the risks to the school community remain. This allows authorised persons to avoid repeating the process of making an order, which risks exposing the school community to harm if there is a gap in protection between the two orders.

Extensions would retain the same procedural safeguards as the original order, including providing reasonable and proportionate procedural fairness to a person ahead of the extension being made, and the right to have the order reviewed.

I commend the Bill to the house.