the deaf society - inquiry into technical and further ......submission – senate inquiry into tafe...

Inquiry into Technical and further education (TAFE) in Australia

Submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Education and Employment

Deaf Society of New South Wales March 2014

Contact Sharon Everson Chief Executive Officer Deaf Society of New South Wales [email protected] ph. (02) 8833 3600 fax. (02) 8833 3699

mailto:[email protected]

Submission – Senate Inquiry into TAFE 2 March 2014 Deaf Society of NSW

CONTENTS

Background ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................... 4

TAFE’s educational linkages with secondary and higher education ............................................................... 4

The role played by TAFEs in the development of skills in the Australian economy ........................................ 6

The role played by TAFEs in opportunities for Australians to improve themselves and increase their life,

education and employment prospects ......................................................................................................... 7

The delivery of services and programs to support disadvantaged individuals to access education, training

and skills and The effects of a competitive training market on TAFE ............................................................. 7

affordability and accessibility of TAFE to students and business ................................................................... 9

mechanisms used by state governments to allocate funding and The application and effect of additional

charges to TAFE students ............................................................................................................................. 9

References ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Appendix .................................................................................................................................................10


BACKGROUND The Deaf Society of NSW was established in 1913 and is a company limited by guarantee. We are a not-for-profit, bi-lingual, bi-cultural, community-centred organisation which exists to achieve equity for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing people. Our services include employment services, Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpreting, education and training, independent living skills, advocacy, community development and community services. Our vision is Equity for Deaf People. We work in partnership with the Deaf Community to enhance the quality of life of deaf people, strengthen the community and advocate for changes that will ensure fundamental rights and freedoms. In this submission, we refer to the Deaf Community as both a disability group (because members of the community have their rights protected under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), and a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) group (because the community has a unique language, Auslan, and a unique set of cultural practices and values which are quite different to the practices and values of the wider community). Hard of hearing people are those with a hearing loss who use a spoken language as their main means of face-to-face communication and who do not identify with the Deaf Community. Deafblind people have both hearing and vision loss, and may communicate in English or Auslan or both, using adapted visual, auditory, and/or tactile modes. The Deaf Society of NSW greatly appreciates this opportunity to provide a submission on the Inquiry into Technical and further education. DEAFNESS FORUM OF AUSTRALIA endorses this submission by the Deaf Society of New South Wales. Deafness Forum operates in a national setting, representing all interests and viewpoints of the one in six Australians who are Hearing Impaired (sometimes called hard of hearing), Deaf or deafblind, have a chronic ear or balance disorder and their families. It provides balanced and realistic advice to the Australian Government and the Opposition to inform public policy and build a fairer and more inclusive nation for the people we represent.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Deaf Society of NSW is concerned about the impact of the proposed Smart and Skilled reform for the VET sector but in particular the effect on TAFE NSW (https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/smartandskilled/index.html). Our concerns relate specifically to deaf and hard of hearing people and their access and support to study at TAFE. We have witnessed and worked with stakeholders in NSW who have experienced instances of exclusion from TAFE. This exclusion has put on hold their desire for further study, their dreams of going to university and getting meaningful employment, further adding to the systemic disadvantage they are already experiencing because they are deaf or hard of hearing. Our recommendations are made below.

RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation 1 That TAFEs continue to receive adequate funding to provide “second chance” education for those who need to complete Year 10, the Higher School Certificate, literacy and pre-vocational courses for students with disabilities. Recommendation 2 That TAFEs model their approach to disability support on the NDIS, taking an early intervention approach that accepts support provision not as a burden, but as an investment in the future. Recommendation 3 That all students in TAFE receive funding modelled on NDIS criteria of support that is ‘reasonable and necessary’ for accessing a given course on an equal basis with other students. This should be funded separately to the individual course or TAFE budget, so that TAFEs are not provided with incentives for reducing the quality of access. If successful, this funding model should be extended to students accessing private training.

TAFE’S EDUCATIONAL LINKAGES WITH SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION TAFE has always been held in high regard by deaf and hard of hearing people as a place that provides quality “second chance” education. For a range of reasons, deaf people typically leave school with a reading age well below that of their hearing peers, and the “second chance” which TAFE provides is therefore critical. TAFE redresses the lack of access faced in other parts of the education sector, and makes it possible for deaf people to progress on to higher education and employment. TAFE is only able to provide such positive outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing students because it has so far usually (although not uniformly) made good provision for access through qualified Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpreters, notetakers, real time captions, tutorial support, assistive listening devices and preparatory or pre-vocational courses. Often when a deaf/hard of hearing person attends TAFE for the first time they are surprised by the level of access that is available to them. For the first time in their education they are able to access qualified Auslan Interpreters. It is ironic that while state education departments administer and fund the full educational spectrum from early intervention services, primary, secondary and to tertiary level education, the level of access and support varies widely across the spectrum. For example there is no benchmark of Auslan fluency required by staff who perform the role of an interpreter in the public school system in NSW, and these staff are paid as Learning Support Officers which is a significantly lower rate than qualified interpreters. At TAFE and university it is expected that staff hired to perform the

https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/smartandskilled/index.html


work of an interpreter are qualified at a minimum as NAATI-accredited1 para-professional interpreters and paid as such. This has a direct effect on the quality of the education received by deaf students. Unfortunately such access is now being compromised.

Case Study Bella is a deaf lady who plans to go to university. To prepare for the demands of university she wanted to enrol in Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation. At the information session she attended to find out about the course, she was told by the Teacher Consultant that she would not be provided with notetakers. She requires notetakers so that she can watch the Auslan interpreters. Bella, like many deaf people is unable to watch the interpreters and make notes at the same time. People who hear are able to take notes while still being able to listen to what is being said. Bella decided not to proceed with enrolment as she knew she would not cope with the demands of the course without notetakers. Bella had hoped the course would lead to university studies and advances in her career, which currently involves teaching sign language to infants.

Many TAFE colleges have also provided classes specifically for deaf people, modified to suit their learning needs and improve their English, and in the case of deaf migrants, improve their Auslan skills. These cover areas such as literacy, communication and computer skills. This is necessary because, as Deaf Australia noted in their submission to the House of Representatives last year: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ee/tafe/subs.htm

The crux of this is that deaf people cannot hear incidental conversation in the home, school or place of work. If a deaf person is not told something directly, they will often not know until much later or never at all. 70% of learning is incidental and through dialogue; if that is not accessible, then how does a person learn the contextual information that is out there and available to hearing people? This gap is what is different for deaf literacy learners and hearing literacy learners. Hearing learners they have that context, and can hear outside of class. Deaf people cannot so literacy support tailored to hearing people is not suited to the deaf learner and until the sector receives funding, many deaf people will not have access to the literacy training they so desperately need.

(Deaf Australia, 2013) Because they provide a safe, “deaf-friendly” environment, deaf-specific courses provided by TAFEs can build the skills and confidence necessary for further education and employment. As the TAFE NSW Issues Paper written by the Coalition of Peak Disability Organisations and members of the NSW Teachers Federation notes:

Currently Teacher Consultants working for TAFE NSW have some funds that can be used to offer short preparatory courses for students who need to develop skills that will prepare them for VET programs. However, under Smart and Skilled there does not appear to be any provision to fund for preparatory courses as the flat loading of 10% does not allow for this. (TAFE NSW Issues Paper, 2013)

So while the lack of appropriate Auslan support in schools makes it unnecessarily difficult for young deaf and hard of hearing people to transition from school to work, TAFE and University, TAFE has hitherto provided a “second chance” which is successful because of its significantly better support services. If TAFE fails to continue such provision, the problems faced by deaf and hard of hearing people elsewhere in the education system will become even more acute.

1NAATI is the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ee/tafe/subs.htm



Smart and Skilled promises that it will continue to provide funding for select foundation courses. However it is not clear if this includes the equivalent of Year 10, the Higher School Certificate and other literacy and pre-vocational courses. It is also unclear whether specific courses that meet the unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing learners will be able to continue under this system. Unfortunately, without access to preparatory courses many deaf and hard of hearing students will effectively be locked out of TAFE as they will not be able to successfully engage in mainstream vocational courses.

THE ROLE PLAYED BY TAFES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS IN THE AUSTRALIAN

ECONOMY TAFE, like the NDIS, must take an early intervention approach to its economic role, recognising that significant early investment is required to improve economic capacity and reduce costs to the economy over the life of an individual. This is not a minor matter; The Let’s Talk about Tafe consultation of 2013 surveyed 2819 people and 75% of them said they had done a TAFE course or someone in their family had (https://www.tafensw.edu.au/about/assets/pdf/ltat-report.pdf). The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) Draft Report (July 2013) recommended a 10% loading on the base price to account for the additional costs of education for students with a disability. However, as noted in the TAFE NSW Issues Paper, this equates only to around $440 for a Certificate II course and $880 for a Certificate III course, and yet “there is no ‘average’ student so there can be no ‘average’ cost”. Such a funding model is in no way likely to be adequate for deaf or hard of hearing students. For example, a deaf person accessing Certificate IV in Accounting will attend classes for 15 hours per week with a notetaker and two interpreters. These deaf and hard of hearing students usually come from a position of considerable educational disadvantage and also require one hour of tutorial support per week to revise and consolidate key concepts. The costs are:

Notetaker 1 x $44 x 15 hours x 18 weeks = $11,880 Interpreters2 2 x $66 x 15 hours x 18 weeks = $35,640 Tutorial Support: 1x $99 x 1 hour x 18 weeks = $1,782 TOTAL COST OF SUPPORT: $49,302

As seen in this example, deaf students can be costly to support in the short term (the above costs are equal to 2.5 years of the top rate of the Disability Support Pension), but a student who is properly supported can then be in a position to find employment or progress to further study. In a few years, the taxes they pay, and the welfare payments they forego, will amply compensate the Australian economy for such an investment. The alternative is entrenched welfare dependence along with all its associated health, social, family, and mental health risks. In the long term, the lack of investment in proper support would be very costly to the economy as a whole. It is unclear whether the Community Service Obligation provision recommended by IPART will provide any equitable or reliable support for deaf students. As the TAFE NSW Issues Paper notes:

The Draft IPART report acknowledges that ‘in some circumstances, the base price and loadings will not be sufficient to compensate RTO’s for the cost of delivering training’. IPART refers to these circumstances as ‘thin markets’ and recommends provision of additional funds through “Community Service Obligation” or CSO payments. However, there is a lack of clarity about what constitutes a ‘thin market’, exactly who will be eligible for CSO payments, who will determine if an individual student should have access to such payments and how this funding stream will operate under Smart and Skilled.

2Two interpreters are required for WHS reasons as interpreters who work alone for long periods are at high risk of occupational

overuse syndrome.

https://www.tafensw.edu.au/about/assets/pdf/ltat-report.pdf


If deaf and hard of hearing students are not adequately covered by such provisions, we are concerned that short-sighted and ill-justified cuts to funding will create an entrenched under-class of deaf and hard of hearing people unable to access vocational education at all. This may save TAFEs some money in the short term, but will create far greater costs in the health, mental health, welfare and social service systems in the long term. An early intervention approach must be taken in order to ensure that TAFE fulfils a meaningful role in the Australian economy in relation to students with disability. Cast Study Sally is currently struggling in her Diploma of Photo Imaging course because she is not provided with notetakers, even though she had them last year. Because she is deaf she relies on watching Auslan interpreters in the class to understand what is being said. Sally is not able to take notes at the same time because she is using her eyes to ‘listen’. Sally therefore requires notetakers to take notes for her which she then uses to study from and prepare for assessments. She has always been provided with notetakers until starting her studies this year. Sally has formally complained to her TAFE institute but has not had a response. Meanwhile she is stressed and struggling to keep up and is at risk of withdrawing from the course.

THE ROLE PLAYED BY TAFES IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTRALIANS TO IMPROVE

THEMSELVES AND INCREASE THEIR LIFE, EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS If deaf and hard of hearing people are not provided with proper support to attend TAFE courses on an equal basis with others, this can, as explained above, have serious effects on the wellbeing of the individuals, as well as serious economic consequences. This does not only apply to directly vocational courses, however. Although the primary objective of the TAFE system is to provide vocational training, which has a critical role in the economy, TAFEs do also provide short courses for students to develop hobbies and interests. We are concerned that disability support may not be provided for such courses under future TAFE funding arrangements. As Deaf Australia noted in their submission last year, such decisions are not only inequitable, but short-sighted:

The benefits of access to short courses are many including:

Social inclusion and mental wellbeing. Deaf people are at risk of being socially isolated. Being involved in hobbies and participating in society enhances mental wellbeing and reduces reliance on the welfare system.

Career change. For many individuals hobbies can lead to vocational opportunities and can lead to career change.

Classroom diversity. Deaf people bring diversity to the classroom which benefits everyone as people learn to engage with others and the visibility of deaf people doing things alongside others reduces ignorance and social barriers.

(Deaf Australia, 2013)

THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT DISADVANTAGED

INDIVIDUALS TO ACCESS EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SKILLS AND THE EFFECTS OF A

COMPETITIVE TRAINING MARKET ON TAFE Equitable access to education is mandated by disability discrimination law, but the increase in competition (and the new pricing models which are premised on TAFE operating in a competitive environment) provide


strong incentives for non-compliance. We are concerned that TAFE colleges which provide equitable support may be financially penalised for compliance with discrimination law. Poor or no access for deaf and hard of hearing people has long been a problem in the private training sector, from which most deaf and hard of hearing students are currently effectively barred. Deaf and hard of hearing people are routinely denied access to courses provided by private training organisations who are able to claim unjustifiable hardship under the Disability Discrimination Act. We are concerned that the same will become the case with TAFE under new funding arrangements.

Case Study Marion is a deaf lady who uses Auslan to communicate. She enrolled in an Advanced Excel course with a major university’s private training organisation. The training organisation would not cover the costs of Auslan interpreters for her course which would cost $1540. They claimed that these costs compared with the cost of the course itself per student which was $294 would create unjustifiable hardship and they would need another 5 students to break even and cover the costs of the Auslan interpreters. Marion sought legal advice about the defence of unjustifiable hardship. She was advised that she did not have a case to pursue for discrimination and that the organisation was justified in claiming unjustifiable hardship.

As with TAFE’s role in “second chance” education, removal of access to TAFE courses will close off the “provider of last resort” for deaf and hard of hearing students, precipitating a crisis in education for deaf and hard of hearing people generally. It is our view that this problem can best be overcome by applying an NDIS-style system of individual entitlement which is funded separately to TAFE course budgets. Under such a system, each student with a disability would receive an entitlement to ‘reasonable and necessary’ supports which they require to access courses on an equal basis with others. Such supports would be portable between TAFE colleges and able to be transferred interstate. When a student enrols in a course, they would receive a package of support which would be coordinated by the relevant teacher consultant in the TAFE college. Assessments for reasonable and necessary support would be conducted by teacher consultants, who have traditionally fulfilled this role and have the required experience (TAFE NSW Issues Paper 2013). The difference would be in the funding structure. As the entitlements would be funded separately, there would be no incentive for TAFEs to reduce the quality of access, and access would be more reliable and equal across the system. Such entitlements would be necessary for all courses, however the course itself is funded, and would include courses provided on a commercial basis. If successful, this system could then be extended to cover deaf and hard of hearing students studying in private Registered Training Organisations. Although this would represent a considerable shift from current practice, it would be in line with current philosophy about disability services generally, would safeguard the rights of students with disabilities from the havoc currently being wrecked by the increasingly competitive environment, and would remove the incentives for providers to avoid compliance with discrimination law.

Case Study John has been studying the Diploma of Event Management at a Sydney TAFE. During this time he was provided with two Auslan interpreters for classes that were 2.5 hours in length. In 2014, John decided to enrol in the Advanced Diploma. TAFE told him they would not be able to provide him with two interpreters and instead would reduce classes to two hours and provide one interpreter who would require a 5 minute break every 20 minutes. TAFE were not clear about who would monitor the breaks and how John would access the casual learning that happened in the break time. In the end, TAFE offered John “flexible delivery” which requires him to study on his own at home and to meet with the teacher once a month or as often as required. The flexible delivery


option is risky for deaf and hard of hearing students who may require more support and may have poor literacy.

As Deaf Australia notes in their submission to the House of Representatives, many deaf and hard of hearing people are not in a position to advocate for equal rights, and will most likely accept what they are given, even when it will lead to poorer outcomes for them than their hearing peers are able to receive:

…given the very nature of deafness, many deaf young people do not develop sufficient communication, networking or advocacy skills to manage dealing with and communicating with a range of individuals in TAFE. The challenge of a system that requires them to beg to receive specialist assistance in order to be educated is often too big a hurdle for these students. They also grapple with how to explain their learning and support needs to the average TAFE teacher. TAFE teachers also tend to have a preconceived idea about how to teach a deaf student and may automatically assume that the individual cannot or should not participate in their class. (Deaf Australia, 2013)

AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF TAFE TO STUDENTS AND BUSINESS MECHANISMS USED BY STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ALLOCATE FUNDING AND THE

APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF ADDITIONAL CHARGES TO TAFE STUDENTS Deaf and hard of hearing students should have access on an equal basis with others to courses, regardless of the fee structure of that course. That is, a student who pays to access to a course along with other fee-paying students, should be able to access the same level of support as students who are accessing courses with lower or no fees. However, according to the TAFE NSW Issues Paper:

It is unclear from reading the IPART Recommendations whether students who have disabilities who are undertaking courses above a Cert III Level (Cert IV or Diploma level) will be eligible for any support. In TAFE NSW, students who are undertaking short TAFE Plus or Fast Track courses are currently not eligible for fee exemption and do not automatically receive learner support (as these are commercial courses). Once Smart and Skilled is implemented Cert IV and Diploma courses that are currently offered as mainstream courses will become user pays or commercial courses. This effectively means that those students with disabilities who need additional support will no longer be eligible to register with the disability servicesand access reasonable adjustment through a Disability Teacher/Consultant. How will students with disabilities access support when all VET courses are offered on a commercial basis? In a tight labour market, people who have disabilities may find it necessary to achieve higher level qualifications to demonstrate their potential and competence to prospective employers and compete for employment against able bodied people. If support for people with disabilities to undertake higher level VET qualifications is no longer made available this will deny students the opportunity to reach their potential and to gain employment. Once again this may give reason for some individuals to make complaints to the Human Rights Commission and/or to take legal action.

It is indeed concerning that deaf and hard of hearing students may only be supported to access lower-level qualifications. This would create a “glass ceiling” barring deaf and hard of hearing students from completing any qualifications above Certificate III level.

REFERENCES Deaf Australia, 2013. Submission to House of Representatives Inquiry into the role of Technical and Further Education system and its operation


http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ee/tafe/subs.htm Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) Draft Report (July 2013) http://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Other/Reviews/Vocational_Education/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled/NewsHYS/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled

APPENDIX

TAFE NSW Issues paper, 2014. Coalition of Peak Disability Organisations and members of the NSW Teachers Federation.



http://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Other/Reviews/Vocational_Education/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled/NewsHYS/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled

http://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Other/Reviews/Vocational_Education/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled/NewsHYS/Pricing_VET_under_Smart_and_Skilled


Issues of Concern The following information outlines the collective concerns of a Coalition of Peak Disability Organisations and members of the NSW Teachers Federation in respect to proposals to change the way in which services are provided to students who have disabilities and are undertaking VET courses under “Smart and Skilled”.

1. Level of support

In the IPART Draft Report (July 2013) it was recommended that under “Smart and Skilled” students who have disabilities, irrespective of the nature of level of their disability, will receive a 10% loading on ‘the base price for the relevant qualification to reflect the average (or typical) additional cost associated with providing training to a high cost learner’. There is no indication as to how this ‘average additional costs loading’ is determined. Furthermore, it reflects neither the nature of disability nor the degree of the functional impairment of the individual. It also fails to consider the impact of multiple disability and co-morbidities. In a broader sense the IPART Draft Report also fails to recognise the compounding effects of multiple types of disadvantage such as low socio-economic status, non-English speaking women with disabilities.

In real terms it has been estimated that a 10% loading based on the average cost of courses would equate to an additional $440 per Certificate II qualification and $880 per Certificate III qualification. The 10% loading is intended to cover the additional costs associated with providing training to high cost learners. However, students with disabilities may need a variety of support services, eg note-takers, reader/writers, 1:1 learner support, mentoring, counselling and advocacy, to enable them to successfully engage in VET. A flat 10% loading (or an additional $440 per Certificate II qualification and $880 per Certificate III qualification), fails to recognise the individual leaning needs of students with disabilities, (there is no ‘average’ student so there can be no ‘average’ cost), and will not provide the type and level of support they need to reach their potential and gain employment. For example, a deaf student, who is undertaking a three (3) year trade course will be eligible to receive a loading of $880 to pay for their additional support. Considering that Auslan Interpreters are currently paid at a rate of $66 per hour, this means that such a student would have access to an Auslan Interpreter for a total of 13.3 hours over a course of 3 years in duration, (ie 4.4 hours per year interpreting support for approximately 960 hours of face to face teaching). Therefore, the recommendation of a 10% loading will deny many students access to VET and the means to gain skills, qualifications and employment. Consequently, this recommendation has the potential to lead to mass litigation, on the basis of discrimination under the Disability Discrimination (1992), and presents a risk to the NSW Government. In addition to this, support based on a flat 10% loading is not in keeping with the statement you made to the NSW Parliament on 23rd October 2012 that under Smart and Skilled “students with disabilities will receive the same support that they have always received through TAFE and also non-government providers”.


2. Community Service Obligations

The Draft IPART report acknowledges that ‘in some circumstances, the base price and loadings will not be sufficient to compensate RTO’s for the cost of delivering training’. IPART refers to these circumstances as ‘thin markets’ and recommends provision of additional funds through “Community Service Obligation” or CSO payments. However, there is a lack of clarity about what constitutes a ‘thin market’, exactly who will be eligible for CSO payments, who will determine if an individual student should have access to such payments and how this funding stream will operate under Smart and Skilled. Unless there are some clear guidelines on who are the appropriate people to determine if an individual with high support needs requires additional support through a CSO payment this recommendation will result in a discretionary and unregulated system of support. Not only does this have the potential for ad hoc precedents to be created it could also result in decisions on who can or cannot receive additional support being made by individuals who may not be suitably qualified and skilled. Consequently, decisions that could impact directly on the legal rights of people who have disabilities could be made by individuals who do not understand the relevant legislation, in particular the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Standards for Education.

3. Support for students undertaking higher level qualifications

It is unclear from reading the IPART Recommendations whether students who have disabilities who are undertaking courses above a Cert III Level (Cert IV or Diploma level) will be eligible for any support. In TAFENSW, students who are undertaking short TAFE Plus or Fast Track courses are currently not eligible for fee exemption and do not automatically receive learner support (as these are commercial courses). Once Smart and Skilled is implemented Cert IV and Diploma courses that are currently offered as mainstream courses will become user pays or commercial courses. This effectively means that those students with disabilities who need additional support will no longer be eligible to register with the disability services and access reasonable adjustment through a Disability Teacher/Consultant. How will students with disabilities access support when all VET courses are offered on a commercial basis? In a tight labour market, people who have disabilities may find it necessary to achieve higher level qualifications to demonstrate their potential and competence to prospective employers and compete for employment against able bodied people. If support for people with disabilities to undertake higher level VET qualifications is no longer made available this will deny students the opportunity to reach their potential and to gain employment. Once again this may give reason for some individuals to make complaints to the Human Rights Commission and/or to take legal action.

4. Eligibility for support and fee exemption

The IPART report does not detail the definition of disability that will be used to determine who will be eligible for support and who will be eligible for fee exemption. The IPART document specifies that ‘the specific definition of students who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or, have a disability should be the same as applies under the Strategic Skills Program’. State Training, (who administers SSP funding), was contacted and asked for the definition of disability used and the response given was that anyone who applied for SSP funding on the basis of disability was granted funding. However, while the definition remains unknown rumours will continue to circulate. Currently it is rumoured that only individuals who are receiving the Disability Support Pension will be eligible for support under Smart and Skilled even though this is contrary to the definition used in the Disability Discrimination Act. The definition of disability is crucial. Should the definition of disability used to determine eligibility for support under Smart and Skilled be different to that used by the Human Rights Commission and the Disability Discrimination Act, many people with disabilities will experience disadvantage and be effectively excluded from VET. This raises a very strong possibility of complaints of discriminatory practices. This risk becomes even greater as TAFENSW has applied the definition of disability as outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act in determining eligibility for support since 1993. Consequently many precedents have been established that are well known and accepted in NSW. Currently it is the role of TAFE Disability Teacher Consultants to assess students with disabilities and recommend reasonable adjustment (learner support). This decision comes at the end of an intensive interview and individual assessment process that Teacher Consultants take very seriously. In consultation


with the students (and their advocate/s) Teacher/Consultants evaluate the potential of a student to undertake and complete a course, the reasonable adjustments required to make this achievable, the vocational outcome of the training for the individual, the underpinning skills and knowledge required and the student’s readiness to study at the specified level. In addition to this, consideration is paid to other factors that support successful course completion such as stable housing, study skills, impact of medication, family, social and /or community support and referral to other support services such as counselling services and childcare. An integral part of this assessment process is ensuring students with disabilities are appropriately placed in VET and, if their chosen program is unsuitable, they are referred to alternative services that are more appropriate to the needs of the individual concerned. This is a complex process that demonstrates successful placement of students with disabilities cannot be achieved by a one sum size fits all formula or a tick the box assessment based on the benefits an individual receives from Centrelink. Furthermore, the VET system is complex and all students, once the entitlement model is in operation, will need appropriate guidance, advice and assessment before using their entitlement and/or incurring a significant debt (VET Fee Help). All learners, but especially the most vulnerable, will need some protection against unscrupulous private providers who offer incentives to students to entice them to enrol in high level, (Cert IV and Diploma), courses that they do have the capacity to successfully complete. Indeed, we are already aware of situations where students with intellectual disabilities have been enticed into diploma level programs that they have very little possibility of successfully completing without a complete understanding of the debt liability incurred. At this point in time we are aware that complaints about one private RTO operating in NSW have been submitted to ASQA.


5. Process for accessing support funds

The members of our Coalition are greatly concerned about the lack of detail surrounding the process that will be implemented to allocate and access funds for students with disabilities under Smart and Skilled,(both the loading and CSO funding). It is imperative that support is available to students with disabilities at the commencement of a course of study as any delay in providing support may result in students dropping out of their courses. As students will be using their entitlement and/or incurring a debt through Fee Help, delaying the delivery of appropriate support will cause hardship and possible failure. Unless a system is established that will facilitate a means by which students needs can be assessed and accommodated very quickly it is highly probable that numerous students will drop out of courses and will blame the RTO concerned for failing to meet their needs. Once again this is likely to result in complaints being made many of which would have the potential to progress to formal complaints and litigation.

6. Access to equipment and technology

The needs of many students can be met most effectively through provision and training in the use of ergonomic equipment and technology, in particular computer software and hardware. Currently, Teacher Consultants have the means to demonstrate to potential students the technology that is available to assist them to become independent learners and workers and they are able to provide training in the use of this equipment so individuals can undertake courses with little if any support. An example of this can be seen on the short video clip using the link below.

http://youtube/Uqg-iGoOTto

As evident in this video clip, once the student concerned was trained in the use of computer hardware and software he was able to undertake high level courses in Architectural Design and since this video clip was made he has found work that he has maintained for over 2 years. Unfortunately, while use of technology can enhance the ability of students with a disability to learn and work independently IPART failed to acknowledge the need for and benefit of pre-mainstream enrolment training for students with disabilities by making no provision for funds to purchase assistive technology or to provide training in the use of such equipment.

7. Access to specialised courses and training for students who have disabilities

For many students who have intellectual disabilities the issues of concern under Smart and Skilled centre around their ability to access modes of course delivery that meet their specific learning needs. While students with intellectual disability, like many VET students, may need pre vocational skills prior to undertaking mainstream courses, they also need vocational programs that enable more time, and highly specialised teaching, for reinforcing skill acquisition, development and transfer. This requires the modified delivery of standard mainstream courses and needs to be identified as separate from, and additional to a loading for high cost learners.

http://youtu.be/Uqg-iGoOTto


There are numerous examples of ‘access’ costs that are incurred by VET providers before they begin to support students with disabilities in direct training. Students with Intellectual Disability, for instance, may need “Access Courses” that provide modified delivery, task analysis, repetition and additional time; students with physical disability and those who are blind/visually impaired may need training in specialised technology that will enable them to access mainstream VET training (eg. Jaws, Zoomtext, speech recognition technology), and students with Autism Spectrum Disorders may need social and communication support prior to beginning a mainstream program. Also, there are many students who undertake VET programs because they need to retrain because they have acquired a disability, (eg. an Acquired Brain Injury, a work related injury or medical condition), later in life. These learners are often more mature learners and blue collar workers who have very little experience in using a computer and many have low levels of literacy and have been out of education and/or training for many years. Such individuals require access to programs that can deliver prevocational training, including computer skills, to enable them to undertake further training in a mainstream vocational course. Currently Teacher Consultants working for TAFE NSW have some funds that can be used to offer short preparatory courses for students who need to develop skills that will prepare them for VET programs. However, under Smart and Skilled there does not appear to be any provision to fund for preparatory courses as the flat loading of 10% does not allow for this. Unfortunately, without access to preparatory courses many students with disabilities will effectively be locked out of VET as they will not be able to successfully engage in mainstream vocational courses.

8. Reasonable adjustments

Many students with disabilities require a modified program as part of their reasonable adjustment. Some are not able to study on a full time basis but this does not mean that these individuals would not be able to work either part time or full time. As evident in the attached video clip the student was not able to undertake the TAFE course on a full time basis as his health care needs would not allow for this. Consequently, he completed his course on a modified attendance basis attending part time over 4 years instead of full time basis over 2 years. Making such adjustments, to the delivery of VET programs, facilitates access and ensures that Individuals who have high levels of disability are not discriminated against because of their inability to undertake a VET program on a full time basis. This is one of the ways TAFENSW Teacher Consultants can currently accommodate for the needs of many students who have disabilities to complete VET programs. However, it is very unclear how students with disabilities will be able to undertake courses over extended timeframes under Smart and Skilled.


9. NDIS Funding

It has been stated by several TAFENSW Institute Managers publicly, in various forums, that funding to support students with disabilities will be covered in some capacity through the NDIS in the future. Communications with individuals who were directly involved in the design of the NDIS indicate that such statements are incorrect and actually constitute a breach of the agreement that was entered into by the State and Federal Governments. It should be noted that the National Disability NSW Implementation Plan 2012 – 2014, which underpins the successful implementation of the NDIS by “improving access for all people to mainstream services and community resources” makes no reference to Smart and Skilled. Therefore, it is of great concern to people with disabilities in our community to hear, (if the statements made by TAFENSW Managers are correct), that this can be interpreted to mean that the NSW State Government is planning to renege on its responsibility to funding services that remain under state jurisdiction such as education programs.

The question this also raises is how the introduction of Smart and Skilled will help the NSW Government to “remove structural and attitudinal barriers by focusing its efforts on improving access to mainstream services so people with disability can enjoy equal rights and opportunities including access to education, entertainment, health, recreation, transport and housing”.

10. Exploitation of people with intellectual disabilities

Another issue that is of great concern to members of our coalition is that there are now some private RTOs operating in NSW who are enticing people with devices such as “free iPads” to sign up to undertake courses funded through VET FEE Help. We are aware of several individuals across Sydney and some regional areas who have signed up to undertake Diploma level courses through such providers that they simply do not have the cognitive capacity to complete. Payment in some instances has been in excess of $15,000 but as this is through VET Fee Help many individuals are not even fully aware that in signing up to enrol in a course they have incurred such debt. While we do not see the NSW Government as being responsible for the conduct of the private RTOs who are exploiting people who have intellectual disabilities we can foresee that this is a problem that is going to escalate when Smart and Skilled is introduced unless appropriate measures are in place to prevent this from happening. On this issue, it should be noted that while no-one can incur HECS debt unless they can produce evidence to demonstrate the potential to complete a university course anyone can access VET Fee Help loans. If every RTO was prepared to properly assess the potential of an individual to undertake and complete a Cert IV or Diploma level course this would not present as a problem but this is not our experience of some providers. Also, as more and more students enrol through the TAFENSW online enrolment system more and more individuals are being found to be in courses that are not suitable. This will become a major problem once Smart and Skilled is implemented and TAFE NSW courses are funded predominantly through VET Fee Help.


Conclusion We believe that it should be evident, from the issues raised in this document, that there are many reasons why the members of the Coalition of Peak Disability Organisations and the NSW Teachers Federation have good reason to be concerned about how the needs of people with disabilities undertaking VET programs will be met in the future. The implementation of Smart and Skilled in NSW will, without doubt, result in people who have disabilities being denied their rights to VET programs, the opportunity to develop skills and acquire formal qualifications, the means to compete for and to gain employment and to maximise their ability to realise their potential. As a consequence of this, the NSW Government is at risk of engaging in discriminatory practices that will lead to costly litigation. Recommendation Considering the hardship it will cause to people who have disabilities and the risk to the Government of implementing the recommendations of the IPART Report the members of our Coalition encourage the NSW Government to quarantine the current disability funding and services provided through TAFENSW to people with disabilities in the interests of all concerned. We believe that this recommendation, which is in keeping with your statement to the NSW Parliament on 23rd October that under Smart and Skilled “students with disabilities will receive the same support that they have always received through TAFE and also non-government providers”, is based on the principles of morality and equity.

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