Apprenticeship Employment Network

AE News Volume 11, Issue 5

Friday, 2nd March 2018
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Upcoming Events

7 Mar - RTO Network
21 Mar - Field Officers Network
11 Apr - OHS Network
Click here for all upcoming events.

Annual Apprenticeship Luncheon

On Thursday this week, we held our 5th Annual Apprenticeship Luncheon where approximately 150 guests attended Queen's Hall at the Victorian Parliament House.

The event was opened by the Hon. Gayle Tierney, Minister for Training and Skills and Minister for Corrections, who acknowledged the hard work both group training organisations and TAFE provide in supporting apprentices and trainees in Victoria.
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AEN acknowledged former Minister for Vocational Training and Skills the Hon. Steve Herbert with an AEN Lifetime Achievement award for his 30+ years of service to the education sector.
Steve Herbert with Neil Coulson
Hon. Steve Herbert with Victorian Skills Commissioner Neil Coulson
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Thank you to our panellists who discussed a range of issues facing the apprenticeship and wider VET system.

Paul Tran - 2012 Carpentry Apprentice of the Year
Megan Lilly from AiGroup
Franklin O'Carroll from Holmesglen Institute

Thank you to all others who attended the event. We look foward to seeing you again next year.

If you haven't already done so, feel free to download our AEN Hire Education policy paper.

Labor Government Proposes a Large-scale National Enquiry into Post-secondary School

On Friday last week, opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said she will bring together a panel of experts from the higher education sector, unions and big business within weeks as part of efforts to prepare terms of reference for the national inquiry, which Labor plans to launch within its first 100 days in government.

A federal Labor government would initiate a landmark inquiry to consider the future of post-school education in Australia, placing the university and TAFE sectors side-by-side for review for the first time.

Labor says a 31 per cent decline in hours of government-funded delivery at TAFE between 2013 and 2016 and the 163,600 fewer government-funded individuals studying at a TAFE shows partial inquiries had not improved a fragmented post-school education sector.

Read more at the Financial Review.

Notifiable Data Breaches Act

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) sought public comment on the draft Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme resources during 2017. The final resources are now available on the OAIC website.

Key points about the scheme include:
  • Agencies and organisations (entities) that already have obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) to secure personal information must comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.
  • This includes Australian Government agencies, businesses and not-for profit organisations that have an annual turnover of more than $3 million, private sector health service providers, credit reporting bodies, credit providers, entities that trade in personal information and tax file number (TFN) recipients.
  • Entities that have Privacy Act security obligations in relation to particular types of information only (for example, small businesses that are required to secure tax file number information) do not need to notify about data breaches that affect other types of information outside the scope of their obligations under the Privacy Act.

What is a ‘data breach’?

The first step in deciding whether an eligible data breach has occurred involves considering whether there has been a data breach; that is, unauthorised access to or unauthorised disclosure of personal information, or a loss of personal information (s 26WE(2)). The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) does not define these terms. The following analysis and examples draw on the ordinary meaning of these words.
  • Unauthorised access of personal information occurs when personal information that an entity holds is accessed by someone who is not permitted to have access. This includes unauthorised access by an employee of the entity, or an independent contractor, as well as unauthorised access by an external third party (such as by hacking).
  • Unauthorised disclosure occurs when an entity makes personal information accessible or visible to others outside the entity, and releases that information from its effective control in a way that is not permitted by the Privacy Act. This includes an unauthorised disclosure by an employee of the entity.
  • Loss refers to the accidental or inadvertent loss of personal information held by an entity, in circumstances where is it is likely to result in unauthorised access or disclosure. An example is where an employee of an entity leaves personal information (including hard copy documents, unsecured computer equipment, or portable storage devices containing personal information) on public transport.
Read more about identifying data breaches.

For further information please visit the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Labour Market Information Portal

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The December 2017 Labour Force Survey Data is now available from the Labour Market Information Portal.

GOTAFE CEO

Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE Chief Executive Paul Culpan will finish in the role shortly.

Mr Culpan has worked at the institute for 14 years, including nine as chief executive. Mr Culpan has been recognised for his efforts in positioning the institute as a contemporary high-quality provider of vocational education and training.

In his time as Chief, Mr Culpan successfully established a Skills and Jobs Institute and developed strong community partnerships.

The GOTAFE Board has seconded Box Hill Institute’s Jennifer Oliver as Acting Chief Executive Officer.

Read More.

VRQA Annual Stakeholder Research Report

Recently, the VRQA released their 2017 Stakeholder Research Report.

Findings from the 2017 client and stakeholder research show high levels of overall satisfaction and positive feedback on the fairness, consistency, openness and transparency of the VRQA regulation.

Satisfaction among registered training organisations is at 77 per cent, and for education providers at 82 per cent — a slight 3 per cent decrease from 2016.

To find out further information and to access the full report please visit the VRQA website.

Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Single Touch Payroll (STP) measures commence on 1 July 2018 for many employers. These measures, first announced in late 2014, are part of the Federal Government’s digital initiatives that are intended to streamline reporting and reduce costs for businesses.

Practically, the STP measures represent a significant change to payroll reporting requirements, and affected employers need to act immediately to ensure that systems and processes are ready.

Who is affected?

STP reporting is mandatory from 1 July 2018 for employers that have 20 or more employees on the payroll on 1 April 2018. All other employers can voluntarily choose to implement the measures prior to 30 June 2019, after which it is expected that STP will be mandatory for all employers (although the required legislation has not been passed at the time of writing).

The number of employees an employer has on 1 April 2018 is determined on headcount, rather than on a full-time equivalent, or some other basis. The headcount includes full-time, part-time and casual employees, as well as employees on leave (both paid and unpaid), employees working overseas, and seasonal employees.

The headcount should exclude both employees who ceased employment before 1 April and any casual employees who did not work in March 2018, along with independent contractors, labour hire staff, and company directors and office-holders.

Once the 20 employee headcount threshold is met, an employer remains a STP employer even if the number of its employees subsequently drops below 20.

What is changing?

STP will require employers to report payroll information to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) at the time of processing the payroll (when payment is made). Reportable payroll information includes:
  • Salary and wage amounts
  • Allowances paid to employees
  • Pay As You Go Withholding (“PAYGW”) amounts
  • Superannuation information.
Reporting this information concurrently with processing the payroll is a change from current processes, under which there are a variety of reporting frequencies and methods. It is important to note that the STP measures only affect reporting requirements. Payment dates, methods and payroll cycles are unchanged by the STP measures.

Apart from concurrent reporting, another key change with the arrival of STP is the abolition of the requirement to provide payment summaries to most employees. Instead, employees will use myGov to access all of their pay, PAYG and superannuation information in “real time” throughout the year. Payment summaries must still be prepared to report reportable employer superannuation contributions and reportable fringe benefit amounts.

If employees do not use myGov, employers may choose an alternative means of providing payment, tax and superannuation information to employees on a case by case basis, however there is no requirement for employers to implement such an alternative.

All reporting under STP must be done electronically. Thus, affected employers will need to ensure that their payroll software has the functionality to handle the requirements, and upgrade if necessary.

What should I be doing now?

Employers should now be:
  • Evaluating their headcount, and planning for a 1 April census.
  • Speaking with software vendors to start planning for software acquisition/upgrade and implementation.
  • Reviewing payroll processes, including any changes necessary to identify and enable collection or collation of data in new ways.
For further information, download our STP fact sheet, or speak to your Crowe Horwath advisor today. You can also visit ATO Singletouch Payroll for the latest updates.

Source: Crowe and Horwath

NCVER Update

Timeline of Australian VET policy initiatives 1998-2017

Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system has transformed over the past 20 years in response to changing economic and societal needs. This timeline helps understand the scale of change and the individual policies, programs or initiatives that have shaped VET at both the national and state and territory level. The comprehensive resource also includes economic events that may have influenced enrolments and completions of VET courses, apprenticeships and traineeships.

To access the full report and online tool please visit VOCEDplus.

Student Outcomes Survey: self-reported graduate model review

This technical paper reports on the 2018 self-reported graduate model review. This statistical model is used to predict whether Student Outcomes Survey participants who self-report as graduates are ‘actual’ graduates according to official definitions.

To access the full report and online tool please visit Student Outcomes Survey: self-reported graduate model review.

Nominations Open For 2018 Victorian Training Awards

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Now in their 64th year, the prestigious awards recognise and honour the outstanding achievements of vocational education and training (VET) students, teachers, and the businesses who train them.

The Awards are an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your skills and journey within the training and TAFE system, and meet industry experts and employers from across Victoria to help build your career.

The Awards are open to all Victorian students in vocational education and/or training, from a range of backgrounds and age groups. There are five student award categories, including Apprentice of the Year, Vocational Student of the Year, Trainee of the Year, Koorie Student of the Year, and School-based Apprentice/Trainee of the Year. Winners receive $5,000 prize money, and become Victorian ambassadors for the TAFE and training sector.

Nominations for the awards are now open - until midnight on 2 April 2018.

Be inspired by the stories of previous winners, and nominate now!

We encourage you to get involved and nominate for the 2018 awards. To give you all the information you need and help you with your nomination, we have developed:

  • The 2018 VTA Guide
  • Student factsheet
  • Information on preparing your nomination
  • FAQs
  • Conditions of Entry
These resources can also be downloaded from the VTA resources page.

For more information, contact the Victorian Training Awards at victorian.training.awards@edumail.vic.gov.au or call 1800 290 654.

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