TAFE is an essential part of our public education system, and people who have been TAFE-educated make up an essential part of our workforce. 

The New South Wales government needs to ensure that TAFE is fully funded, and that TAFE teachers are supported with permanent, well-paid careers. 

Recently, the federal government has provided additional funding for fee-free TAFE courses. That's a great first step, but we need to make sure we have the TAFE teachers and the resources to accommodate for the additional students. This extra funding also means the state government has been able to save considerably, which gives them a great opportunity to redivert the money they've saved into improvements for TAFE. 

TAFE funding didn't increase for 12 years under the Liberals and Nationals. NSW Labor has a chance to end the stagnation and step up for our local TAFEs. 

Restoring TAFE is fundamental to supporting people in our communities to grow skills and educational wealth. Any person who wants vocational education in our communities should have access regardless of their socio-economic background, cultural background, or learning needs. Forcing students to pay fees to undertake higher learning is a travesty and it is the most vulnerable in our communities who are missing out on educational opportunities because of the Liberals and Nationals systemic underfunding of TAFE, the introduction of student fees, and the appalling pay and conditions for teachers.

The current salary, conditions and workload of TAFE teachers has become a barrier to retaining existing teachers and the recruitment of new teachers. TAFE teachers are now paid less than school teachers despite being required to have additional expertise.

The Greens are standing up for a free and well-resourced TAFE system where teachers and students are valued. The Greens want to ensure fair and just salary increases for TAFE teachers and reverse the casualisation of the TAFE workforce. The Greens want to deliver 100% funding to TAFE from the State and Commonwealth budgets with no competition from private providers.

The Greens are pushing to:

• Make TAFE free again for all students 
• Deliver a salary increase for TAFE teachers that is on par with school teachers  
• Provide pathways to permanency for 10,000 casual TAFE teachers over the next 4 years 
• Reduce administrative burdens
• Abolish the contestable funding model and guarantee 100% of all State and Federal vocational education budgets to TAFE
• Stop closing TAFE campuses