Retroactive Legal Validation for the Handling of VET Student Loan Tax File Numbers
VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Introduced by: The Hon Andrew Giles MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Andrew Giles ALP
“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. Today, I introduce the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. The bill ensures that VET Student Loans (VSL) providers were authorised to handle students’ tax file numbers (TFNs) to administer the VET Student Loans program.”
Scott Buchholz LNP
“The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 is an uncontroversial bill. It’s a bill on which I’ve worked closely with the minister. The minister’s office has provided briefings with the department. The bill seeks to remedy an oversight in the original bill, which was introduced in 2017. There’s a degree of retrospectivity within the bill.”
Emma Comer ALP
“I’m proud to speak in strong support of the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. This bill goes to the heart of something that Labor believes in: building the skilled workforce Australia needs now and into the future.”
Tom French ALP
“Every now and then a bill comes before this House that doesn’t spark headlines or hashtags but quietly makes the system fairer. This is one of those bills. At its core, the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 is about trust in the law and our institutions and trust for the students and providers who rely on them. It fixes an ambiguity that should never have existed.”
“I am always delighted and pleased to be able to have the opportunity to talk about vocational education and training. That’s not just because in my electorate on Brisbane’s southside we are home to the flagship Acacia Ridge TAFE, but it does give me a little bit of an opportunity to brag about it, because it’s something we are very proud of in the electorate of Moreton.”
Kate Thwaites ALP
“The VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 addresses a technical but important issue in the administration of our vocational education loan system. It ensures that students, training providers and the government all have the clarity and confidence that they deserve in the operation of the VET Student Loans program.”
David Moncrieff ALP
“On this side of the House we believe in technical education. We believe in equipping Australians with the skills they need to succeed in their futures. Those opposite don’t believe in TAFE; they don’t believe in the skills sector. On this side of the House we believe in making TAFE more affordable. That’s why we’ve drastically expanded access to fee-free TAFE right across the country.”
Dan Repacholi ALP
“I’m really proud to stand here today to speak about the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. It might sound like a mouthful, but it is a simple, commonsense fix that makes sure our vocational education and training loan system works the way it was supposed to. This bill is about making sure students and training providers have certainty.”
Alison Byrnes ALP
“I rise today in support of the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. I don’t think it is possible to understate just how important vocational education is. To put it simply, it changes lives, giving students career paths, helping them gain skills and confidence, and opening doors that might otherwise be closed to so many.”
Madonna Jarrett ALP
“I rise in support of the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025 before the House. Vocational education and training is skills based learning. It producers our builders, bakers, aged-care workers, healthcare workers, electricians, technicians, gardeners, landscapers and many, many more. These are great careers, but importantly they’re jobs that keep our economy thriving.”
Ms ROBERTS
“The incorporated speech read as follows— Thank you Deputy Speaker I am pleased to give my strong support for the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. While this Bill addresses a technical and legislative issue, its implications are far-reaching.”
Basem Abdo ALP
“I rise to speak on the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025.”
Anne Urquhart ALP
“I rise today to speak in support of the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025. This bill is about fixing a problem identified during a review of how VET student loans were administered under the previous government. It is a practical measure that ensures certainty for students and providers and the integrity of the system.”
Ms RYAN
“I rise today to speak on the VET Student Loans (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2025, proudly. Often, governments have great intentions. We’ve all heard a lot about the national skills shortage.”
Anne Stanley ALP
“I’ve spoken at other times in this place about the critical need for Australia to have a skilled and job-ready workforce. Unfortunately, the failure of successive coalition governments has meant that many geographical areas around our nation have critical workforce shortages.”