Queensland’s Minister for Training and Skills Development, Shannon Fentiman, said the crackdown is part of a new program where the government proactively audits every training provider in the state to ensure they meet its standards.
She said the number of private RTOs receiving government subsidies has dropped from almost 720 four years ago to 460.
“We won’t hesitate to take action against dodgy providers. All complaints received by the department are taken seriously,” Ms Fentiman said.
“In the last 12 months alone, we have ended funding agreements with 60 Queensland providers. Anyone who doesn’t measure up will lose their ability to access public funding.”
Ms Fentiman said any complaints of fraud from RTOs are referred to police, noting that the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training has referred three matters of suspected fraud to police in the past two years, with investigations still ongoing.
She also said the Queensland government will refer any complaints about registered training organisations to the Australian Skills Quality Skills Authority (ASQA) as the federal government is responsible for the overall regulation of the training sector.
In addition, Ms Fentiman said the training ombudsman will continue to work with ASQA and other regulatory bodies to ensure complaints about bait advertising are thoroughly investigated.
