Conferences

Please see below for links to presentations and speeches from guest speakers at CPER Conferences.

TAFE Symposium: 10 Years On

Pat Forward speaking at the symposium

2022 is the 10th anniversary of the signing of the 2012 National Agreement on Skills and Workforce Development which saw the explicit requirement for the states and territories to make VET funding contestable as a condition of access to Commonwealth funds.

This symposium, organised by the Centre for Public Education Research (CPER), examined the impact of the 2012 Agreement on the TAFE system, and TAFE students and teachers in the context of the history of so-called “market reforms” of TAFE.

It revisited the VET FEE Help debacle, reviewed the massive shift in government funds to private for-profit providers, and interrogated what this means for young people in Australia.

It also explored some of the crucial questions which still need to be addressed in order for Australia to rebuild its TAFE system.

Below you can download speeches and presentations from speakers on the day.

 Schools Funding Conference “Why Money Does Matter”

On the 10th anniversary of the release of the Review of Funding for Schooling (Gonski Report), the Centre for Public Education Research (CPER) held a major conference on 17 and 18 February 2022 in Sydney to examine the current state of school funding in Australia. Issues explored included:

  • the promise of the Gonski Review and what has happened since

  • the relationship between high performing systems and resourcing

  • an up-to-date analysis of the current Schooling Resource Standard funding model

  • the equity areas: the growing gaps and the unmet needs

  • the link between teachers’ working conditions and recurrent funding

  • enrolment projections, student complexity and capital requirements into the future.

The main speakers at the conference were Dr Ken Boston AO FACE, Emeritus Professor Geoff Gallop, Adam Rorris, Professor Pasi Sahlberg, Dr Rachel Wilson, Trevor Cobbold and Lyndsay Connors AO. The conference was chaired by Dr Mihajla Gavin.

Click here to download the Schools Funding Conference agenda booklet.

Below you can download speeches and presentations from speakers on the day.