Further Education and Training (Training Ombudsman) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2015

Overview

This bill creates an independent Training Ombudsman for Queensland to handle complaints about vocational education and training, apprenticeships, and traineeships. The Ombudsman is an independent statutory position appointed by the Governor in Council and backed by a public service office, with powers to investigate, refer, and report on complaints.

Who it affects

Apprentices, trainees, VET students, employers and training providers in Queensland gain a dedicated independent complaints body. The Department of Education and Training must also respond to the Ombudsman's referrals and recommendations.

Key changes

• Creates the Training Ombudsman as an independent statutory office, appointed by the Governor in Council for up to 4 years
• Lets apprentices, trainees, students and others complain about training quality, training contracts, and departmental decisions
• Gives the Ombudsman power to require information from a person (not government) to assess complaints, with a maximum 100 penalty unit fine for refusing without reasonable excuse
• Requires the Ombudsman to report annually to the Minister, who must table the report in Parliament within 14 days
• Disqualifies MPs, local councillors, people convicted of indictable offences, insolvents and those banned from managing corporations from the role