Adult Learning Australia (ALA) Member News - May 2016

Congratulations and welcome to our new Board members Sally Brennan (Vic), Richard Vinycomb (NSW) and Paul Mulroney (SA) who was a co-opted member and is now returning as an elected member. Sally and Richard both have strong backgrounds in adult and community education and will be valuable contributors to Adult Learning Australia. 

Our newly elected office bearers are Christine McCall (President), Tracey Ollis (Vice President), Sally Brennan (Treasurer) and Robbie Lloyd (Secretary).

Thank you to the outgoing office bearers Catherine Dunn, Paul Mulroney and Belinda Dolan for their commitment to good governance over the past year.

I would also like to acknowledge our retiring Board members Barry Golding, Dorothy Lucardie and Rob Townsend for their dedication and service to ALA over many years. Barry and Dorothy both served as President and Rob, more recently, as Secretary.

Our Annual Report is now available in the members area of our website [12]. Details of our new Board and bios of Board members can be found here [13].

Adult Learning Australia advocates for adult learners, particularly those who are socially and economically marginalised and those who are disengaged from formal education.

It has been our uncompromising position that adult and community education requires additional funding and support, and any reduction in funding will be detrimental to second chance learners. We presented this argument in detail to the Government in our 2016–2017 Pre-Budget Submission [14].

In this era of fiscal restraint we welcome the reining in of VET FEE-HELP blowouts. However, we believe that some of these savings should be re-invested into foundation skills programs run by community-based, not-for-profit providers who have an excellent record in delivering these programs.

In the coming weeks representatives from our Board and I will meet with the major parties and independents in the lead up to the federal election to discuss ALA policy positions and to reinforce the benefits that the adult and community education sector bring to individuals and communities across Australia.

We are keen to accurately reflect our members’ views in our meetings with political representatives. A summary of ALA's Pre-Budget Submission Recommendations can be found here [15]. Join me for a teleconference at 2 pm on Monday 16 May to share and discuss your ideas and thoughts. Please register your interest via email [email protected] [16].

The next ASQA/ALA member consultation with Chief Commissioner Chris Robinson will be held on Tuesday 7 June from 10.00 am to 11.30 am at ASQA’s Sydney office, Level 10, 255 Elizabeth Street.

This is an opportune time for members regulated by ASQA to raise issues and also to learn first hand how the recent appointment of a new Commissioner of Regulatory Operations, Mark Paterson AO, will impact community providers.

There are teleconferencing facilities for members to join in remotely. If you are available to attend please email me at [email protected] [17] to confirm your place.

Our annual member survey is a great way of getting your feedback on what we do well and what we could do better. We welcome your suggestions and ideas on ways to improve the services we offer our members. Here is the link to our online survey, which takes around 10 minutes to complete.

ALA Member Survey 2016 [18]

Stephen Dunn
Chief Executive Officer