Labor to spend $37.8m to weed out ‘bottom feeders’ among vocational education providers

‘We need to lift the focus on quality to ensure students are getting the skills they and the economy need’, the minister for skills and training, Brendan O’Connor says. Photograph: Naruecha Jenthaisong/Getty Images

The federal government will launch a $37.8m “compliance blitz” to crack down on unlawful behaviour in Australia’s vocational education and training (Vet) sector as part of a suite of measures to clean up dodgy providers in international education.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday, the minister for skills and training, Brendan O’Connor, will announce the establishment of an integrity unit within the regulator to identify and address threats to Vet.