Senator Ludlam (Western Australia) asked the Minister representing the Minister for Education, upon notice, on 22 January 2009:
To ask the Minister representing the Minister for Education-For each of the years in which the Commonwealth-State Agreement for Skilling Australia's Workforce has operated, what has been the unit price per student contact hour paid to each state.
Senator Carr (Victoria) (Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) -The Minister for Education has provide the following answer to the honourable senator's question:
The Commonwealth has made a funding contribution to the states and territories under the 2005-2008 Commonwealth-State Agreement for Skilling Australia's Workforce (the Agreement) over the past four years to assist training delivery in each state.
The funding provided to each state and territory was based on a formula agreed by the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education. This formula is largely based on population share.
The funding provided by the Commonwealth is not based on unit price per student contact hour. Each state and territory sets its own unit price per student contact hour based on their unique cost structures.