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Realignment of the Office of Higher Education

The Office of Higher Education's position within the Department of Education, Training and the Arts

Integrating the work of the Department of Education, Training and the Arts to deliver high-quality education, training and arts services to all Queenslanders has taken another step with the realignment of the Office of Higher Education (OHE) with the Training Portfolio. The Minister for Education and Training and the Minister for the Arts, Rod Welford, and the Director-General of the Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA), Rachel Hunter, have agreed to support the realignment, which recognises changes within the tertiary sector, both within Queensland and nationally.

The realignment is based on a range of strategic aims and benefits:

Vocational education and training (VET) and higher education are increasingly sharing complementary roles in terms of Queenslanders ' educational experiences. As the Government 's policy and operational nexus for the prep to tertiary education spectrum, DETA will benefit from the stronger links the realignment will build between the sectors.

The commonality between higher education and VET is recognised at a Federal level with the two sectors located together in the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The recently announced national review of higher education will look at establishing the place of higher education in the broader tertiary education sector. The realignment now ensures that Queensland is well-positioned to respond and contribute to Australian Government policy direction.

Queensland 's key objectives of social, community and economic development are shared by the higher education and VET sectors. By aligning the Office of Higher Education with the Training Portfolio, efforts to achieve these outcomes can be maximised.

There is stakeholder support for integrated cross-sectoral education, and the advantages of viewing post-secondary education more cohesively as a 'tertiary ' sector, while maintaining the specific missions of VET and higher education. The realignment will facilitate more effective coordination between the VET and higher education elements of the tertiary sector.

Improved pathways between schools, VET and higher education are becoming increasingly important, at both a state and national level, to meet changing demands for skills demand and to respond to key skills shortages in Queensland.

For institutions, many of which offer both higher education and VET courses, the realignment will provide improved communication channels between both sectors.

The OHE is recognised as the leading state-level higher education agency in the country, thanks to a range of innovations and ongoing positive engagements with the sector. Following the realignment, the OHE will remain a discrete, intact unit within the Department, with a focus on positive outcomes for higher education in the state.

The OHE will continue to coordinate Queensland policy on the role of higher education institutions in both state and national education frameworks, and the role that higher education plays in economic, social and community development.

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