Thursday, 19 February 2026

 Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (10:15): The Gordon TAFE is highly valued in Geelong, having provided over 130 years of education, and is still going strong. The Gordon is also well known for its innovations for now and into the future, along with its commitment to providing the best TAFE education to meet Geelong’s growing population and industry skills requirements. Last week I joined the Minister for Skills and TAFE and the member for Lara to officially break ground for the new Centre of Excellence in Disability Inclusion on the Gordon TAFE Geelong campus. The $36 million centre is expected to be completed next year, thanks to the Allan Labor government. There is no question about the centre being located in Geelong. We are home to WorkSafe, the TAC and the national disability insurance scheme, and it will create a jobs pipeline for these services, with real and meaningful jobs.

It is fantastic that a co-creation team of past and current students with a disability helped to design the new centre of excellence. It will set the benchmark for providing accessible vocational training and education to people with a disability. I want to acknowledge and thank the co-creation team for their significant contribution, not only for themselves but for those that come after them. They leave such a great legacy. By elevating the lived experience of people with disability we will lift training outcomes, open up pathways to secure jobs and share effective practices across Victoria’s TAFE network.