To:
The Honourable Jeremy Rockliff, Premier of Tasmania
The Honourable Felix Ellis, Minister for Skills & Jobs
TasTAFE Board and Executive Leadership Team

We call on the Tasmanian Government and TasTAFE Board to immediately reverse the decision to remove subsidised funding and thereby discontinue the Laboratory Technology courses at TasTAFE.

For more than 30 years, these programs have been a vital part of Tasmania’s education and workforce pathway, providing skilled laboratory technicians for health, education, research, environmental, and manufacturing sectors. The closure of these courses will have devastating consequences for:

• Tasmania’s economy, which relies on a steady supply of qualified laboratory staff.
• Health and medical testing, where TasTAFE graduates play critical roles supporting hospitals and pathology laboratories.
• Education and research, where skilled technicians underpin the work of teachers, scientists, and students across the state.
• Local employment opportunities, with many graduates - including youth and those facing barriers to employment - securing stable, rewarding local jobs.
• Skilled population growth, supporting opportunities for migrants and international students to gain local qualifications and fill critical workforce shortages.
• Women in STEM, with around 73% of laboratory technicians being female, this course is a vital entry point for women pursuing science careers.

TasTAFE’s Laboratory Technology team has consistently provided high-quality, face-to-face training in a fully equipped science laboratory. Students gain broad, transferable practical skills across multiple industries – training that cannot be replicated through online delivery, university undergraduate courses, or narrow, workplace-only learning models offered by private RTOs.

This decision not only undermines Tasmania’s 2025 Skills Plan, which identifies health and science/technology as priority growth areas, but also sends a discouraging message to future students and employers about the state’s commitment to high-quality vocational education.

We are deeply concerned about the lack of consultation, transparency, and respect shown to TasTAFE staff and students in this process. The closure represents a serious loss to Tasmania’s skills base and long-term workforce capability.

We urge the Tasmanian Government and TasTAFE to:

1. Suspend the decision to remove subsidised funding and thereby close the TasTAFE Laboratory Technology courses.
2. Engage in genuine consultation with staff, students, industry, and unions to explore sustainable options for continuing delivery.
3. Protect Tasmania’s science and health workforce pathway by ensuring ongoing VET opportunities for future laboratory professionals.

Tasmania needs science. Tasmania needs skills. Tasmania needs TasTAFE Laboratory Technology.