The NSW Government has imposed a privatisation target of $3 billion on its departments and agencies, including education, to boost its budget and pay for future infrastructure projects, according to a brief prepared for the NSW Skills Minister Geoff Lee.

The privatisation goals as revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald come after the March sale of the Scone campus to Racing NSW, who plan to continue to use the state-of-the-art equestrian facility for training.

The government is accused of ‘double dipping’ according to a briefing document outlining the new targets were set for government departments to meet by 2023 to “manage fiscal headroom and fund infrastructure”.

Sales goals are separate from the current broad privatisation or ‘recycling of assets’ with the Department of Education being allocated a $90 million target.

Opposition leader Chris Minns said the government needs to be honest with the people of NSW about their privatisation targets, including health and education.

“Forcing departments to hit a privatisation target will mean selling off essential services that rightly belong to the public, and should continue servicing the people of NSW,” he said.

“This means selling $90 million worth of schools and TAFEs. 

“It means selling land that should instead deliver more schools, not less.”

Assistant Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union NSW, Troy Wright said it is straight out of the government’s privatisation playbook.

“Under resource the system and then sell it off claiming the private market will do a better job. 

“The Berejiklian government needs to come clean about its sale plans for TAFE NSW because the selling off of campuses and sacking staff looks like privatisation by stealth," he said.

Mr Wright added that training standards will be at risk for ‘shonky private facilities’ whose only motivation will be getting students through the doors, not necessarily equipping them with the best skills for jobs in the future.

“Who would you want fixing the plumbing or wiring in your house, cutting your hair, or managing your food? 

“Someone trained by a shonky, private facility churning through students, or someone who went to a world-class vocational trainer which sets the industry standards like TAFE NSW?"

A spokesperson for TAFE NSW said they are committed to delivering high-quality training and meeting the skills needs of students, employers and industries across the North Rivers and has no plans to divest its Lismore, Casino, and Wollongbar campuses.

“There are no plans to privatise TAFE NSW. 

“For more than 130 years, TAFE NSW has bought and sold sites across the state to adapt its training to meet the evolving needs of industry and community. 

“By selling unused or underutilised property, the revenue can be used to invest in more modern teaching and learning facilities for the people of NSW.

The spokesperson said TAFE NSW is investing in building new modern facilities and equipment alongside renewing existing spaces throughout the Northern Rivers to establish seven new digitally-enabled teaching and learning spaces across campuses at Lismore, Casino and Wollongbar. 

“This initiative will increase TAFE NSW’s reach across regional NSW and significantly expand the available courses and learning opportunities to those communities,” the spokesperson said. 

Yet after a decade of privatisations, the NSW Government has managed to sell $82 billion of assets that used to belong to the people of NSW. 

This includes handing over a staggering 12 per cent of the state’s land and buildings assets to the private sector.