Australia, like many countries, struggles to have a national career system that is modern, fit for purpose, of quality, and provides equality of career support for all citizens, regardless of where in Australia they live. In 2017, the Department of Education and Training engaged a management consultancy firm to research the key issues and come up with solutions and strategies. It’s not surprising that since the report was produced by a private sector consultancy company, one of its main recommendations is that career guidance services should be paid for by the users, signifying that such services are mainly a private good. There is no mention of such a service as being a ‘service of general interest’, such as education and training!
You may access the report and its recommendations here!