Since the introduction of the competitive vocational education and training market model in the Australia in the 1990s, the growth and participation of international students and private providers has led to sustained debates about training standards in commercial-for-profit, private registered training organisations. Much of this debate has been negative and critical, focusing on providers seen as "dodgy" and international students' permanent residence "PR" reasons for participating in the Australian Vocational Education and Training sector (Smith, 2010; Tran & Nyland, 2013). This article argues that this focus has limited critical debates on other contextual factors, particularly the influence of teacher perceptions on learning experiences and the way vocational education and training is understood and practised.