More than 110,000 Australians have skilled up and saved big thanks to free TAFE

New data reveals more than 110,000 Free TAFE courses have been completed, as the Albanese Government’s Free TAFE policy continues to deliver cost-of-living relief while enabling Australians to upskill in priority areas.

The latest available data from states and territories shows that between January 2023 and September 2024 there were more than 110,000 completions in Free TAFE courses. The data also shows that more than 568,400 Australians have enrolled in Free TAFE and embraced the opportunity to gain valuable skills in areas of need without the additional financial pressure of course fees.

By removing financial barriers Free TAFE is providing cost-of-living relief and saving Australians thousands of dollars:

• A student in Victoria training in the Diploma of Nursing can save up to $17,776.
• A student studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care in South Australia can save up to $4,419.
• A student studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care in the Northern Territory can save up to $4,395.
• A student training in the Certificate Ill in Agriculture in Queensland can save up to $5,250.
• A student studying a Certificate III in Individual Support in Tasmania can save up to $2,420.
• A student in the ACT training in the Certificate IV in Cyber Security can save up to $3,467.
• A student in NSW studying a Certificate III in School Based Education Support can save up to $1,930.
• The average student savings in Western Australia in 2024 are $2,702 per course for Certificate 1 qualifications and higher and $692 for a short course.

Recent research from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) found that students who complete a Vocational Education and Training (VET) course are more likely to be employed and earn more in the year following their graduation.

JSA’s report Strong and Responsive VET Pathways – 2019-20 graduate outcomes found graduates have a median income increase of $11,800 in the year following the completion of their course.

The same report found that 84% of VET graduates were employed after completing their qualification, a 15% increase from before enrolment.

The Albanese Government has invested $414.1 million for an additional 300,000 Free TAFE places nationwide.

As part of the 2024-25 Budget, the Albanese Government has committed an additional $88.8 million for states and territories to deliver 20,000 Free TAFE places in construction and housing courses, including approximately 5,000 pre-apprenticeship places over two years from January 2025.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:

“Free TAFE is helping Australians get better jobs with higher wages. By removing the financial barriers to study it is giving opportunities to so many Australians who would otherwise miss out.

“As I travel around the country, at every TAFE I visit, I hear stories from students who tell me what a life changer Free TAFE has been for them.

“The Productivity Commission’s 2019 Shifting the Dial report highlighted that cost is a key barrier to accessing training - through Free TAFE the Albanese Government is doing something about that.

“The Albanese Government is committed to building the future of our country which is why we’ve proposed legislation to make Free TAFE enduring.

“The Liberals and Nationals call Free TAFE “wasteful spending” and oppose it and claim that “if you don’t pay for something, you don’t value it”. We call it building Australia’s future.

“There is a clear choice – Peter Dutton and the Liberals will cut Free TAFE funding and Australians will pay more for TAFE. Under the Albanese Government Free TAFE is here to stay.”

BACKGROUND

Jobs and Skills Australia research paper: Strong and Responsive VET Pathways – 2019-20 graduate outcomes (November 13 2024)

Strong and Responsive VET Pathways | Jobs and Skills Australia

COMPLETIONS

The standard practice of the national data custodian, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), to report actual completions 4-years after commencement (for example see this report from the NCVER on the 2023 completion rate link here).

Because Free TAFE only commenced in January 2023, there is a time lag between commencements and completions. As a result this completion data is preliminary and there are a range of factors that will influence the final completion rates, including:

• Enrolments include a mixture of full-time and part-time enrolments which impact completion dates, indeed of all government-funded TAFE students in 2023, 79.7% were part-time. Over 87% of Fee-Free TAFE courses are full qualifications at Certificate III and above which take longer to complete, with some courses taking multiple years.
• Enrolments are progressive by nature, with students studying under Fee-Free TAFE at different stages of their courses and needing sufficient time to complete their courses.
• Based on this disaggregated data, from January 2023 to September 2024, there have been more than 110,400 completions in Fee-Free TAFE courses.
• For those commencing in 2023 there have been more than 92,900 completions as of September 2024.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Under the Albanese Government’s Free TAFE program there have been:

• Almost 39,200 enrolments in the Construction sector
• Almost 150,900 enrolments in the Care sector
• More than 54,700 enrolments in the Technology and Digital sector
• More than 40,700 enrolments in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector
• And more than 22,100 enrolments in the Agriculture sector.

By demographic, Free TAFE enrolments included:

• 354,000 women
• 197,700 regional and remote students
• 191,900 people aged 24 and under
• 139,900 job seekers
• 124,600 people who speak a language other than English at home
• 44,400 people with disability
• 34,100 First Nations people

The top 5 courses by enrolment nationally were:

• Certificate III in Individual Support
• Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
• Diploma of Nursing
• Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
• Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping