VDC News
July Edition
Edition 12 - 2026 | 29 July 2026
Healthy Workplaces. Thriving Teachers. Positive Outcomes. Only Two Weeks to Go…
With just two weeks remaining, the countdown is on and excitement is building across the sector as educators, trainers, leaders, researchers and learning professionals prepare to gather at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 13 &14 August 2026 for the 21st VET National Teaching & Learning Conference 2026.
Recognised as one of Australia’s leading professional learning events for vocational education and training, the Conference continues a proud VDC tradition of bringing together the people, ideas and conversations that advance teaching and learning. For more than two decades, the event has provided a national forum for sharing innovation, exploring emerging challenges and celebrating excellence across the VET sector.
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Hear from the Conference’s Major…
We’re proud to join the 2026 VET National Teaching & Learning Conference as Major Sponsor and Digital Partner, and it’s worth saying why.
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ASQA & TEQSA issue joint alert…
It is rare that the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) issue a joint warning to the sector. They have just done so in response to concerns that some CRICOS providers are trying to circumvent the new prohibition on paying education agent commissions for onshore student transfers.
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A Step into the Future for Housing…
Australia’s first accredited Certificate III in Prefabrication Installation has been launched at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence.
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The ‘AI problem’ facing women…
Australia’s discussion about artificial intelligence and the workforce is frequently framed around productivity: how can AI help employees complete tasks more efficiently, address skills shortages and support economic growth? Two recent Australian articles argue, however, that the productivity benefits of AI will be constrained unless women can fully participate in its adoption.
Read MoreUpcoming Professional Development
July Edition
Edition 11 - 2026 | 15 July 2026
Build Capability, Confidence and…
Semester 2 is underway and VDC’s latest Professional Learning Program is ready to support VET practitioners, leaders and organisations to navigate change, strengthen practice and embrace new opportunities.
From VDC’s new Deep Dive Webinar, Introduction to the National VET System, to workshops, webinars and self-paced learning, Semester 2 offers a diverse range of opportunities to build capability and address the priorities shaping vocational education and training today.
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Fee-Free TAFE – who’s studying what?…
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations recently published the latest snapshot of data on Fee-Free TAFE. It shows overall enrolments (between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2026) totalled more than 814,000.
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ACDEVEG Save the Date…
The 12th annual conference of the Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education group (ACDEVEG) will be held in Ballarat on 3rd and 4th December 2026.
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Meet the Keynote Speakers Inspiring the…
With just four weeks to go, excitement is building for the VET National Teaching & Learning Conference 2026, taking place in person at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 13–14 August 2026. This year’s theme, Healthy Workplaces – Thriving Teachers – Positive Outcomes, will bring together VET practitioners, leaders and sector professionals from across Australia for two days of learning, inspiration and connection.
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Using AI to lift VET completion rates…
A new Future Skills Organisation case study highlights the potential of AI-supported role play to help VET students build confidence before undertaking live role-play assessments or entering the workplace. The pilot was conducted through FSO’s Skills Accelerator–AI initiative, bringing together Canberra Institute of Technology, Phoenix Academy and GenLearn during an Action Learning Sprint from March to May 2026. The focus of the case study was purely practical – that is, it sought to determine whether AI could give early-stage students more opportunities to practise challenging workplace conversations in a realistic, repeatable and lower-pressure environment.
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New threats to academic integrity…
Recent reports from Australia and overseas show that technology-enabled cheating is moving well beyond students copying from the internet or using ChatGPT to draft an essay. At the University of Sydney, Honi Soit (the University of Sydney student magazine) reported that ten subjects had been affected by leaked exam materials, with the issue first surfacing in ‘Introductory Microeconomics’ and then extending to mathematics, data science, business, biology, computer science, chemistry, engineering, economics and information systems. Students reported that exam material appeared on Chinese social media platforms and that part of an exam may have been filmed or live-streamed. For VET educators, the key issue is obviously not the university setting where these problems occured, but the fact that assessments can now be captured, shared and even monetised almost instantly by students.
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Introducing TLRG – Conference Platinum…
The Learning Resources Group (TLRG) is proud to be the Platinum Sponsor of the 2026 VET National Teaching and Learning Conference.
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