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.
Two-thirds (66%) of Fee-Free TAFE students live in major cities and 34 percent in regional and remote locations. They also include large numbers of students from priority cohorts:
- First Nations students – 50,810
- People with disability – 71,810
- Job seekers – 200,160
- Young people (aged 24 years and younger) – 291,235
- Women – 502,265
Looking more closely at the age of Fee-Free TAFE participants and 36 percent were aged 15-24 years, a further 46 percent were between 25-44 years, and 19 percent were aged 45 years and older.
Analysis of what courses Fee-Free TAFE students were studying, shows they were mostly enrolled in Certificate III and IV courses:
- Certificate III – 297,170 students (37%)
- Certificate IV – 257,920 (32%)
- Diploma and above – 135,115 (17%)
- Certificates I and II – 45,320 (6%)
- Short courses – 78,720 (10%)
The specific courses with the highest number of Fee-Free TAFE enrolments have been:
- Certificate III in Individual Support
- Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
- Diploma of Nursing
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
- Certificate III in Information Technology
And the national priority sectors with the most Fee-Free TAFE completions were:
- Care – 75,300
- Construction – 25,705
- Technology and Digital – 18,670
- Early Childhood Education and Care – 15,390
- Hospitality and Tourism – 11,485
Finally, new analysis by Nous Group for the Victorian TAFE Association (VTA), highlights the importance of looking beyond a narrow focus on TAFE and VET completions. Using data from the NCVER, the research shows that 91 percent of TAFE learners achieved their employment goals through their studies – irrespective of whether or not they completed a full qualification.
