The Federal Labor Government will introduce legislation to establish Fee-Free TAFE as an enduring feature of the national vocational education and training system, funding 100,000 Fee-Free TAFE places a year from 2027. 
 
This builds on the Federal Labor Government partnership with states and territories to deliver 180,000 Fee-Free TAFE places in 2023; 300,000 places over three years from 2024; and agreements being finalised for a further 20,000 construction and housing Fee-Free places.

Fee-Free TAFE started in January 2023 to 30 June 2024 and has exceeded all expectations – with more than 508,000 enrolments in courses in priority areas, including:

• 131,000 in care – including disability and aged care
• 48,900 in digital and tech
• 35,000 in construction
• 35,500 in early childhood education and care

Fee-Free TAFE is particularly benefitting Australians from priority cohorts, with 170,000 young Australians, 124,000 job seekers and 30,000 First Nations Australians enrolling in the program.
 
Of all places, six in 10 have been taken up by women, and one in three in regional and remote Australia.
 
Legislating enduring funding for Fee-Free TAFE builds on the Government’s strong record on skills and training, including:

• A landmark $30 billion five-year National Skills Agreement with all states and territories.
• Putting TAFE at the heart of the Vocational Education and Training sector with states and territories, growing our investment in Fee-Free TAFE and continuing to build a national network of TAFE Centres of Excellence.
• Investing an additional $870 million per financial year between 2022-23 and 2025-26, compared to expenditure committed to by the previous Government in the March 2022-23 Budget. 

 
Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles:
 
“As I travel around the country, at every TAFE I visit, I meet students that tell me what a life changer Fee-Free TAFE has been for them. After a decade of neglect under the Liberals the Federal Labor Government is committed to rebuilding the vocational education and training sector.

“Fee Free TAFE continues to be an enormous success helping Australians to get ahead while easing cost of living pressures. More than half a million Australians are gaining skills and the opportunity to work in meaningful jobs that give back to their community.

“We want all Australians to have access to our world-class tertiary education sectors.”

Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid MP:

“Fee Free TAFE is proving to be an incredibly successful policy that only a Federal Labor Government would deliver.

“As a government we are committed to removing the barriers to education, particularly in critical areas of the economy experiencing skills shortages.

“We want to be training more construction workers, nurses, and educators”, Dr Reid said.

Additional background information:

From 1 January 2023 to 30 June this year, there were over:

• 317,404 enrolments by women
• 170,470 by people aged 24 and under
• 124,312 by job seekers
• 110,969 by people who speak a language other than English at home
• 30,041 by First Nations people.

Students from regional and remote areas comprise almost 35 per cent of total enrolments.

ENDS