What Students Need to Know About Fee-Free TAFE Courses for 2023

In news that should please anyone considering heading to TAFE this year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that a fee-free TAFE initiative is a go as of January 2023.

There are 180,000 fee-free TAFE places available to be snapped up throughout 2023, so if you’re interested in taking advantage, here’s what you need to know.

Tell me more about fee-free TAFE in 2023

Taking to Twitter on December 31, 2022, Albanese shared the following:

“If studying for the job you want at TAFE next year is your New Years resolution, I’ve got good news: We’re making 180,000 TAFE courses fee-free next year.”

If studying for the job you want at TAFE next year is your New Years resolution, I’ve got good news:

We’re making 180,000 TAFE courses fee-free next year.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 31, 2022

Announced as part of the National Skills Agreement in 2022, the fee-free TAFE initiative has been introduced with the intention of addressing skills shortages across Australia.

In October 2022, the Albanese government announced it was committing to delivering “480,000 fee-free TAFE and vocational education places” in total, with the first 180,000 places rolling out in 2023.

According to the government, positions will be offered in “critical skill shortage areas“.

Those include:

• Care, including aged care, early education and care, health care, disability care
• Technology and Increasing digital skills
• Hospitality and tourism
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Increasing our sovereign capability in areas like manufacturing, and Defence

Education Minister Jason Clare gave a statement on the announcement, sharing that, “This means more teachers, nurses and engineers and it means more Australians from poor families and rural and remote Australia doing these jobs. That’s life-changing.”

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor added at the time that:

“After a decade of inaction by the previous Government, Labor is wasting no time to address the skills shortages the country faces. These fee-free training places will provide Australians opportunities to get trained for the jobs in demand now and in the future and deliver to business the skilled workers they need.”

As SBS reports, specific details from all states and territories are yet to be announced, but we’ll be sure to give you an update as soon as we have more details.

For now, we know that TAFE NSW has shared that eligible TAFE students enrolling from December 1, 2022 (and later) who begin their course between January 1, 2023, and December 31 2023, can apply for fee-free training places.

To be eligible in NSW, you must

• Live or work in New South Wales.
• Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent Australian resident or a humanitarian visa holder.
• Be aged 15 years or over, and not enrolled at any school.

And people from the following groups are strongly encouraged to apply:

• First Nations people
• LGBTIQ+ community
• Veterans
• Job seekers
• Young people
• Unpaid carers
• Women interested in non-traditional fields
• People living with a disability
• People who are eligible for certain visa sub classes
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Eligible students from Canberra will also be able to apply for fee-free courses at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) in 2023, with approximately 840 spots available in hospitality and tourism, technology, construction and more.

To be eligible for fee-free TAFE courses in the ACT, you must

• be at least 17 years of age, not enrolled at school or another program leading to the completion of year 12
• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent Australian resident or an eligible VISA holder, and
• live or work in the ACT.

You must also be included in one of the following groups:

• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples
• people with a disability
• young people aged 17-24 years (who are not enrolled at school and have completed Year 12)
• unemployed, underemployed or a jobseeker
• unpaid carers
• women experiencing financial hardship
• women enrolling in the Certificate II in Construction Pathways (CPC20220) or the Certificate II Electronics (UEE21920)
• any person enrolling into a care sector course

To be eligible in Victoria, the following applies

• Any Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or New Zealand citizen is eligible to do one Free TAFE for priority course in Victoria.
• Students can only access one Free TAFE course in their lifetime, except in the following circumstances:
  Students who have completed a pathway course under Free TAFE can do another Free TAFE course in the same pathway
  Students who have already accessed Free TAFE, including for a non-pathway course, can do another Free TAFE course if they hold a qualification that is part of a Free TAFE pathway and are continuing in the same pathway. It does not matter if their previous qualification was completed by government-subsidised or fee-for-service training.
  Students whose only Free TAFE fee waiver was under JobTrainer can do another Free TAFE course, either in a pathway program, or in one additional non-pathway program.

In Victoria, fee-free TAFE courses include:

• Diploma of Auslan
• Diploma of Interpreting (Auslan)
• Advanced Diploma of Interpreting (Auslan)
• Certificate III in Production Horticulture
• Diploma of Emergency Health Care
• Graduate Certificate in Client Assessment and Case Management
• Agricultural Chemical Skill Set
• Hybrid Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set
• Battery Electric Vehicle Diagnose and Repair Skill Set
• Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set
• Mental Health Co-existing Needs Skill Set
• Mental Health Peer Work Skill Set

To learn more about fee-free TAFE courses in Victoria, you can read more here.

To be eligible for fee-free TAFE courses in Western Australia, you must

As of January 1, 2023, Job Ready skill sets are fully fee-free in WA and course fees for other selected qualifications will be subsidised, too. Per the Jobs and Skills WA website, the following conditions apply for fee-free study.

• To be eligible for free training, reduced-fee qualifications or a subsidised training place; you must have left school*, have your primary place of residence in Western Australia, and are either:
• an Australian citizen; or
  a permanent visa holder or holder of visa subclass 309, 444, 449, 785, 786, 790, or 820; or
  a dependent or spouse of the primary holder of a visa subclass 457 or 482**; or
  a bridging visa holder who has made a valid application for a visa subclass 866; or
  a bridging visa E holder (subclasses 050 and 051) who has made a valid application for a visa subclass 785 or 790.
  *In 2023, Year 12 school students who are leaving school can access a subsidised training place from 23 October 2023.
  **From 1 January 2023, the spouses and dependants of primary 457 or 482 visa holders will be also able to access subsidised training in WA. These skilled migrant families will be further supported by waiving public school fees for their children during 2023.
• First Nations people, young people, people out of work or receiving income support, unpaid carers, people with disability, and women facing economic insecurity are particularly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity for fee-free training.
• Please note that existing worker trainees are not eligible for the fee-free arrangements.

To be eligible in Tasmania, the following conditions apply

Tasmania has also released a range of fee-free courses across hospitality, IT, health and agriculture (among others). The eligibility requirements, per the Tasmania TAFE website, are:

• a resident of Tasmania or working in Tasmania
  an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible VISA holder, and
  of working age.
  Applicants must also meet any specific entry requirements for individual courses.
• First Nations Australians, young people (17-24), people out of work or receiving income support, unpaid carers, women facing economic insecurity, women undertaking study in non-traditional fields and people with a disability are encouraged to apply.

To be eligible for fee-free TAFE courses in South Australia, you must

South Australia shared that over 100 qualification options are going fee-free in 2023. Everyone is welcome to apply, but the following groups are strongly encouraged to take part.

• First Nations people
• LGBTIQ+ community
• Veterans
• Job seekers
• Young people
• Unpaid carers
• Women interested in non-traditional fields
• People living with a disability
• People who are eligible for certain visa subclasses

To be eligible in Queensland, you must

Moving over to Queensland, TAFE has shared that it is offering fee-free courses in areas including: Business and IT, Creative industries, Education and community, Environment and animal services, Health and science, Infrastructure and transport and Service industries.

To be eligible, you need to be:

• an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident (including humanitarian entrants), or a temporary resident with the necessary visa and work permits on the pathway to permanent residency
• a Queensland resident
• no longer at school
• not currently enrolled in training

We’re still waiting for NT to share its offerings regarding fee-free TAFE, so will update you once we have more there.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.