Report on Government Services 2025

The VET system provides training for entry level jobs through to highly technical occupations, but also provides training for non-employment related reasons. Nationally in 2023, the main reason qualification completers participated in VET was for:

• employment related reasons (75.1% in total VET and 76.1% in government-funded VET)¹
• personal development (13.2% in total VET and 12.0% in government-funded VET)
• pathways to further study (11.7% in total VET and 11.9% in government-funded VET) (NCVER 2023).

To achieve these aims, a student may choose to complete a single subject/unit of competency, module, skill set or VET qualification. VET qualifications range from Certificate I level to Graduate Diploma level, as determined by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

1. Total VET refers to nationally recognised vocational education and training activity delivered by Australian registered training organisations (RTOs) to students who undertook nationally recognised VET on a government funded or fee-for-service basis. All data for non-nationally recognised training and delivery from non-registered training providers has been excluded from reporting of total VET activity in this report. Locate Footnote 1 above

VET is an area of shared responsibility between interlinked government, industry and individual stakeholders (figure 5.1).

Federal governance arrangements

For the reporting period 2023-24, government roles and responsibilities were outlined in the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development and the National Skills Agreement , and are summarised below:

• The Australian Government provides financial support to state and territory governments to sustain national training systems and provides specific incentives, interventions and assistance for national priority areas.
• State and territory governments manage VET delivery within their jurisdiction (including the effective operation of the training market).
• The Australian Government and state and territory governments work together to progress and implement national policy priorities. Up to May 2020, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Industry and Skills Council had responsibility for skills development and national training arrangements. In May 2020, COAG was replaced by a new National Federal Reform Council (NFRC) centred around the National Cabinet. In June 2020, National Cabinet announced the formation of six National Cabinet Reform Committees, including the Skills National Cabinet Reform Committee (Skills Committee).
• In late 2022, following a Review of Ministerial Councils conducted by First Secretaries, National Cabinet renamed the Committee the Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council, acknowledging the strong linkages between skills and workforce policy matters.

The Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council was established to provide a forum for national cooperation and stewardship across the VET system. The scope of the Council includes strategic policy planning, performance evaluation, cross-sectoral alignment and the interaction between VET and broader workforce issues.

As of 2025, there are two active agreements between the Australian Government and state and territory governments relating to Skills and Workforce Development. The first is the Fee-Free Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Skills Agreement, which runs until mid-2027 and delivers fee-free places at TAFE institutes in agreed qualification areas for priority equity groups. The second is the five-year National Skills Agreement that commenced on 1 January 2024 and delivers on the nationally shared vision and principles for the VET sector.

Industry engagement arrangements

JSCs are not-for-profit companies owned and led by industry with a strategic leadership role to identify, forecast and respond to the current and emerging skills needs and workforce challenges. There are ten JSCs encompassing all industry sectors that form a national network to strengthen tripartite leadership in the VET system, bringing all parties to the table to find solutions to skills and workforce challenges. Employer organisations and unions work together on JSCs governance (board composition, membership structures) and operational arrangements (strategic taskforces, sub-committees and technical committees).

JSCs have four core functions:

• Workforce planning – creating a consistent, strategic approach to addressing skill gaps in their industry sector
• Training product development – developing training products in line with standards set by Skills Ministers to improve quality, responsiveness and speed to market
• Implementation, promotion and monitoring – partnering with RTOs to align workforce planning and training products with career advice and training delivery
• Industry stewardship – providing intelligence on workforce issues affecting industry and advice on national VET system policies.

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations undertakes compliance assessments of training packages developed by JSCs against the standards set by Skills Ministers.

Regulation of VET

ASQA is the national regulator for VET. ASQA accredits courses and regulates RTOs to ensure the nationally approved Standards for RTOs 2015 (the Standards) are met. ASQA has jurisdiction over all RTOs, except for those that are regulated by the Victorian and Western Australian state regulators. Nationally, ASQA regulated 3,938 RTOs as at 30 June 2024 (ASQA 2024).

As at 30 June 2024, VRQA regulated 127 RTOs delivering training to domestic students in Victoria only or in Victoria and Western Australia (VRQA unpublished). The TAC regulates 167 RTOs delivering training to domestic students in Western Australia and Victoria (TAC unpublished). VRQA and TAC use the Standards as a baseline for regulating RTOs, but also measure provider compliance against other regulatory frameworks, for example the VRQA Guidelines for VET or Western Australia's Vocational Education and Training Act 1996.

Registered Training Organisations

RTOs are those training providers registered by ASQA, VRQA or TAC to deliver VET services, including:

• government VET providers – such as TAFE institutes, agricultural colleges and multi-sector education institutions
• community education providers – such as adult and community education providers
• other registered providers – such as private training businesses, industry and community bodies with an RTO arm, employers that have RTO status to train their own staff, Group Training Organisations (GTOs) or Apprenticeship Network Providers that also deliver VET services.

Nationally recognised training

Nationally recognised training leads to vocational qualifications and credentials that are recognised across Australia. It consists of the following components:

• Training packages specify the knowledge and skills (known as competencies) required by individuals to perform effectively in the workplace. Training packages detail how units of competency can be packaged into nationally recognised qualifications that align to the AQF.
• Accredited qualifications refer to nationally recognised courses that lead to a qualification outcome not specified in a national training package.
• Accredited courses have been assessed by a VET regulator as compliant with the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021.
• Training package skill sets are defined as single units of competency, or combinations of units of competency from an endorsed training package, which link to a licensing or regulatory requirement, or a defined industry need.
• Units of competency and accredited modules define the skills and knowledge to operate effectively in a workplace context. They are the smallest study components that can be assessed and recognised. Where a student enrols in a unit or module not part of one of the categories above, they are reported as ‘subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program’.

All nationally recognised training is listed on the National Training Register and only RTOs can deliver nationally recognised training and issue nationally recognised qualifications or statements of attainment on the full or partial completion of training. Apprenticeships or traineeships combine employment and competency-based training, including both formal nationally recognised training and on-the-job training.

Figure 5.2 outlines the major funding flows within the VET system.

Government recurrent expenditure

The 2025 RoGS uses a different scope and treatment of VET expenditure data compared to previous editions of the RoGS. In this report, government recurrent expenditure refers to Australian Government and state and territory government expenditure that is directly related to the provision of VET services and delivered to the community by, or on behalf of, the government. This includes:

• VET delivery funding – funding provided to RTOs that directly delivers a training outcome. This includes funding for subsidised training and further subsidies targeted at supporting access and recognising additional delivery costs.
• System administration and governance – funding of costs associated with supporting the state/territory and national VET system.

Nationally in 2023, total government real recurrent expenditure, including user cost of capital was $8.1 billion – an increase from $7.7 billion in 2022 (figure 5.3).

Total government real recurrent expenditure per person aged 15–64 years, excluding user cost of capital, was $405 in 2023 (table 5A.2).

Total government funding of VET

There are several funding flows within the VET system outside the scope of RoGS government recurrent expenditure (see figure 5.2).

The Australian Government provides funding to state and territory governments through payments under Federation Funding Agreements. Nationally in 2023, the Australian Government provided around $2.1 billion to state and territory governments, with the majority provided through ongoing specific purpose payments ($1.6 billion) and the remainder from National Partnership Agreement funding ($476.1 million) (table 5A.3). This funding flow indirectly contributes to state and territory government real recurrent expenditure on VET services.

Government recurrent funding captures the funds provided by each jurisdiction to cover their training portfolio costs and relevant VET programs. Along with VET delivery funding and system administration and governance, this includes:

• Employer assistance – funding that incentivises and supports employers to engage in VET, including subsidies, incentives, grants and other payments, and tax exemptions
• Student assistance – funding that supports students with non-tuition costs associated with undertaking VET, including loans and grants or subsidies.

Nationally in 2023, government recurrent funding totalled $8.3 billion – a decrease from $8.8 billion in 2022 (table 5A.3). Total government appropriations and real recurrent program funding for VET, inclusive of Australian Government transfers to the states and territories, totalled $10.4 billion in 2023 – down from $11.2 billion in 2022.

Allocation of funding

Nationally in 2023, $3.7 billion of VET funding was allocated through a competitive basis – an increase from $3.4 billion in 2022 (table 5A.4). The mechanisms for contestable allocation of funds include open competitive tendering, limited competitive tendering and eligible grants, user choice and entitlement funding (refer to ‘Explanatory material’ tab for definitions).

Government VET delivery funding is provided to a mixture of government RTOs (including TAFEs), private RTOs, other RTOs and community education providers. Nationally in 2023, government VET delivery funding paid to non-TAFE providers totalled nearly $1.5 billion – around 24% of total VET delivery funding and a 3.6% real increase from 2022 (table 5A.5).

Students

Nationally in 2023, over 5 million students were enrolled in VET (total VET students) (figure 5.4). Around 2.1 million students were enrolled in qualifications, with the largest number of these students enrolled in Certificate level III or IV qualifications (over 1.4 million), followed by Certificate level I or II (436,300), and Diploma or above (393,000) qualifications. Other students were enrolled in subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program (almost 3.5 million) and in training package skill sets and accredited courses (227,100).

Nationally in 2023, over 1.2 million students were enrolled in government-funded VET (figure 5.4). Almost 1.1 million students were enrolled in government-funded qualifications, with the largest number of these students enrolled in Certificate level III or IV qualifications (802,000), followed by Certificate level I or II (192,400) and Diploma or above (142,500) qualifications. Other students were enrolled in other forms of government-funded nationally recognised and non-nationally recognised training.

Data on participation in total and government-funded VET by people aged 15–64 years in selected equity groups is available in tables 5A.8–9. Population data for all people and selected equity groups aged 15–64 years used to calculate rates is available in table 5A.10.

Training providers

Nationally in 2023, there were 3,607 registered VET training organisations delivering nationally recognised training in Australia (table 5A.11), of which 1,285 delivered nationally recognised government-funded VET through state and territory training departments (NCVER, unpublished). There were 1,481 VET providers delivering government-funded nationally recognised, locally developed and non-nationally recognised training, at 34,879 locations in Australia (table 5A.12).