Last year in the mid-year financial statements, the Commonwealth Government announced 365 Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) for TAFEs and other not for profit high quality non-university higher education providers. Last week brought us one step closer to seeing these CSPs in place.
With the formation of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) from 1 July 2025, under the leadership of interim Commissioner Mary O’Kane, work has begun by ATEC staff on how to award these CSPs. TDA commends the new ATEC staff (ex-Department of Education) for their willingness to collaborate with TAFE on this important piece of the tertiary education harmonisation puzzle.
Fostering TAFEs as part of the solution for higher education will help deliver the diversification of providers highlighted in the Accord. It will also address many years of inequity for students who have chosen to do higher education study at TAFE. For too long these students have been ineligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place and so have had to pay full price. Given the TAFE target audience are generally students from equity backgrounds, this has entrenched disadvantage in higher education.
TDA is very pleased to be supporting TAFE NSW, TAFE Queensland, TAFE SA and five Victorian TAFEs who are all higher education providers to apply for the 365 places available.
The focus for the TAFEs will be on high priority courses in critical Australian industries. There has never been a more important time to lift qualifications in early childhood education and care. TAFE NSW, Box Hill Institute and Melbourne Polytechnic have made that their focus. Nursing and other health disciplines continue to be critically short of highly qualified staff and TAFE Queensland, Holmesglen Institute and Chisholm Institute will be focusing here. And finally, meeting the Australian Government’s priorities for servicing defence industries is the proposal by TAFE SA.
TAFEs, with their focus on learning and teaching and strong industry connections, are well placed to deliver for all students, in particular equity students in these critical industries. It is hard to see why we have not addressed this significant gap in funding before. But it is happening now and that is a very positive step towards harmonisation.
Ahead of this week’s national productivity summit in Canberra, Jobs and Skills Australia has urged policymakers to be proactive in embracing AI, especially in the area of skills and training, in order to realise its potential.
A landmark report released by JSA says the emerging technology is too important and far reaching to be sidelined for fear of its consequences.
“Policymakers must act amid uncertainty,” it says.
“Australia must develop forward-looking policies despite the current uncertainty. We are still early in the transition, and evidence is limited.
“While some caution is reasonable, policy delays – especially in skills and training – can worsen uncertainty and miss opportunities. Policymakers need to be proactive, even if Gen AI’s potential or likely impact is not clear,” JSA says.
The Generative AI Capacity Study concludes that generative artificial intelligence is likely to augment the way that people work, rather than replace jobs through automation.
It says that Gen AI is accelerating the rate of occupational skill evolution, requiring flexible and timely updates to training packages, curricula, and delivery models across both VET and higher education.
The report includes 10 recommendations, focused on the labour market and skills system. It calls for “mobilising the entire skills system” to prioritise whole-of population digital and AI capability uplift.
Australia is entering a pivotal moment. With a projected shortfall of nearly 250,000 skilled workers across finance, technology and business occupations by 2030, our ability to meet this demand will directly impact national productivity, economic resilience, and global competitiveness. The pressure is rising, not just to fill roles, but to ensure our workforce is digitally capable, AI-literate, and prepared for continuous reinvention. And yet, this challenge is also our greatest opportunity.
This session will explore the Power of TAFE to seize the digital and AI moment to become the national engine room of productivity.
TAFE is uniquely placed to lead with agility. With deep roots in community and industry, TAFE has the structural and pedagogical foundations to deliver job-ready skills at scale.
In this TAFE Talk supported by ReadyTech, one of TDA’s valued corporate affiliates, we bring together:
Australia should move toward a national system of credit transfer and recognition of prior learning (RPL) as part of a broader effort to address skills needs and boost productivity, according to the Productivity Commission.
In its latest paper ahead of this week’s productivity roundtable, the Commission says the government should develop a national database of academic credit decisions and a model of coordinated assessments of prior learning, and possibly of credit transfers.
“Students could draw on the database to better understand possible tertiary education pathways, making decisions about the allocation of credit more transparent and providers more accountable,” the Commission says.
It suggests that the proposed database could commence with credit transfer decisions, before including credit granted from different types of learning, such as microcredentials, informal learning or work experience, including international work experience.
“The Australian Tertiary Education Commission, as steward of the tertiary education system, should play a role in establishing the database and enforcing consistent and accurate data collection from providers,” the report says.
The Commission also calls for the removal of excessive occupational entry regulations, especially those that exist in some jurisdictions, but not in others.
To start with, it identifies motor vehicle repairers in NSW and ACT, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics in NSW, hairdressers in NSW and South Australia, and painters and decorators in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
TDA is excited to announce that the Call for Proposals for TDA Convention 2026 is now open. TDA Convention 2026, Power of TAFE, will take place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5-7 May 2026. We warmly invite you to join TDA, our host partner TAFE Queensland, and Diamond sponsor ReadyTech to celebrate the strength, innovation and impact of TAFE in Australia’s education and training landscape.
TDA welcomes proposals from all stakeholders. If you are not from a TDA member organisation, and your proposal is accepted, then you will be eligible for the TDA member rate to attend TDA Convention 2026 in May in Brisbane next year. We encourage proposals from partners and stakeholders.
If you are from a TDA member organisation and you want to know more, the best place to start is with your TDA Convention 2026 Advisory Committee member. Don’t forget to also let your organisation’s Group Manager know when you submit.
TDA thanks members of the TDA Convention 2026 Advisory Committee who are guiding the development of the program. Advisory members are:
The VET sector has seen an increased threat from the issuing of fraudulent qualifications and “cash for quals”, according to the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).
The ASQA Corporate Plan 2025–26 says the increased risk has been linked, in certain instances, to exploitation of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathways, often driven by migration outcomes.
“These schemes not only threaten the integrity of the VET sector and confidence in the qualifications issued by providers but also have far-reaching consequences, potentially placing unqualified individuals in positions of care and responsibility in such important sectors as aged care, childcare, disability services and construction,” ASQA says.
“To protect the public and the integrity of the VET sector, ASQA will undertake an ongoing program of regulatory action against non-genuine providers, bad-faith operators and professional facilitators – as well as, where necessary, the qualifications they issued.”
ASQA says these providers differ significantly from committed providers who, despite having genuine intentions, may fall short in their capability to meet their regulatory requirements at times.
The nation’s first hydrogen vehicle training program is now underway in Victoria following the launch of a pilot program at Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence in Docklands last week.
The Minister for Skills and TAFE, Gayle Tierney, formally launched the program, which will play a key part in Australia’s clean energy transition.
Developed by Kangan Institute and Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD), the initiative upskills technicians to work safely and effectively with hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) – a fast-emerging technology in low-emissions transport.
The initiative is supported by the Victorian Government’s Skills Solutions Partnerships program.
Kangan Institute will use the funding to roll out a comprehensive clean energy skills package, including:
• Specialist hydrogen FCEV training for automotive teachers and technicians
• New nationally AUSMASA developed FCEV training units
• A safety-focused, online micro-credential course developed by eWorks for businesses interested in using hydrogen vehicles in their fleets.
• Cutting-edge hydrogen safety technology installed at Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence
Kangan Institute CEO Sally Curtain said the program brings together educators and technicians from every corner of the country to build the skills needed for a zero-emissions future.
“It’s a powerful example of what’s possible when industry and education collaborate to solve real-world challenges,” Ms Curtain said.
Image: Bendigo Kangan Institute Board Director Jamie Driscoll; BKI Deputy Board Chair Prof. Hal Swerissen; Foton Mobility Distribution CEO Neil Wang; Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney; and Bendigo Kangan Institute Chief Industry and Education Officer Janelle Arena.
The Future Skills Organisation (FSO) has launched the FSO Skills Accelerator-AI – a strategic partnership between industry and training providers to help close Australia’s AI skills gap.
Microsoft is a founding partner to the initiative, which aims to deliver scalable, inclusive, and high-impact skilling programs nationwide through the VET system.
The FSO Skills Accelerator-AI will target learners and over 30,000 VET educators and administrators, with the goal of equipping Australians with the capabilities needed to thrive in an AI-driven economy.
Launching as a 12-month pilot, it will test a scalable, sustainable model that strengthens how industry and training providers collaborate.
The Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles welcomed the initiative, saying “Australia’s future prosperity depends on our ability to equip our workforce with the skills they need for a rapidly changing world.”
The initiative also has the support of more than 30 industry and training stakeholders.
Image: Rachel Bondi, Microsoft, and Director of FSO: Patrick Kidd, CEO of FSO: and Andrew Giles, Minister for Skills and Training.
Adrienne (Ady) Viti, a proud South Sea Islander and Noongar woman, embodies the NAIDOC Week 2025 theme “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy.”
While raising two children, caring for her father, and working full-time at Rio Tinto, Ady completed the Certificate IV in Leadership and Mentoring at SM TAFE.
The culturally safe program helped her grow in confidence and formalise her natural mentoring skills. Now a Program Advisor ATAL at Rio Tinto and winner of SM TAFE’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Award, Ady supports young Indigenous people to overcome barriers and build strong futures.
Image: SM TAFE Managing Director Darshi Ganeson with Ady Viti at the SM TAFE Student Awards.
The Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance has released its 2025 Workforce Plan, ‘Pathways to Transformation’.
The plan was launched by at Swinburne University of Technology by the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles.
It identifies five transformation pillars – clean manufacturing, circular manufacturing, advanced technology, sovereign capability, and a responsive skills system – designed to strengthen the sector.
“The pillars and projects outlined in this plan are not aspirational, they are actionable, targeted, and validated by the voices of those who know the industry best,” said Sharon Robertson, CEO of Manufacturing Alliance.
Nominations are now open for the NSW Women of the Year Awards 2026, which celebrate trailblazers, changemakers, quiet achievers and role models from every walk of life.
Nominations are open in the following categories:
Nominations close on 9 September 2025. Recipients of the awards will be announced at the NSW Women of the Year Awards ceremony on Thursday 5 March 2026.
What happens when the power of generative AI meets the practical needs of TAFEs?
In this engaging webinar, Build the future of education with humans and generative AI, Professor Martin Bean unpacks how leading TAFE providers can harness this emerging technology to transform learning, streamline student services, and build a stronger sense of belonging across campuses.
Drawing on real-world insights and sector-wide shifts, Martin explores the opportunity for TAFEs to go beyond automation, leveraging AI to empower staff, personalise learning pathways, and drive measurable impact for learners and institutions alike.
Future Skills Organisation – A new report, ‘Developing the Tech Workforce: Unlocking the Potential of Earn While You Learn’
BSB Training Package Update: Safe and Respectful Workforces Unit of Competency project to update BSB30719 Certificate III in Work Health and Safety with a new, elective UOC. See the project page
AUSMASA – 2025 Workforce Plan – Evolving Together
VET Workforce Blueprint National Consultations
Darwin Hilton Garden Inn – 20 August; Adelaide Rydges South Park – 16 September; Perth Duxton Hotel – 18 September; Melbourne RACV – 7 October; Brisbane Rydges South Bank – 9 October; Hobart Rydges – 19 November Register now
Open Consultations
First draft training products, Automotive Tyre Servicing Technology: Automotive Tyre Servicing Technology Project – Provide your feedback here
Updated qualification feedback, Superseded Units Review – Superseded Units Review Project – Provide your feedback here
Industry Skills Australia (ISA) is hosting a national series of dedicated roundtables for Transport Supply Chain Industries and RTO stakeholders.
Darwin: Darwin Industry and RTO Roundtable – Transport Supply Chain Industries Tickets, Wed, Aug 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM | Eventbrite
Canberra: Industry Roundtables Canberra Industry Roundtable – Transport Supply Chain Industries Tickets, Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM | Eventbrite
RTO Roundtables Canberra RTO Roundtable – Transport Supply Chain Industries Tickets, Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
National Skills Week
‘Explore All the Options’
25-31 August 2025
More information
TAFETalks: Seizing the Moment: The Power of TAFE to Lead Australia’s Digital and AI Opportunity
27 August 2025, 2.00-3.00PM AEST
Register here
MyeQuals Connect
2 September 2025
Venue: Rydges Latimer Christchurch
Register here
25% discount code: TDAMyeQuals
Impact ATEM 2025
Association for Tertiary Education Management annual conference
7-10 September 2025
Australian National University, Canberra.
More information
TAFETalks: Build the future of education with humans and GenAI
29 October 2025 14:00 Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Register here
Velg Training National VET Conference
30-31 October 2025
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
More information
Association of Colleges Annual Conference
18-19 November 2025
Birmingham, England
More information (contact TDA memberservices@tda.edu.au)
11th Annual Conference on VET Teaching and VET Teacher Education
Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group
‘VET teaching in the tertiary education sector: New horizons and possibilities’
11-12 December 2025
Canberra
More information
TDA Convention 2026
5-7 May 2026
Brisbane
Call for proposals now open!
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48th WorldSkills International Competition Shanghai
22-27 September 2026
More information
2026 WFCP World Congress
23-28 November 2026
Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya
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