Apprenticeships and traineeships

Backing Apprentices, Boosting Skills initiative

$22.8 million over 2 years ($11.5 million in 2025-26) is allocated to Apprenticeships Victoria for dedicated support through the Apprenticeship Support Officer program, delivery of the Priority Apprenticeship Model and reforming the apprenticeships system in line with the recommendations in the final report of the Apprenticeship Taskforce. This initiative is partially funded from the National Skills Agreement (NSA) Australian government revenue (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 67; Media release, 20 May 2025).

Payroll tax incentives

The 2025-26 estimates of payroll tax expenditures include:

• Wages paid to re-employed apprentices and trainees: $8 million (Budget paper no. 5: Statement of finances, p. 185).
• Wages paid to new entrant apprentices and trainees employed by an approved Group Training Organisation (GTO): less than $500,000 (Budget paper no. 5: Statement of finances, p. 186).

Trade Apprenticeship Registration Discount scheme

The cost of the motor vehicle registration discount for eligible trade apprentices is estimated to be $8 million in 2025-26 (Budget paper no. 5: Statement of finances, p. 187).

Employment

Extending the Digital Jobs program

$1.9 million in 2025-26 and $2.2 million in 2026-27 is provided to extend the Digital Jobs program to offer training in digital skills that are critical for innovation and technology adoption in the construction and advanced manufacturing industries (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 8 and 10).

Unlocking potential: building a skilled workforce and inclusive employment initiatives

The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) initiatives for the Jobs output includes $5 million allocated over 2 years ($2.5 million in 2025-26) for local employment initiatives, work readiness support for young people in custody at Parkville College, and the operation of Thrive Hubs in Broadmeadows and Frankston (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 61 and 65).

Industry

Extending Skills Solutions Partnerships

$4.6 million is provided to continue the Skills Solutions Partnerships program in 2025-26. The program supports industry to partner with TAFEs and universities to design and pilot new short courses and on-the-job training to quickly address skills gaps in priority sectors (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 8 and 10).

International Education and Study Melbourne

$18.6 million is provided over 2 years ($9.3 million in 2025-26) to continue the delivery of International Education and Study Melbourne's programs and services, and to drive the long-term sustainability of Victoria's international education sector (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 61 and 67; Media release, 20 May 2025).

National Agreements

In 2025-26, the Australian government will provide estimated funding of $601 million to support skills and workforce development services in Victoria through the National Skills Agreement (NSA) and National Partnerships.

National Skills Agreement

The NSA replaced the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD) and commenced on 1 January 2024, expiring 31 December 2028. The NSA provides access to up to $3.2 billion in funding to Victoria over the 5-year term of the agreement. This includes up to $231 million in funding to Victoria for specific policy initiatives, subject to matched funding. Victoria has signed seven implementation plans for specific policy initiatives under the NSA. Finalisation of these plans may vary Victoria's revenue under the agreement in the forward estimates (Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 58).

Funding from the Australian government under the NSA is estimated at $551 million in 2025-26 (Budget paper no. 5: Statement of finances, p. 178).

National Partnerships

Funding from the Australian government for Commonwealth TAFE National Partnerships, including the funding to deliver fee-free TAFE places in agreed areas of priority, is estimated at $50 million in 2025-26 (Budget paper no. 5: Statement of finances, p. 180).

Training providers and programs

Closing the Gap for First Nations Victorians in VET

$17.6 million is allocated over 4 years ($6.8 million in 2025-26) to support the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled and First Nations owned training sector to design training models to improve vocational education and training (VET) completion rates of First Nations Victorians (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 3 and 4).

Delivering a Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence

The Economic Growth Statement output initiatives include $25 million provided over 4 years ($12.6 million in 2025-26) to deliver a Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence at Melbourne Polytechnic TAFE to train workers in modern construction technologies, such as prefabricated and modular construction (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 8 and 9). $25 million is also allocated over 4 years ($500,000 in 2025-26) under the Asset initiatives. The TAFE Centre of Excellence is partially funded from the NSA Australian government revenue (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 14).

Enabling equitable pathways reform

$27 million is provided over 4 years ($11.3 million in 2025-26) to continue the delivery of initiatives under the Senior Secondary Pathways Reform agenda, including Jobs, Skills and Pathways Coordination funding and the Victorian Pathways Certificate. Funding will also assist schools to ensure that students who leave school early are supported into alternative pathways in the labour force or further education. The funding for this initiative is linked to the Early Intervention Investment Framework, and contributes to the Department of Education's School Education Secondary output (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 15 and 19).

Living Learning: innovative support to re-engage young people

$3.7 million in 2025-26 and $3.8 million in 2026-27 is provided to continue the innovative Living Learning program that provides wrap-around services for young people including mental health, education, psychosocial and vocational support. Funding for this initiative is linked to the Early Intervention Investment Framework, and contributes to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing's Youth output (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 38 and 45).

Piloting the use of AI to support the recognition of prior learning

$3 million is allocated over 2 years ($2.6 million in 2024-25 and $400,000 in 2025-26) to pilot the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve recognition of prior learning (RPL) in partnership with the Victorian TAFE Network, led by Bendigo Kangan Institute of TAFE (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 8 and 11).

Training, Higher Education and Workforce Development funding

This output within the DJSIR includes the functions of training system design, industry engagement, contracting and monitoring of quality and training services including accredited and pre-accredited VET. It supports Victorians to gain the skills and capabilities essential for success in employment and further training or study, with the DJSIR working with the TAFE and training sector to deliver quality training that supports industry to meet the needs of the economy. The total cost for the output in 2025-26 is estimated at $2,502.7 million (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, p. 155).

Training, Higher Education and Workforce Development output NSA initiatives

Initiatives that are partially funded from the NSA Australian government revenue include:

• Boosting access to Free TAFE and training services: $171.3 million is allocated over 2 years ($26.8 million in 2025-26) to meet expected demand for eligible students to undertake government-subsided training, increase access for students to reskill in priority Free TAFE courses, and for the Asylum Seeker VET (ASVET) program, which provides eligible asylum seekers with access to subsidised training (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 68).

Initiatives that are funded from the NSA Australian government revenue include:

• Building Foundation Skills for improved education participation: $44 million is allocated over 4 years ($12.3 million in 2025-26) to improve VET student completions and employment outcomes by increasing the number of places in literacy and numeracy programs at TAFE (at least 8,000 additional places) and preaccredited digital literacy and employability skills training at Learn Local providers (9,600 more places) (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 68; Budget paper no. 2: Strategy and outlook, p. 11).
• Strengthening the TAFE and ACFE Teacher Workforce: $9.3 million is provided over 4 years ($2.7 million in 2025-26) to provide teacher scholarships and professional development opportunities for TAFE teachers and Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) teachers (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 68).
• TAFE Asset Strategy: $11 million is allocated over 3 years ($1.2 million under output initiatives with a further $2 million under asset initiatives in 2025-26) to deliver upgrades to support regional TAFE training delivery at The Gordon TAFE Geelong campus, South West TAFE Hamilton campus and Federation University TAFE in Ballarat and Mt Helen (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 69).
• TAFE Services Fund: $121 million is provided over 4 years ($50.3 million in 2025-26) to continue to support the TAFE Network to provide student inclusion and wellbeing programs, training delivery in priority markets and regions, a high-quality teaching workforce, early identification of students at risk of noncompletion, and for expanded personalised wrap-around support services (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 68).
• VET Data Streamlining: $9.5 million is allocated over 4 years ($1.6 million in 2025-26) to support the transition to new national VET data standards, including enhanced reporting measures and cyber security protections (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 62 and 68).

Yes to International Students Fund

$2 million in 2024-25 and $3 million in 2025-26 is allocated to establish a fund to support Victorian universities and TAFEs to establish global partnerships to deliver international and transnational education (Budget paper no. 3: Service delivery, pp. 8 and 13).