What funding is available?

To be eligible for Skills First funding, a student must be: 

• an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen  
• physically present in Victoria when they’re doing training and assessment
• have not already commenced two Skills First subsidised qualifications in 2023
• not already be studying two other Skills First subsidised qualifications at the same time
• be aged 17 years or older. (If you are aged under 17 and wish to enrol for this course, please speak to us about the requirements for an ‘exemption from schooling’ which will enable you to access this funding).

Yes, asylum seekers may be eligible for Skills First funding through the Asylum Seeker VET Program. If an asylum seeker has a certain type of visa, they  don’t have to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident to access Skills First.

Yes, the amount of Skills First training students can do is limited. This encourages them to think carefully about what program is best for them and choose something they’re more likely to complete. A student can’t: 

• start more than 2 Skills First-subsidised skill sets in a year (the ‘2 skill sets in a year’ rule) 
• start more than 2 Skills First-subsidised AQF qualifications in a year (the ‘2 AQF qualifications in a year’ rule) 
• do more than 2 Skills First-subsidised programs at the same time (the ‘2 at a time’ rule) 

Yes, Skills First includes the following support for students who identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent:

• an increase of 50% to the subsidy paid to training providers (the ‘indigenous loading’)  
• an entitlement to be charged a concession fee, even if the student doesn’t have a concession card and for training at any level. 

Additionally, TAFEs receive funding for the Koorie Education Programs initiative. This funding is to develop and deliver an implementation plan to meet the objectives of the Wurreker Strategy – a strategy that aims to improve education and training delivery for Koorie students.

Yes. The following students are excluded from being eligible for Skills First funding:  

• students enrolled in a school (except if they’re undertaking a School-Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship) 
• prisoners held in a prison 
• persons detained under the Mental Health Act 
• persons detained in youth justice facilities. 

This is because there are other sources of government funding to support their training. 

Yes, a student under 17 can enrol in Skills First training, but only if they have been given an exemption from school attendance to attend training.  Students under 17 who are still enrolled in school and doing a Skills First-funded SBAT don’t need an exemption. 

Under Skills First, students can get a concession on their tuition fees for training at a Certificate IV level or below if they hold a current and valid:

• Health Care Card issued by the Commonwealth

• Pensioner Concession Card

• Veteran’s Gold Card.

A student is also entitled to the concession if they are the dependent spouse or dependent child of a card holder.

Some students can get a concession on their tuition fees even if they don’t hold one of the accepted types of concession card. These are:

• students who self-identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, for training at any level

• students referred to training under the Asylum Seeker VET Program for training at Certificate IV level or below.

To be eligible for Busy At Work Funding, a student must be:

• aged 40 or over
• an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• employed and at risk of becoming unemployed and entering the income support system, or
• recently unemployed (within 12 months) and not referred to or registered with a Commonwealth funded employment services provider (e.g. Workforce Australia, Disability Employment Services, New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, Community Development Program).