Enrolment in a government funded place may impact on your ability to access future government funding.
JobTrainer
The Victorian Government has partnered with the Commonwealth Government to create a JobTrainer Fund. This will provide additional funding to increase access to training for Victorians who have been most impacted by COVID – 19.If you are aged between 17-24 or a job seeker you may be eligible to benefit from free or low fee training places.
- A current and valid Commonwealth Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran’s Gold Card
- A separation certificate from your employer
- A letter from their employer or company receiver stating that you have been made redundant or will be retrenched.
FAQ's about Government funding - Answers provided by the Victorian Department of Education and Training
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 (unless they’re temporarily overseas or interstate for an industry or practical placement, in which case they can do 50% of their total scheduled hours online).
A student under 20 years of age can enrol in training at any level.
A student 20 years of age or older must also enrol in a program that will result in upskilling – meaning they must enrol at a higher AQF level than the highest qualification they already hold. But this doesn’t apply if they are doing:
- Foundation Skills programs (unless they hold a Diploma or above qualification, or are in the Commonwealth ‘Skills for Education and Employment’ program’)
- an Apprenticeship
- training in the VCE/VCAL (intermediate or senior)
- a skill set.
There are also limits on the amount of subsidised training that a student can do (regardless of their age).
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.
Upskilling is a general principle under Skills First that students should enrol in a program that is at a higher AQF level than what they already hold, to progressively increase their skill level.
The upskilling requirement doesn’t apply to students under 20.
It also doesn’t apply if a student who is 20 years of age or older is doing an apprenticeship, Foundation Skills, VCE/VCAL (intermediate or senior) or a skill set.
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)
- start more than 2 government-subsidised qualifications at the same AQF level in their lifetime (the ‘2 at level in a lifetime’ rule). Some previous study is not counted when determining whether a student has reached these limits. Details are included in the Guidelines About Eligibility.
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.
Students can also get a concession if they are eligible to participate in the JobTrainer program.
Read the Fact sheet: Understanding the new JobTrainer arrangements for more information.