Millions saved on TAFE fees but student results suspended
SA students are saving millions through fee-free TAFE but some teachers are not celebrating.
South Australians have saved $85 million in training costs over three years under fee-free TAFE courses, Education Minister Lucy Hood announced this morning.
But some TAFE employees are pushing ahead with industrial action, including refusing to enter student assessment results into the TAFE system, saying they need pay rises to cope with cost of living pressures.
Latest data showed that more than 34,000 students have enrolled in fee-free places at TAFE SA and non-government Registered Training Organisations since the initiative was introduced in 2023, with many studying in “priority areas” in construction, defence and early childhood.
Government-supplied data shows a 52 per cent completion rate for students who started a fee-free TAFE course in 2023 at Certificate III level or below, which is 10 per cent above completion rates for these programs prior to the fee-free TAFE being rolled out.
According to the government, about 75 per cent of all TAFE SA enrolments were in at least one priority group, which includes unemployed people, those on low incomes and people with disability.
“Fee-free TAFE is playing a pivotal role in developing the skilled workforce we need, opening up courses to South Australians who would have otherwise missed out. Graduates move into secure and well-paid employment, contributing to industries critical to our state’s future,” Hood said.
You might like
“The initiative unlocks opportunities for young people, individuals looking for work and people with disability, setting them up for a career in construction, early childhood or other in-demand areas.
“Our growing investment across the vocational education and training sector is helping drive up completion rates, supporting more apprentices and trainees to finish their qualification.”
Data from the 2024-25 TAFE SA annual report showed that 49,000 students were studying at the institution at 30 sites across SA, compared to 47,000 students in 2021-2022 before the fee-free initiative started.
By comparison, Adelaide University’s 2025 report showed there were 70,000 students, with the former University of Adelaide contributing more than 30,000 students and the former University of South Australia 40,000 to the number. Meanwhile, Flinders University had more than 25,000 students enrolled in the past year.
It comes as TAFE employees covered by the South Australian branch of the Construction, Electrical, Energy and Plumbing Union (CPEU) continue industrial action as they call for an interim pay rise of about 4.5 per cent outside of a longer-term pay increase.
The union has returned to mediation with the government claiming trainer wages are about 20 per cent behind where they were in 2015 in real terms.
Stay informed, daily
In the meantime, CPEU-covered TAFE staff are continuing a work ban on taking attendance for classes and putting assessment results into TAFE systems.
Among the measures put in place to improve TAFE SA retention and completion rates were extra mentors for apprentices and extra support for students with disability.
TAFE student Varsha Elango, who is 11 months into her information technology and systems administration support course, said she would not have been able to undertake study without fee-free TAFE.
“I moved here from Singapore, so, doing that, I didn’t have the funds – funds were a barrier to my education,” she said, adding that she would likely have to work two or three jobs without the initiative.
“So, when I realised TAFE was doing fee-free, I decided to hop in, and I think it has opened so many doors for me, meeting new people in the industry and also networking – I don’t think that would have been possible without fee-free TAFE.
“At the moment, with the ability and the opportunity that I’ve had, I am just able to be present with my family, just work normally – one job – and also at the same time learn, be a student, have lots of guidance and also work in the actual industry.”
Fee-free enrolments in Certificate IV in Building and Construction have doubled this year, while students starting the fee-free Certificate III in Early Childhood Education Care increased 27 per cent over the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, more than 630 students enrolled in the new Certificate II in Outside School Hours Care in 2026 – an increase of 56 per cent on last year.
In November 2022, the South Australian and federal governments announced a 12-month Skills Agreement to create 12,500 fee-free training places in the state in priority sectors such as agriculture, construction and education.
To date, $34.4 million has been invested as part of the partnership, creating 16,000 fee-free TAFE places between 2024 and 2026.
“Our data indicates that fee-free TAFE is strongly supporting economic growth and providing life-changing skills and training opportunities for priority cohorts,” TAFE SA chief executive Adam Kilvert said.
“Some of these groups traditionally face greater barriers to successful course completion, so the fact that we have been able to engage and upskill these students and are seeing improved completion outcomes is a great result.”
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
