Fee Free TAFE and vocational education

Fee Free TAFE and vocational education places will create more opportunities for South Australians to access new and higher-level skills in priority areas.

We’re planning for the workforce of the future and need skilled and trained people to meet jobs needs in growth industries, emerging sectors and industries currently facing skills shortages.

The right training has never been more important and now it’s even more accessible and affordable with additional support for people in priority groups.

A joint initiative of the Australian and South Australian Governments, Fee Free TAFE and vocational education is making 12,500 training places available for students to train, retrain or upskill with no tuition fee at TAFE and through selected non-government vocational education and training (VET) providers to:

• attain the right skills to build a skilled career
• unlock opportunities to work in growing and in-demand areas of our economy.

Fee Free TAFE and vocational education places will support industries facing skills shortages and jobs of the future.

Courses, including foundation skills courses, will be available to study in 2023 through TAFE SA and selected non-government training organisations and will focus on priority areas including:

• Care industries such as aged and disability care, health care and childcare
• Technology and digital
• Hospitality and tourism
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Defence and manufacturing
• Creative Industries
• Education

The Fee Free TAFE and Vocational Education course list is now available. Information about private training providers will be updated to the list shortly.

Fee Free training places are a boost to already available government subsidised training courses. To explore subsidised training courses, see Search for a course.

For more information and to apply for a Fee Free TAFE course, see TAFE SA.

Priority learners for Fee Free TAFE and vocational education include:

• First Nations people
• LGBTIQ+ community
• Veterans
• Young people (17-24) who are not at school
• People out of work or receiving income support
• Unpaid carers
• Women facing economic insecurity
• Women undertaking study in non-traditional fields
• People with disability
• People who are eligible for certain visa sub classes.

You may be eligible for Fee Free training if you live or work in South Australia, and you are:

• an Australian or New Zealand citizen
• a permanent Australian resident, or
• an eligible VISA holder (see eligible visas here)

and are:

• 16 years or over and not enrolled at school.

Fee Free places are for eligible students enrolling in and commencing a new course in 2023, subject to funding availability. The cost of a course will remain free for the duration of the course.