Second year for national government funding of VET report

Media release

4 December 2019

In 2018, Government funding provided through vocational education and training (VET) appropriations and VET intergovernmental funding arrangements totalled $6.1bn, down 2.1% on 2017, according to new data released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

In addition, the Australian Government provided VET Student Loans and VET FEE-HELP loans to the value of $297.3m (down 40.8%) and Trade Support Loans to the value of $212.2m, up 13.9% on 2017.

The report Government funding of VET 2018 provides insight into the flow of funding in the public VET sector, including what activities were funded and how funding is distributed to training providers.

“The National VET Funding Collection comprises all funding provided by state, territory and Australian government VET portfolios to stimulate or support training places and outcomes,” said Simon Walker, Managing Director, NCVER.

“It is designed to provide us with a more complete picture of how government funding flows through the sector.”

In 2018, VET funds distributed totalled $6.1bn, similar to 2017, including $4.7bn for VET delivery (similar to 2017), $600.3m for employer assistance (down 2.7%), $122.7m for student assistance (up 64.2%), and $682.5m on system administration, governance and capital investment (down 2.2%).

In terms of support for training, public providers received $3.4bn and private providers $1.0bn to deliver VET, with the states, territories and the Australian Government holding $9.8bn in assets to support the public VET system.

The full report Government funding of VET 2018 and support documents are now available on our Portal: www.ncver.edu.au/publications

This information is derived from the National VET Funding Collection, which was introduced in 2017 to replace the National VET Finance Collection. The scope for each collection is different and therefore data from the two collections cannot be directly compared.

The new National VET Funding Collection is being gradually phased in, with full implementation following the 2019 reporting year.

Enquiries: Helen Wildash, PR and Social Media Officer M: 0448 043 148 E: helenwildash@ncver.edu.au


About NCVER: we are the principal provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector. Our services help promote better understanding of VET and assist policy-makers, practitioners, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decisions.

This work has been produced by NCVER on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Government Department for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business.