National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform

The National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform was a time-limited agreement with state and territory governments, which expired on 30 June 2017. The Government established the Skilling Australians Fund.

Review of the National Partnerships on Skills Reform

The Review of the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform was undertaken in late 2015, in accordance with section 54 of the national partnership. The review assessed progress of the VET structural reforms and training outcomes agreed to under the national partnership and makes recommendations that could inform future Commonwealth–State agreements.

Review of the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform report

Transparency - better information about your training options

My Skills

My Skills is a website that enables students and employers to find out about their training options. My Skills connects students and employers with almost 5000 training providers, information about the courses they deliver and campus details and services offered.

Unique Student Identifier

From 1 January 2015, a student will need to have a valid Unique Student Identifier (USI) before a training organisation can issue a qualification or statement of attainment.

Visit the Unique Student Identifier website for more information.

Improving the collection of training system information

To increase transparency of the training system, the Australian Government is working with states and territories to improve ways of capturing training activity from all training providers.

All training providers will have to report on publicly funded and privately funded training to develop a comprehensive data collection that increases our understanding of the complete training market.

This will give students and employers added confidence in VET training as a clearer picture of the VET sector will support the information available through the Unique Student Identifier and the My Skills websites. It will also enable governments to make informed decisions on how best to manage the national training system.

Quality - high quality training

Employers also need to feel confident that when they hire someone with a qualification, that person has the minimum set of skills to do the job. As one of the aims of the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform, the Australian Government is ensuring better value for money for your training through the following reforms:

These reforms will also support the work of the national VET regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority. The authority ensures that all VET providers follow a national set of standards for delivering training, guaranteeing that a high level of quality training can be accessed no matter where in Australia.

Quality checks for training providers

States and territories will be applying rigorous quality checks to ensure only high quality training providers are able to access government training subsidies. This will support the introduction of the National Training Entitlement and the expansion of income contingent loans under VET-FEE HELP.

The criteria for accessing public subsidy funding will differ in each state to suit local needs and circumstances. For further information on the quality checks that will be undertaken in each state, go to your state or territory training department

Validation of training provider assessments

Pilot projects will be conducted by states and territories to independently validate the qualification assessments undertaken by training providers. This will ensure high quality training is delivered to students.

Efficiency - a more flexible and responsive training system

The Australian Government is making significant investments in the national training system. However, better targeting of funding is necessary to ensure the national training system is efficient and responsive to meet the needs of students, employers and industry. As one of the aims of the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform, the Australian Government will improve the efficiency of the training system.

Strengthening the public provider

The Australian Government is working with states and territories on strategies to support and strengthen public providers of VET training.

Public providers (government-owned providers such as TAFE Institutes) have a strong history of delivering training to meet the skills needs of industry. Public providers also provide support services to disadvantaged students and regional and remote areas where these services may otherwise be unavailable.

Maintaining a strong public provider network is essential to underpin the national partnership reforms and ensure that Australia has a high quality training system, available to all.

Find out more about these strategies in each state’s Implementation Plan for skills reform on the Federal Financial Relations page.

Access - more affordable training

National Training Entitlement

The National Training Entitlement enables all working age Australians without a Certificate III or higher qualification to access a government subsidised training place.

At a minimum, all working age Australians will have the right to access, their first Certificate III qualification and Certificate I or II qualifications, or foundation skills training such as language, literacy and numeracy training, if these courses form part of the Certificate III qualification.

The National Training Entitlement varies across states to suit local needs and circumstances.

Eligibility for access to the National Training Entitlement

To be eligible for the National Training Entitlement students will need to meet their selected course entry and eligibility requirements, and to check that there are places available at the time they wish to enrol.

All private or public registered training organisations will also need to meet their relevant state-based criteria if they wish to offer places under the National Training Entitlement.

• New South Wales Smart and Skilled
• Victorian Training Guarantee
• Queensland Certificate III Guarantee
• Northern Territory National Entitlement
• Tasmanian Skills for Work
• Australian Capital Territory Skilled Capital.

Resources

The following online resources provide additional, relevant information on the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

• VET Student Loans – a student loan scheme for VET students, you can access information for students and information for VET providers

• My Skills website, which provides information on training providers, courses, campuses facilities and services.

• The Unique Student Identifier scheme will provide accurate, accessible student records in one place.

• Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations which oversees the overarching framework for Commonwealth-state financial relations, including all national partnerships. The National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform is available on the Department website. You can also access the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform and the state Implementation Plans for it on the council’s website.

• State and territory government training departments’ websites also provide information on VET courses, providers and financial support.

Contact us

For enquiries, call the department on 1300 566 046.