In a recent speech, Coalition education spokesperson Sarah Henderson told a room of voters the Labor government’s free TAFE policy “isn’t working”.

“The free TAFE policy isn’t working. I'm sorry, I'm trying to be polite,” she said.

The Labor government introduced a free TAFE program in 2023 to address skills shortages  across a range of industries.

The tuition-free training is available in high-demand areas like:

• Aged and disability care

• Early childhood and support work

• Cybersecurity

• Construction

The Coalition has long opposed Labor’s free TAFE program, saying it doesn’t target skills shortages and costs too much. Peter Dutton voted against free TAFE in February.

Does free TAFE help?

Free TAFE has been available for certain high-demand jobs in Victoria since 2019. Since then there has been a four-year completion rate of more than half (53.7 percent). That’s higher than the national four-year university completion rate (around 40 percent), according to the Victorian Government.

The Coalition has attacked the program by claiming some courses' completion rates are as low as one percent. According to data obtained by the Victorian opposition, only 18 of 1,514 people (1.2 percent) who enrolled in Certificate IV in Plumbing and Services completed the course.

In a media appearance last year Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the low completion rate was due to plumbers finding jobs, saying "they may not have completed their free TAFE course, but they've gone and got a job and they're on their pathway towards a career in a really important industry".

What it means for Gippsland

From 2024-27 the Victorian Skills Authority says Gippsland will need an extra 13,700 workers, many of whom will either need, or benefit from, TAFE training and certificates. The new workers needed include: 

• 673 aged and disabled carers

• 294 construction managers

• 229 truck drivers

• 228 carpenters and joiners

• 227 nursing support and personal care workers

• 198 bookkeepers 

• 124 plumbers

• 123 painting trades workers

• 118 electricians

Each of those sectors is covered by free TAFE — whether it’s Certificate III in Individual Support, early childhood education, carpentry or hospitality. Most people study part-time.

A warning from the Education Union

Justin Mullaly, Victorian President of the Australian Education Union, described the Coalition’s plan as “irresponsible” and said it showed how little it understood regional needs.

Free TAFE has “bolstered the strength of our regions and provided significant opportunities for Victorians to contribute to the economy and address our ongoing skill shortages”, he said.

He accused previous state Liberal governments in Victoria of cutting $1.2 billion from TAFE funding, resulting in “campus and course closures, TAFE teachers being sacked, and mass student debt”.

What do the election candidates think?

Independent MP for Monash, Russell Broadbent, told the Gippsland Monitor there were “very positive aspects” to the free TAFE program “as long as they are sensible courses”.

Broadbent said free TAFE could assist in filling gaps in the Gippsland job market and that there should be a focus in regional areas on training people to work in aged care and general healthcare.

Independent candidate for Monash, Deb Leonard, said "cutting free TAFE is incredibly short-sighted. It's an investment in our people and our future that is already delivering results”.

"Here in Monash, free TAFE has opened up opportunities for people to gain new skills, get better jobs and increase their incomes,” Leonard said. “It's helping address skills shortages that are hurting local businesses."

Greens candidate for Gippsland, Rochelle Hine, told the Gippsland Monitor that “over the years TAFE has been a great entry for people into health careers like social work, mental health disciplines and nursing”.

Hine highlighted the importance of free TAFE courses in preparing Gippsland for future jobs in offshore wind, saying “there’s been courses for riggers and jobs in renewables, so it’s a really great pathway to create the workforce that we’re going to need for the future”.

Three aged care facilities did not want to comment for this story. 

Comment was also sought from Liberal candidate for Monash, Mary Aldred; Nationals MP for Gippsland, Darren Chester; Labor candidate for Monash, Tully Fletcher; and Gippsland TAFE, but no response was received ahead of publication.