Fee Free TAFE and vocational education is a joint initiative of the Australian and South Australian Governments providing tuition-free training places to students wanting to train, retrain or upskill. Thousands of South Australians have enrolled and commenced study in Fee Free TAFE courses since the launch of the initiative at the beginning of 2023.
Over 4,000 additional Fee Free TAFE places will be available at TAFE SA each year for the next three years commencing in 2024.
This extension of the initiative represents a significant investment in training delivery in South Australia and will support industries facing skills shortages, growth industries and emerging sectors, creating more opportunities for South Australians to access new and high-level skills in priority areas such as:
Fee Free TAFE is intended for new students to the course being offered. Students need to be new to the course, not new to TAFE SA.
The number of Fee Free TAFE places that are funded is limited by the terms of the skills agreement signed by the Australian and South Australian Governments.
People from the following groups are strongly encouraged to apply:
In October 2024, a new Fee Free TAFE in Construction (FFTC) program was agreed between the South Australian and Australian governments to provide Fee Free TAFE places in critical construction skills in South Australia which are necessary to help address chronic workforce shortages in this sector.
TAFE SA will offer the majority of FFTC places – approximately 300 places per semester over two years, commencing in Semester 1, 2025.
For Semester 1, 2025 select FFTC courses offered by TAFE SA are available for apprenticeship. However, there are some construction courses available to general students as part of Fee Free TAFE.
All other FFT guidelines apply to FFTC courses.
FFTC courses are listed on the TAFE SA website on our Fee Free TAFE course page as well as the Apprenticeships and Traineeships page.
Course listings on the TAFE SA website indicate if the course has Fee Free places.
Tourism courses are not included as part of Fee Free TAFE.
Please note, Fee Free TAFE covers the tuition fee of the course. Where applicable some courses may include additional fees such as a Resource Fee or Incidental Fee.
Any additional fees will be identified in course specific information.
Visit our eligibility criteria and FAQs page for more details. If you need further assistance, please contact the TAFE SA Infoline on 1800 882 661 or email us.
Freecall 1800 882 661