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A year ago, I wrote about Australia’s TAFE Certificates I-IV, but there’s so much more to discover about this robust educational system. There is some repeated content in this article, but I tried to keep the duplicate information to a minimum.
Primary school education in New South Wales is compulsory and is offered from grades 1 to 6. Secondary education is offered from grades 7-10 and leads to the award of the School Certificate. All students must complete Year 10. A further two years of study in senior secondary leads to the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or the Higher School Certificate after Year 12.
Within Australia, post-compulsory education can be offered by a number of institutions, including senior secondary schools, universities, higher education providers, and Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers known as Registered Training Organizations (RTOs). This article focuses on government-owned provides of VET courses, TAFE (Technical and Further Education) institutes rather than private RTOs, though much of the information here also applies to VET programs offered at private RTOs and universities.
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) was established in 1995 to set out the level at which a qualification can be recognized in higher education, vocational education and training, and schools.
I’ve provided a very short list of the 10 levels of the Australian Qualifications Framework. This short list, which is not all inclusive, includes both Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications and other non-university credentials and their comparisons to degrees and diplomas awarded in the university sector to make it easier to see how all of the credentials complement one another.
Level 1: Certificate I
Level 2: Certificate II
Level 3: Certificate III
Level 4: Certificate IV (formerly the Advanced Certificate)
Level 5: Diploma
Level 6: Advanced Diploma, Associate Degree, Associate diploma
Level 7: Bachelor Degree
Level 8: Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma
Level 9: Masters Degree (Research), Masters Degree (Coursework), Masters Degree (Extended)
Level 10: Doctoral Degree
Post-compulsory education in Australia is organized according to Australian Qualifications Framework levels; higher education qualifications begin with Level 5, so that’s where this article begins.
At Level 5, the Diploma is comparable to the first year of a Bachelor degree. Level 6's Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree represents the first two years of a Bachelor degree. A 3-year Ordinary/Pass Bachelor's degree is at Level 7 on the AQF. Level 8 includes the 4-year Honours Bachelor degree, the Graduate Certificate, and the Graduate Diploma. Level 9 consists of the Master's degree, while the Doctoral Degree is offered at Level 10. At present, there are not TAFE qualifications at Level 10.
Within the frameworks of VET qualifications, a Registered Training Organization (RTO) might offer vocational training at one of four certificate levels. Certificates I and II do not have minimum admissions, while Certificates III and IV require completion of the Year 10 lower secondary school certificate. These Certificates I-IV are trade, vocational, or apprenticeship training programs that grant access to employment or further vocational training.
As noted previously, VET qualifications are outcomes-based and focus on the occupational skills and competencies gained. Accredited courses provided by RTO's lead to the following AQF qualifications: Certificate I, Certificate II, Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Bachelor, Vocational Graduate Certificate, and Vocational Graduate Diploma. VET qualifications are offered by RTO's and are intended for employment.
TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Certificate and Diplomas are offered at institutes or colleges affiliated with the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Commission of that particular state or territory. TAFE institutes offer programs that straddle the secondary and tertiary levels of education in Australia. TAFE Certificates and Diplomas may be accepted for transfer credit to related fields or to meet higher education entrance requirements than VET credentials.
Entrance qualifications to some VET programs require only completion of Grade 10 while others require advanced undergraduate studies for admissions. TAFE institutes offer programs ranging from work-based learning purely for employment purposes to university preparation certificates to sub-degree programs and degree programs similar to those offered at universities that lead to advanced standing in degree programs.
TAFE credentials are oriented towards vocational education and training, though increasingly in recent years, TAFE institutes are also offering higher education qualifications.
A variety of students choose TAFE qualifications: university graduates seeking technical skills, secondary leavers who want employment and need a technical qualification, adults pursuing personal enrichment courses, and even those pursuing an unorthodox avenue to higher education. Because TAFE's primary responsibility is to prepare its graduates for licensing and employment, TAFE Institutes foster a strong relationship with private industry and trade boards.
The TAFE Diploma at AQF Level 5 in a paraprofessional program was typically offered as a 1- or 2-year program. The TAFE Diploma is less academically-oriented than the TAFE Associate Diploma and has a great emphasis on vocational training. However, some universities in Australia may grant advanced standing or transfer credit for studies in the same or related fields. Some TAFE Diplomas require completion of high school (grade 12) for admissions, while others will admit students who have earned the Certificate III in a related program for admissions.
TAFE Associate Diplomas require two years of full-time study and are designed to train students in a very specific field of knowledge. They are characterized by their emphasis on the development of skills in a specific area and are intended as a workforce qualification, though some limited advanced standing (seldom more than one year of undergraduate study) may be awarded by universities in Australia in degree programs in the same field.
The TAFE Advanced Diploma represents 2 total years of undergraduate study in a technical/vocational program. The TAFE Advanced Diploma at may lead to a shortened year Ordinary/Pass Bachelor degree. The TAFE Advanced Diploma is at Level 6 on the Australian Qualifications Framework (the same level as the Associate Degree), while an Australian Bachelor Degree is a Level 7 qualification.
In the last decade or so, significantly more TAFE Bachelor degree programs have been made available at TAFE Institutes. Like Bachelor degree programs at Australian universities, these studies are offered at Level 7 on the AQF. Some TAFE Institutes offer their Bachelor programs in partnership with Australian universities through pathway programs. Other TAFE Institutes offer their own 3- or 4-year Bachelor degrees, such as TAFE NSW.
TAFE Graduate Certificates and Diplomas are the highest level of TAFE qualification available at Level 8. These programs typically last for 6 to 12 months.
In recent years, some TAFE Institutes, like TAFE Queensland, have also begun offering 1-2 year Master’s degree programs at AQF Level 9
Government-Owned TAFE Institutes:
Canberra Institute of Technology (TAFE Australian Capital Territory): https://cit.edu.au/
TAFE New South Wales: https://www.tafensw.edu.au/
Charles Darwin University (TAFE Northern Territory): https://www.cdu.edu.au/study/tafe-courses
TAFE Queensland: https://tafeqld.edu.au/
TAFE South Australia: https://www.tafesa.edu.au/
TAFE Tasmania: https://www.tastafe.tas.edu.au/
TAFE Victoria: https://www.vic.gov.au/tafe
TAFE Western Australia: https://www.tafe.wa.edu.au/
Resources:
The Articulation of TAFE Middle-Level and Higher Education Courses in Australia. TAFE National Centre for Research and Development, 1985. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED265297.pdf
Australian Qualifications Framework: https://www.aqf.edu.au/framework/australian-qualifications-framework and https://www.aqf.edu.au/framework/aqf-levels
Australian Country Education Profile. Australian Government, Department of Education, 2020. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Documents/Country%20Education%20Profile%20Australia_ACC.pdf
Australian Qualifications Framework. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. https://www.teqsa.gov.au/how-we-regulate/acts-and-standards/australian-qualifications-framework
Australian Qualifications Framework Information Sheet. Government of Western Australia. https://www.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Nursing-and-midwifery/PDF/AQF-Info-Sheet-2023.pdf
Cross-Sectoral Transfer from TAFE to Higher Education. TAFE National Centre for Research and Development, 1986. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED282004.pdf
Country Education Profiles: Australia. Australian Government, Department of Education, 2015. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Documents/ED15-0091_INT_Australia_Country_Education_Profile_2015_ACC.pdf
The Development of TAFE in Australia. National Centre for Vocational Education and Research, 2001. https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/the-development-of-tafe-in-australia
Dissemination Report: Report at Project Close of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project, ‘Vocational Institutions, Undergraduate Degrees.’ TAFE Directors Australia. https://tda.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Value-of-Higher-Education-at-TAFE-ARC-Report-May-2020.pdf
Guidelines for the National Registration of Awards in Advanced Education. Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, 1983. https://web.archive.org/web/20170217231357/http://www.aqf.edu.au:80/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Guidelines-for-the-National-Registration-of-Awards-1983-Historical-Doc..pdf
Guidelines for the National Registration of Awards in Advanced Education. Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, 1984. https://web.archive.org/web/20220302202507/https://www.aqf.edu.au/sites/aqf/files/guidelines-for-the-national-registration-of-awards-in-advanced-education-1984-historical-doc.pdf
Guidelines for the National Registration of Awards in Advanced Education. Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, 1986. https://web.archive.org/web/20170217231330/http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Guidelines-for-the-National-Registration-of-Awards-1986-Historical-Doc.pdf
Guidelines for the National Registration of Awards in Advanced Education. Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, 1987.
Guidelines for the National Registration of Awards in Advanced Education. Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, 1989. https://web.archive.org/web/20170217231231/http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Guidelines-for-the-National-Registration-of-Awards-1989-Historical-Doc.pdf
Higher Education in TAFE. National Centre for Vocational Education and Research, 2009. https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/higher-education-in-tafe
National Centre for Vocational Education Research: https://www.ncver.edu.au/
National Training Register: https://training.gov.au/
Register of Australian Tertiary Education (RATE): Major Tertiary Course Award Levels Australia. Australian Education Council, 1991. https://web.archive.org/web/20230322165326/https://www.aqf.edu.au/download/446/register-australian-tertiary-education-rate-various-editions-may-1991-1994/40/register-australian-tertiary-education-rate-various-editions-may-1991-1994/pdf
Studies in Australia. https://www.studiesinaustralia.com/studying-in-australia/what-to-study-in-australia/types-of-education/technical-and-further-education and https://www.studiesinaustralia.com/what-to-study-in-australia/types-of-education/technical-and-further-education/tafe-institutes-list
Study Australia. https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/tools-and-resources/tips-and-advice-for-students/understanding-australian-qualifications and https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-studies/australias-education-system and https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-studies/universities-and-higher-education/pathways-to-university
Student Preferences for Bachelor Degrees at TAFE. Deakin University, 2015. https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/app/uploads/2015/03/Student-Preferences-for-Bachelor-Degrees-at-TAFE-Final.pdf
TAFECourses.com: https://www.tafecourses.com.au/
TAFE Locations in Australia. TAFE Directors Australia. https://tda.edu.au/power-of-tafe/tafe-locations-in-australia/
Technical and Further Education. Studies in Australia. https://www.studiesinaustralia.com/studying-in-australia/what-to-study-in-australia/types-of-education/technical-and-further-education
Vocational Education and Training. Study Australia. https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-studies/vocational-education-and-training