RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2019–20              updated 5 september 2019

Tertiary education: a quick guide to key internet links

Carol Ey and Hazel Ferguson

Social Policy Section

This Quick Guide provides key internet links to information about:

•        general tertiary education resources

•        higher education

•        vocational education and training (VET)

•        international students

•        adult and community education and

•        international organisations.

General resources

•        The Australian Qualifications Framework is the national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training. It incorporates the qualifications from each education and training sector into a single comprehensive national qualifications framework.

•        Study Assist has information on Australian Government financial assistance available to tertiary education students.

•        The Australian Taxation Office provides statistics covering amount of outstanding debt, number of people with debts, size of outstanding debt, and time to repay, for the Higher education Loan Program (HELP) loans available to tertiary students. Updated Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt statistics—2017–18 provides an overview of this data.

Key organisations

•        The Australasian Education Directory provides a comprehensive searchable listing of educational organisations.

Statistics

•        Australian Bureau of Statistics—Education and Training Statistics website

Higher education

•        The Department of Education has responsibility for higher education. The Department’s website has separate pages for higher education teaching and research activities.

•        The Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) provides the legislative framework for funding higher education institutions and providing loans to students.

•        The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency is the national regulator for higher education.

•        The Higher Education Report is an annual report on programs, funding and statistics. The latest edition is 2011-13.

•        Universities Australia provides a profile of each university and links to university websites.

•        Study in Australia is designed for international students considering studying and living in Australia.

•        Australia University Rankings includes details of the major international rankings and the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) rankings.

•        Course Seeker provides searchable courses, institutions and admissions information.

Key organisations

•        Universities Australia is the national representative body for Australian universities. This website contains useful links, policy documents and statistics.

•        There are four sub-groups of Australian universities:

–      the Group of Eight (Go8) is a coalition of established universities, intensive in research and comprehensive in general and professional education

–      the Australian Technology Network (ATN) is an alliance of five universities with strong links to industry

–      the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) is a group of seven comprehensive universities with a research focus and

–      the Regional Universities Network (RUN) is a group of six universities with headquarters in regional Australia.

•        The National Tertiary Education Union represents employees in the tertiary education sector.

•        The National Union of Students is the national representative body for university students.

•        The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations aims to protect and further the interests of postgraduate students.

Statistics

•        The Australian Government’s Higher Education Statistics Collection includes current and time series data on students and staff and summary data on applications and offers. The Finance Publication series provides information on university finances.

•        The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has information about the student experience and graduate employment outcomes from surveys of students, graduates and employers.

•        Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank cut-off scores are available for some states: New South Wales including the Australian Capital Territory (Main round cut-offs), Victoria (Selection data), South Australia (see Universities Semester 1,Table X, ‘Year 12 cut-off scores’ – latest data available is for 2016) and Western Australia.

Vocational education and training (VET)

•        The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business has responsibility for VET and its website provides access to information about Australian Government VET policies and programs.

•        The annual Report on Government Services, published by the Productivity Commission, provides an overview of the VET system, key statistics and funding information.

•        The Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (IGA), agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments, provides for the Australian Government’s National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purpose Payment (SPP).

•        The National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD), formulated as part of the IGA, defines the objectives, outcomes, outputs and performance measures and the roles and responsibilities that guide the Australian and the state and territory governments in the delivery of services across the skills and workforce development sector.

•        The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Performance Reporting Dashboard—Skills provides an annual report on governments' progress against the agreed objectives and outcomes of the NASWD.

•        The Australian Skills Quality Authority is the national regulator for Australia’s vocational education and training sector.

•        training.gov.au is the official national register of information on training packages, qualifications, courses, units of competency and Registered Training Organisations.

•        Australian Apprenticeships provides information on the Australian Government’s programs to support apprenticeships and traineeships.

•        My Skills has a range of information about training options and providers, and includes statistics on student enrolments and outcomes.

Key organisations

•        The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) undertakes research and evaluation in VET and related areas.

•        The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET)Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia is the national industry association for independent providers of post-compulsory education and training.

•        TAFE Directors Australia—provides links to TAFE Institutes.

•        The Australian Education Union is the major union representing TAFE teachers.

Statistics

•        NCVER is the major collector and publisher of statistics on the VET system.

•        The annual Report on Government Services, published by the Productivity Commission, provides key statistics and funding information.

•        VET Student Loans Statistics

•        Annual National Report of the Australian Vocational Education and Training System (historical).

•        VET FEE-HELP Annual Statistical Report (historical, now replaced by VET Student Loans).

State and territory government websites

Australian Capital Territory

•        ACT Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, Skills Canberra

•        Canberra Institute of Technology

•        ACT Qualifications Register

New South Wales

•        Department of Industry, Training Services NSW

•        TAFE NSW

•        NSW Skills Board

Northern Territory

•        Vocational Education and Training

•        Industry Skills Advisory Council Northern Territory

Queensland

•        Department of Education and Training, Training Queensland

•        TAFE Queensland

•        Queensland Training Ombudsman

South Australia

•        Vocational education and training

•        Department of State Development, Skills

•        Training and Skills Commission

•        TAFE SA

•        Office of the Training Advocate

Tasmania

•        Skills Tasmania

•        Department of State Growth, Workforce Development and Training

•        TasTAFE

Victoria

•        Department of Education and Training, TAFE and Training

•        The Victorian Skills Gateway

•        Office of the Victorian Skills Commissioner

Western Australia

•        Department of Training and Workforce Development

International students in Australia

•        The Department of Education has responsibility for international education policy. See the International Education Online website for details.

•        The Department of Home Affairs administers student visas.

•        Austrade works with the international education sector on market development.

•        studyinaustralia.gov.au is the Australian Government website for international students. 

•        The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) lists all providers registered to offer courses to people studying in Australia on student visas and the courses offered.

•        The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) and its associated legislative framework regulates the education and training sector’s involvement with students on student visas studying in Australia.

Statistics

•        International Education Online’s website reports on overseas enrolments in all education sectors as well as a variety of other data and research relating to international students.

•        The Department of Home Affairs publishes a range of student visa statistics.

•        Austrade provides international education data and analysis.

Adult and community education

•        Adult Learning Australia is the national peak body for the adult and community education sector.

International organisations

•        Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Education and Skills—Skills beyond Schools

•        United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—Education:

–      higher education

–      technical and VET

Statistics

•        Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators provides comparative data on the education systems of member and partner countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Latest edition is 2018.

•        UNESCO Institute for Statistics

United Kingdom

•        Department for Education—responsible for further and higher education education, skills and vocational training.

•        Office for Students

•        Higher Education Statistics Agency

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