VET Data for Decision Making

Vocational education and training (VET) is an essential post-school pathway in Australia, and national data give VET providers a way to examine access and outcomes for students with disability. Students with disability are recorded in VET data at a much lower rate than population data would suggest, and students and graduates who are recorded with disability continue to have lower completion and employment outcomes than students without disability. The datasets use different populations, definitions and collection methods, and VET disability data depend on students choosing to disclose disability, impairment or a long-term condition. Even so, these differences are substantial and should prompt national and provider-level analysis and response. The size and persistence of the gap should encourage providers to look closely at their own data, disclosure processes, reasonable adjustment pathways, completion patterns and transition-to-employment supports.

In 2024, students with disability represented 4.0 per cent of domestic VET students aged 15–64 in the relevant Australia’s Disability Strategy indicator. By comparison, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that 21.4 per cent of Australians had disability in 2022, and 15.0 per cent of people aged 0–64 had disability. The Strategy measure has not improved against its own baseline: it was 4.4 per cent in 2021 and 4.0 per cent in 2024. Outcomes show the same broad concern. For the 2020–2024 cohort, 41 per cent of VET students with disability completed their qualification, compared with 49 per cent of students without disability. In 2025, 57 per cent of VET graduates with disability were employed after training, compared with 78 per cent of graduates without disability.^[1]

Participation

In 2024, 5.128 million students participated in nationally recognised VET in Australia, a 1.8 per cent increase from 2023. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) selected-cohort reporting identified 196,610 students with disability, representing 3.8 per cent of all nationally recognised VET students. This is a broad VET system measure. It should be read alongside, but not merged with, the Australia’s Disability Strategy measure, which is limited to domestic VET students aged 15–64 and reports 4.0 per cent for 2024.^[2][3]

Table 1: Key participation measures

The participation gap is best read as a prompt for local inquiry, not as a simple prevalence comparison. VET disability data are based on self-identification. Students may not disclose because they do not see a reason to, do not know what support is available, are concerned about stigma, or are not asked in a clear and accessible way. The ABS population figures still matter because they show that disability is common across the working-age population. Providers can use the national gap as a reason to check whether enrolment forms, student communications, support referral points and staff responses make disclosure safe, useful and timely.^[4]

Participation also varies by jurisdiction. In the 2024 Strategy indicator, the share of domestic VET students aged 15–64 with disability ranged from 3.2 per cent in the Northern Territory to 5.9 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Tasmania was 5.4 per cent, South Australia 4.4 per cent, Victoria 4.3 per cent, New South Wales (NSW) 4.1 per cent, Queensland 4.1 per cent and Western Australia 3.7 per cent. NCVER cautions that 2024 NSW figures are likely overstated because of reporting issues, and jurisdictional rates can also be shaped by course mix, reporting practice and local student populations.^[5]

Table 2: Participation by jurisdiction

Subgroup patterns are useful for reflection at provider level. In 2024, students with disability represented 5.4 per cent of domestic VET students aged 15–24, 3.1 per cent of those aged 25–44 and 4.0 per cent of those aged 45–64. The reported rate was 9.2 per cent for First Nations students and 4.2 per cent for non-Indigenous students. By gender, the reported rate was 3.6 per cent for males, 4.5 per cent for females and 17.0 per cent for students whose gender was reported as another gender. These differences should be treated carefully because disability status was unknown for 11.8 per cent of students in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) measure. For providers, the practical question is whether local patterns show groups who may be disclosing at very different rates, accessing support at different points, or experiencing different completion outcomes.^[6]

Among students who identified disability, the most commonly reported disability groups in the 2024 AIHW participation data were mental illness, medical condition, learning disability and other disability. These categories are not mutually exclusive, so they should not be added together or used to create a single total. They are more useful as a reminder that disability support in VET needs to cover a broad range of functional impacts, not only visible or physical disability.^[7]

Qualification levels and provider types

By level of education, students with disability were more strongly represented in lower Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels. In 2024, students with disability accounted for 11.6 per cent of Certificate I students and 7.0 per cent of Certificate II students. The share was lower at Diploma level (3.9 per cent), Advanced Diploma level (1.6 per cent) and Graduate Diploma level (0.4 per cent). Certificate III had the largest AQF-level count of students with disability, at 54,350. Non-AQF level training recorded 104,645 students with disability, but it should be read separately because it includes training outside AQF qualification levels. For providers, these patterns can support practical questions about foundation skills, course pathways, adjustment planning and whether students with disability are progressing into higher-level qualifications at expected rates.^[8]

Table 3: Students with disability by level of education, 2024

Provider type shows a different pattern. Private training providers recorded the largest absolute count of students with disability, with 118,615 in 2024, reflecting their scale in the VET system. As a share of students within each provider type, however, students with disability represented 8.2 per cent of TAFE institute students and 7.2 per cent of university-delivered VET students, compared with 2.9 per cent of private training provider students. This does not show that one provider type is better or worse for students with disability. It may reflect differences in course mix, student profile, disclosure practice, reporting practice and support pathways. It does suggest that provider type is worth considering when reviewing local participation and support data.^[9]

Table 4: Students with disability by provider type, 2024

Training type also varies. In 2024, students with disability made up 8.1 per cent of students in accredited qualifications, 5.3 per cent in training package qualifications, 5.2 per cent in accredited courses, 3.6 per cent in training package skill sets and 2.7 per cent in subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program. These are category-specific shares, not mutually exclusive proportions of all students with disability. For providers, the more useful question is whether students with disability are concentrated in certain training types and, if so, whether that reflects student choice, available support, course design, entry pathways or barriers to progression.^[10]

Table 5: Students with disability by type of training, 2024

For whole system context, 5.1 million students enrolled in nationally recognised VET and 3.58 million enrolled in stand-alone subjects in 2024. ^[11]

Student outcomes

NCVER’s National Student Outcomes Survey reports survey-based outcomes and satisfaction for students who undertook nationally recognised VET in 2024 and were surveyed in 2025. For qualification completers overall, 86.7 per cent achieved their main reason for training, 62.4 per cent improved their employment status and 89.3 per cent were satisfied with the overall quality of training in 2025.^[12]

The disability-specific indicators show continuing gaps. For the 2020–2024 cohort, 41 per cent of VET students with disability aged 15–64 completed their qualification, compared with 49 per cent of students without disability. AIHW notes that these completion rates use a new, more extensive dataset and should not be compared with older released completion-rate series.^[13]

In 2025, 45.1 per cent of VET graduates with disability had an improved employment status after training, compared with 62.4 per cent of all students. Of VET graduates with disability, 57 per cent were employed after training, compared with 78 per cent of graduates without disability.^[14]

Employment outcomes also vary by disability group. In 2025, employment after training ranged from 66 per cent for graduates who identified as hearing or deaf to 43 per cent for graduates with intellectual disability. For organisational review, providers could consider asking whether course design, work placements, assessment arrangements, job-readiness activities and employer engagement are working well for students with different support needs.^[15]

Overall, the data should be used as a starting point for improvement rather than as a stand-alone judgement about any provider. A practical review would look at how and when students are invited to disclose disability, whether disclosure leads to timely adjustments, whether students with disability are concentrated in particular courses or qualification levels, and whether completion, withdrawal and employment outcomes differ from those of other students. The national data do not explain why the gaps exist, but they do make clear that participation, completion and post-training outcomes for students with disability should be part of routine VET quality and equity review.

Page updated May 2026