VET average price benchmarks: findings from the national VET average price benchmark database

Currently there is substantial variation in fees and subsidies (and therefore total prices) for vocational education and training (VET) qualifications across Australia, even for the same qualification. Until now a lack of systematic national data has prevented identification of the underlying drivers of these differences and whether they reflect underlying differences in the cost of provision and/or differences in skill requirements across the country. The National Skills Commission's (NSC's) development of average price benchmarks involved the first national collection of information on...  [+] Show more

Currently there is substantial variation in fees and subsidies (and therefore total prices) for vocational education and training (VET) qualifications across Australia, even for the same qualification. Until now a lack of systematic national data has prevented identification of the underlying drivers of these differences and whether they reflect underlying differences in the cost of provision and/or differences in skill requirements across the country. The National Skills Commission's (NSC's) development of average price benchmarks involved the first national collection of information on VET qualification subsidies, fees and prices across Australia. The database forms a starting point from which to understand the variability in VET qualification pricing nationally for government subsidised qualifications. It is the first step in the pathway to developing more nationally consistent prices for VET.

Overall, the project confirmed the varying extents to which: (1) government subsidies are available for qualifications and to students across jurisdictions; (2) subsidies contribute to the full price of a qualification; (3) states and territories hold standardised schedules of subsidy payment amounts for government funded qualifications (rather than deriving averages from qualification prices negotiated with individual training providers); (4) funding differentials between private and public providers are attached to qualification price, and the visibility of these differentials; and (5) states and territories collect fee data for qualifications eligible for subsidies. These differences were found despite all jurisdictions basing their subsidies predominantly on the cost of delivery, and at a high level, similarities in cost calculations. However, more detailed assumptions (e.g. cost per hour, number of hours and portion of the price subsidised) lead to differences in both total price and the level of subsidy applied. Further work will continue to explore underlying drivers of cost differences, particularly variation in nominal hours. The NSC is also collecting data from training providers to better understand cost structures. Both the cost survey and average price database will inform the NSC's development of efficient prices for VET courses.

Edited excerpts from publication.