Policy initiatives > National priorities
The National Skills Agreement is a five-year agreement between Commonwealth and state and territory governments, working in partnership, to ensure that the national vocational education and training (VET) system provides high-quality, responsive and accessible education and training to boost productivity, deliver national priorities and support Australians to obtain the skills and capabilities they need to obtain well-paid, secure jobs. Included in the National Skills Agreement are seven national priorities, supplemented by an additional priority added by the Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council in March 2024. This collection provides links to specific documents of interest as well as VOCEDplus searches relating to key aspects of each national priority.
- Gender equality
Key publications
- Gender Equity Insights series
- Gender segregation in Australia's workforce reports
- National Agenda for Women plans and reports [1988-1993]
- National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality - Working for women: a strategy for gender equality
- STEM Equity Monitor
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency - Australia's Gender Equality Scorecard series
- What Women Want Survey report [2008-2020, 2022]
Research in VOCEDplus
- Gender equality
- Gender and employment
- Gender and the impacts of COVID-19
- Gender and STEM
- Gender pay gap
- Strategies with a focus on women
- Women and apprenticeships and traineeships
- Women and VET
- Women and VET - international research
Other resources
- Closing the Gap
Key publications
- National agreement on Closing the Gap
- First Nations people workforce analysis report
- Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators [2003-2020]
- Report on government services: Indigenous compendium [2003-2015]
Research in VOCEDplus
- First Nations people and apprenticeships and traineeships
- First Nations people and employment
- First Nations people and VET
- Strategies relating to First nations people
- First nations people - international research
Other resources
- Australian Bureau of Statistics - Education statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Closing the Gap website
- VOCEDplus - Indigenous Podlet
- Supporting the Net Zero transformation
Key publications
- Green Skills Agreement: an agreement between the Australian Government and the state and territory governments
- Industry outlook 2022: energy and utilities
- Powering up: PSO initial energy workforce scan: extended summary
- Renewable energy and jobs: annual review series (international)
- Renewable energy jobs in Australia: stage one
- Renewable energy jobs: future growth in Australia
- Workforce plan 2024: the new power generation: challenges and opportunities within Australia's energy sector
Research in VOCEDplus
- Green economy and labour demand
- Green skills
- Industry workforce plans and strategies
- VET and skilling for the net zero transition (Australia and international)
- Green skills and green jobs - international research
Other resources
- Future Made Australia
- Jobs and Skills Australia - Industry profile: electricity, gas, water and waste services
- Net Zero Economy Authority
- VOCEDplus - Focus on... the green transition
- Sustaining essential care services
Key publications
- 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census Report
- Draft National Care and Support Economy Strategy 2023
- Every educator matters: evidence for a new early childhood workforce strategy for Australia
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) - Building a more responsive and supportive workforce
- National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy
- National Mental Health Workforce Strategy 2022-2032
- NDIS National Workforce Plan: 2021-2025
- Shaping our future: a ten-year strategy to ensure a sustainable, high-quality children's education and care workforce 2022-2031
Research in VOCEDplus
- Essential care services and labour supply and demand
- Essential care services and VET
- Industries:
- Essential care services - international research
Other resources
- Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
- Commonwealth - Department of Education - Early childhood workforce
- Commonwealth - Department of Health and Aged Care - Aged care workforce
- Commonwealth - Department of Health and Aged Care - Aged care workforce data collections
- Commonwealth - Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - Care and support economy: state of play
- Commonwealth - Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - Care and support economy reform at a glance
- Draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy
- Jobs and Skills Australia - Industry profile: health care and social assistance
- National Children's Education and Care Workforce Strategy - Dashboard and Workforce snapshot
- South Australia - Office for Early Childhood Development - Growing the workforce
- VOCEDplus - Disability Podlet
- Developing Australia's sovereign capability and food security
Key publications
- Agribusiness, food and fibre industries skills report
- Industry outlook 2021: Water Industry Reference Committee
- Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance workforce plans
- National Workforce Strategy 2022-27
- Skills Insight workforce plans - agribusinss, fibre, furnishing, food, animal and environment care industries
- Snapshot of Australia's agricultural workforce [2023]
Research in VOCEDplus
- Agricultural industry and VET
- Defence industry and VET
- Industries
- Manufacturing industry and VET
- Sustainability
- Water industry and VET
- Sovereign capability and food security - international research
Other resources
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) - Analysis of Australia's food security and the COVID-19 pandemic
- Australian Institute of Family Studies - Food insecurity in Australia practice guide
- Jobs and Skills Australia - Industry profile: agriculture, forestry and fishing
- Jobs and Skills Australia - Industry profile: manufacturing
- Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council - Australia and food security in a changing world
- Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council - Challenges at energy-water-carbon intersections
- Ensuring Australia's digital and technology capability
Key publications
- Australian Digital Capability Framework
- Australia's digital pulse series
- Critical role of blue tech and digital skills in Australia's economic recovery
- Digital capability for workforce skills: final report
- Digital Economy Strategy 2030
- Incorporating digital skills into VET delivery: good practice guide
- National Robotics Strategy
- Upskilling and expanding the Australian cyber security workforce
Research in VOCEDplus
- Automation and digitisation
- Cybersecurity
- Digital skills and VET
- Information and communications technology
- Information and communications technology and VET
- Strategies relating to information and communications technology
- Digital and technological capability - international research
- Information and communications technology - international research
Other resources
- Housing supply
Key publications
- All hands on deck: HIA's plan to build the workforce to house all Australians
- Future-proofing construction: a workforce blueprint and related documents
- Infrastructure workforce and skills supply
- The state of digital adoption in construction report 2023
Research in VOCEDplus
- Apprenticeships and traineeships in the building and construction industry
- Building and construction industry
- Homelessness services and support industry
- Strategies relating to the building and construction industry
- VET and the building and construction industry
- Building and construction industry - international research
Other resources
- Delivering reforms to improve the regulation of VET qualifications and quality
Key publications
- Revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations: final policy draft
- Standards for training packages
- Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021
- Training Package assurance: approach to assurance
- Training package products policy
- Unlocking the potential of VET: improving the relevance and transferability of vocational education and training qualifications and related reports
Research in VOCEDplus
- Australian Qualifications Framework
- Qualifications and VET
- Quality and VET
- Training packages
- VET and qualification frameworks
- VET regulation and standards
- VET reform
- VET and qualifications - international research
- VET and quality - international research
Other resources
- Australian Qualifications Framework website
- Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations - Quality Reforms
- Department of Employment and Workplace Relations - VET Qualification Reform
- VET Quality Framework
- Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
- VOCEDplus - Getting to know VET overview - Australian Qualifications Framework
- VOCEDplus - Getting to know VET overview - VET Quality Framework and the AQTF
- VOCEDplus - Getting to know VET overview - VET regulators
- Western Australian Training Accreditation Council
A National Skills Plan, released in 2024, sets out the vision of Skills Ministers for VET across the country and how they will work together to achieve the shared goals of the National Skills Agreement. The Australian Government and each state and territory are publishing a Jurisdictional Action Plan to detail actions and ambitions to deliver on the outcomes and priorities of the National Skills Plan and National Skills Agreement (NSA). Links to state and territory plans will be provided as they are published:
- Australian Government
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Australian Capital Territory.
More information about the plans is available from the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website.