Youth Access Initiative

A program helping young people with care or youth justice experience, and those in Education First Youth Foyers, access vocational education and training with tuition fees waived under Skills First.

Youth Access Initiative

Status: Ongoing

Who can apply: Individuals

What is the Youth Access Initiative?

Young people on child protection orders, youth justice orders and those residing in Victorian Education First Youth Foyers are among the most disadvantaged in our community. They often face complex challenges that make it harder to access education and training.

Central to breaking the link between disadvantage and poor educational/training outcomes is ensuring that learners at risk of poor learning outcomes are supported to stay in education/training and reach their potential for better life opportunities.

The Youth Access Initiative aims to improve young people’s awareness, access and involvement in vocational education and training. It is part of the Skills First initiative, which helps disadvantaged learners succeed in their education and training. The initiative supports this by reducing training costs and waiving student tuition fees for eligible young people.

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Guidelines

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Who is eligible?

To be eligible for the Youth Access Initiative, you must:

be eligible for Skills First government-subsidised training which includes being an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen. For more information, refer to Victorian Skills Gateway – how to check your eligibility
be aged 24 years or under, and
have been or are currently on a Child Protection Order or a Youth Justice Order (but are not currently in custody), or
a young person who has participated or is participating in the Children’s Court Youth Diversion Service, or
be a young person who is a part of the Refugee Minor Program, or
be a resident of an Education First Youth Foyer. View a list of relevant orders and foyer information.

What training is available?

A wide range of subsidised vocational education and training is available under Skills First. Refer to the Victorian Skills Gateway for available courses.

These courses are regularly reviewed, and courses are added as required by industry needs to support job growth. This allows the training market to keep up with the changing needs of the economy.

For more information, contact the TAFE and Training Line or a Skills and Jobs Centre:

TAFE and Training Line on 13 18 23 or tafe.courseline@djsir.vic.gov.au
Skills and Jobs Centres Visit the Victorian Skills Gateway for more information on VET courses, and available subsidies and providers.

Which organisations provide subsidised training?

Skills First training providers have been selected for their capacity to deliver quality government-subsidised training.

Only TAFEs and select Learn Local registered training organisations are able to offer the Skills First Youth Access Initiative student tuition fee waiver.

Find your local provider at:

How to apply

Check your eligibility by referring to the ‘Who is eligible?’ section on this page.
Complete a Youth Access Initiative referral form and submit it to your Skills First training provider. The form is either completed by a referral agency, or the applicant can ‘self-refer’ by completing their section of the form and gaining the endorsement of an Authorised Officer.
Discuss your interests and options with your Skills First training provider. For self-referral:

Complete Part A.
Tick the self-referral box in Part A.
Have the form signed by an Authorised Officer.
Present your form to your enrolling training provider. For referral through agency:
Complete Part A.
Present your referral form to the referral agency to complete Part B.
Complete Part C only if the referral agency is not an Authorised Officer. If the referral agency is an Authorised Officer, leave Part C blank and move on to the next step.
Present your referral form to your enrolling training provider.

Youth Access Initiative referral form Word 143.07 KB (opens in a new window)

External support programs and initiatives

Reconnect program

The Reconnect program is intended to improve a person’s chance of breaking the cycle of disadvantage by creating equity, improving access and increasing choice in pathways through education, training and employment.

The program provides supported pathways into vocational education and training and employment and is enabled via a case management approach, tailoring the supports and needs of the participants. Reconnect providers can offer a range of supports while you are a participant of the Youth Access Initiative. These may include:

counselling and mentoring
housing and accommodation services referral
mental health support referral
foundation skills
employability skills
careers information, planning and advice.

Raising Expectations

The aims of Raising Expectations are to:

raise awareness for on-campus wrap-around services for out-of-home care leavers
build capacity and confidence in care leavers
support vocational education and training (VET) and higher education workers to provide integrated support to care leavers
strengthen care leavers’ transitions into post-secondary education. Under the Raising Expectations program, TAFEs and dual-sector university partners provide the following supports to care leavers. These supports can be accessed while you are a participant of the Youth Access Initiative:
bursary and scholarship applications
tailored student supports for new and continuing students
referrals to personal and academic support
peer support and mentoring.

Connections to the Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan

Currently, there is an over-representation of Koorie young people within the child protection and youth justice systems.

The Youth Access Initiative is aligned with the Victorian Government’s commitment to creating a better future for Koorie people and is aligned with the Marrung: Aboriginal Education Plan 2016–2026. For more information, refer to Marrung.

What are my options if I am not eligible?

Skills First exemptions

If you don’t meet the Skills First eligibility requirements, you may be able to get an exemption. For more information, contact your preferred training provider before you apply.

Other government assistance

Find out about government assistance to help you study.

Asylum seekers

If you are an asylum seeker, you may be eligible for the Asylum Seeker VET program.

Overseas students

If you are an overseas student, you are not eligible for Skills First funding, but you may be able to get other government assistance for study. Refer to the Australian Government Study Assist Non-Australian Citizens page for more information.

You can also check if you qualify for other types of financial help for your training(opens in a new window).

More information

Eligible orders, programs and foyer information
Definitions
Skills First If you have questions, please contact the TAFE and Training Line:
TAFE and Training Line on 13 18 23 or  tafe.courseline@djsir.vic.gov.au

Updated 16 March 2026

Economic Growth Statement

Mini vic.gov.au

Youth Access Initiative