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Definitions

Definitions of terms related to the Youth Access Initiative program.

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Authorised Officer

Authorised Officers can sign off on the eligibility of a young person for the Youth Access Initiative. These include:

Non-Authorised Officers (those outside the above organisations and positions) will need to refer the young person to an Authorised Officer.

Referral agency

A referral agency is any organisation based in Victoria that currently receives funding from or is contracted by the Victorian Government or the Commonwealth Government to provide services to children, young people and/or families can act as a referral agency for the Youth Access Initiative and support the eligible young person in completing the referral form and enrolling in a suitable course. All referral agencies are required to retain a copy of the referral form for audit purposes.

Skills First

The Skills First program funds training providers to deliver subsidised courses and skill sets, so eligible students will pay less for their training.

Subject to meeting Skills First eligibility criteria, individuals can enrol in subsidised accredited vocational education and training (VET) courses that meet the skills needs of Victoria and maximise their prospects of valuable work. A key priority for Skills First is to support disadvantaged learners to engage with and succeed in their education and training. The Youth Access Initiative contributes to this priority by further reducing the costs of subsidised training by providing a waiver on student tuition fees for eligible young people. The Skills First online eligibility indicator provides a useful initial tool for checking whether someone might be eligible and can be found at Check your eligibility for Skills First funding.

Training providers

A training provider is a TAFE, dual-sector university or Learn Local organisation who is also a registered training organisation contracted under Skills First and approved to offer a tuition fee waiver under the Youth Access Initiative.

Training providers must not charge eligible Youth Access Initiative participants any tuition fees for government-subsidised accredited training.

Relevant training providers are required to retain the original of the referral form for audit purposes and return a copy to the referral agency (where relevant) and to the enrolling student. The training provider will receive a contribution from the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions for the tuition fee waiver under the Youth Access Initiative.

The training provider must report all training delivered to the eligible young person under the Youth Access Initiative in accordance with the reporting requirements outlined in the Victorian VET Student Statistical Collection Guidelines, including using the Fee Exemption/Concession Type Identifier.

Updated 29 October 2025

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