TAFE NSW is about flexibility and opportunity

Our students are selected through a variety of means so that as many people as possible have an opportunity to enjoy education and training, and so that students and courses are well matched.

Entry Requirements

Most TAFE NSW courses have entry requirements. These are the qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience you must have before you can enrol. They reflect the minimum level of prior learning you need in order to have a reasonable chance of successfully completing the course.

The entry requirements for a course forms part of its course description (find your course via the Courses search).

If you don't satisfy the entry requirements

If you do not meet the formal entry requirements for a course, you may still be able to enrol or be considered for entry to a course through the Special Admission policy (if, for example, you are 20 years old or over). In this case, you must have the equivalent skills and knowledge, and you might be required to do a bridging course).

If you don't think you meet the entry requirements, but believe you are well suited for, or capable of completing the course, talk with a TAFE NSW Counsellor or customer service officer.

Equivalences

TAFE NSW does not select students on the basis of their Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) or Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). However, where courses specify satisfactory achievement in particular HSC (Years 11 and 12) subjects as an entry requirement, your level of achievement in those subjects may be taken into account.

Definitions of Years 10,11 and 12

For entry requirements, TAFE NSW defines Years 10, 11 and 12 as follows:

• Year 10: NSW School Certificate, or the TAFE NSW Certificate II in General and Vocational Education (or equivalent statement from another educational authority).
• Year 11: Completion of Preliminary Year (Year 11), or equivalent statement from another educational authority.
• Year 12: Satisfactory completion of Year 12, or equivalent from another educational authority.

Equivalences to Year 12

If you can demonstrate that you have equivalent skills, knowledge or qualifications to Year 12 you may be able to gain entry to TAFE NSW courses. Training, qualifications and/or experiences that are equivalent to Year 12 include the following:

• Completion of a post-school course at the level of AQF Certificate III or above or completion of the TAFE NSW Certificate III in Tertiary Preparation (TPC) or higher.
• Completion of a post-school course or courses totalling the equivalent of one year of full-time assessed study. This is approximately 540 hours.
• Year 11 (as defined above) PLUS paid work or unpaid work or voluntary community activities or any combination of these totalling at least 540 hours PLUS evidence of ongoing commitment to either paid work or unpaid work or voluntary community activities for at least six months.
• Year 10 (as defined above) PLUS at least six months paid work or unpaid work or voluntary community activities reflecting performance at AQF Certificate III (see How you know if your work is at AQF Certificate III) or equivalent or higher PLUS completion of a course at AQF Certificate II. OR Year 10 (as defined above) PLUS at least six months paid work or unpaid work or voluntary community activities reflecting performance at AQF Certificate III* or equivalent or higher PLUS the equivalent of six months full-time training. This is approximately 270 hours.

* Many overseas secondary school qualifications are also equivalent to Year 10 or Year 12.

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Equivalences to Year 10

If you can demonstrate that you have equivalent skills, knowledge or qualifications to Year 10 (for example, a TAFE Statement and work or life experience) you may be able to gain entry to TAFE NSW courses that have Year 10 as an entry requirement.

How you know if your work is at the level of AQF Certificate III

Your paid or volunteer work is at AQF Certificate III if you meet ALL of the following criteria:

• You are able to work with little or no supervision and you have responsibility for your own work (this includes solving problems and making judgements based on your sound knowledge of the work area);
• You have developed a range of skills and depth of knowledge to meet the needs of your workplace; and
• Your range of skills and responsibilities and your depth of knowledge is at the level of a competent tradesperson. (While you do not have to be a tradesperson or have done a course related to your area of work, AQF Certificate III is usually the level of courses for tradespersons.)

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TAFE NSW course equivalent to Year 12

TAFE NSW offers the Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC), which is a Certificate III course equivalent to your high school Year 12. The TPC, which can include TAFE NSW vocational modules can be completed in one year. You may be able to credit previous TAFE NSW study towards your TPC. The Universities Admission Centre (UAC) accepts TPC for university entry.

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Not an Aussie or a Kiwi?

If you are not an Australian citizen, permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen, you need to check that you are eligible to do a TAFE NSW course. Depending on your visa sub-class, you may be required to pay tuition fees and the TAFE NSW fee. Visit the International pages of this website for more information.

International students apply though a separate process. For more information contact the International Students Centre on (+61 2) 9217 4801 or 1300 302 456.

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