Introduction
Some people have been against a competency-based VET system for a very long time.
In November 2018, the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, commissioned a short-duration review of the Australia’s VET sector. The review was led by Steven Joyce, a former New Zealand Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment. He was later appointed Chair of the Skills Expert Panel, providing strategic advice to the Australian Government on VET reform implementation.[1]
People who were against a competency-based VET system had their say and Steven Joyce included their ideas in his report.
In April 2019, the Australian Government released the report of the Strengthening Skills: Expert Review of Australia’s Vocational Education and Training System, also known as the Joyce Review. [2]
In 2020, work on the VET Reforms begin. Later, VET Reforms are rebranded as Skills Reforms.
What is the planned change?
The planned change to the Australian VET system starts with changing qualifications and unit. The ultimate goal to the creation of a harmonised tertiary education system.
Not everyone thinks that VET should become a curriculum-based education system. There are some people who want VET to retain as a competency-based training system. I think a compromise has been made so that everyone gets what they want. The people want to introduce a vocational education system can have what they want, and those wanting vocational training system to continue to have it.
What are the two systems?
VET is splitting into two systems:
- Vocational training system
- Vocational education system.
The following table shows some differences between the two systems.
And the following illustrates the one VET system splitting into two.
Options for the future may include:
- Vocational training (VT) is completely replaced by vocational education (VE), returning the entire VET system back to pre-1992 settings
- Continues as 2 different systems, VE system and VT system
- After the curriculum-based experiment fails the entire system returns to competency-based vocational training (VT) system
- AI destroys the economy and society as we know it (let’s hope this is not a real option).
The following illustrates potential future options.
What is tertiary education harmonisation?
Harmonisation refers to the strategic alignment of the Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education (University) sectors. This initiative is driven by the Australian Universities Accord reforms and guided by the Jobs and Skills Australia Roadmap. The aim is to create a seamless tertiary education system.
I will assume that harmonisation is not about creating one tertiary education system. The vocational education (VE) system would continue to exist. The dream is for vocational education (VE) course to provide a pathway to higher education (HE) courses.
In conclusion
Ultimately, the ongoing evolution of the Australian VET system highlights a long-standing tension between competency-based training and curriculum-based education. What began with the 2018 Joyce Review has culminated in a strategic compromise: rather than forcing the entire sector into a single system, the system is splitting into distinct vocational training (VT) and vocational education (VE) streams. This dual-system approach attempts to satisfy both traditionalists who value practical, work-ready competencies and reformers advocating for broader, knowledge-based curriculum structures.
Looking forward, the success of this reform hinges on how effectively these two systems co-exist and align with the broader goal of tertiary harmonisation. The future remains open to several paths, ranging from a total shift back to a pre-1992 curriculum model to a potential return to a purely competency-based framework if the current experiment fails.
References
[1] https://www.dewr.gov.au/expert-review-australias-vet-system accessed 9 June 2026
[2] Strengthening Skills: Expert Review of Australia’s Vocational Education and Training System | PM&C accessed 9 June 2026
Do you want more information?
Are you an RTO manager or course coordinator?
Could your RTO team benefit from professional development about changes to the Australian VET system? In particular, how the Training Package Organising Framework or how the new EPC and ASK formatted units impact their work as VET practitioners?
Ring Alan Maguire on 0493 065 396 to discuss.
Training trainers since 1986
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