After three decades working in office administration, Leanne Simpson was ready for a change. It wasn’t until she stumbled across fee-free TAFE, however, that she felt empowered to pursue her dream of working in healthcare.

Leanne’s interest was sparked about 10 years ago while watching the dedication and compassion of aged care staff as they cared for her late father in a nursing home. “I could see myself doing something like this,” she recalls thinking at the time.

Fast-forward to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic: Leanne was working for a freight-forwarding business deemed an essential service and continuing operations as usual.

“I loved the company that I worked for, and I loved the people I worked with, but the job just didn’t do anything for me anymore,” she admits.

Encouraged by her husband to explore a change, Leanne circled back to healthcare. After flicking through different courses, she landed on a Certificate III in Aged Care at Victoria University.

Discovering that the course was fee-free as part of an Albanese Government initiative aimed at addressing skills shortages in priority sectors like healthcare was the final push she needed.

The Victorian Government began offering fee-free TAFE for priority courses in 2019. The Commonwealth Government launched a national program in January 2023, establishing a $1 billion Skills Agreement with state and territory governments to provide an initial 180,000 fee-free TAFE places. Expansion has resulted in the government aiming to deliver 300,000 places over three years from 2024, and 100,000 fee-free places each year from 2027. Since its inception, 508,000 Australians have enrolled in courses in high demand fields, including 131,000 in care, including disability and aged care.

For Leanne, fee-free TAFE gave her the confidence to quit her four-day-a-week admin job and focus on her studies.

“It was a gamble, to give up my income,” says Leanne, a 59-year-old mother of two, whose daughter is a registered nurse. “But it led me to where I think I should be.”

She admits that she may not have pivoted into healthcare if she was required to pay for the course.

After completing the Certificate III in Aged Care, which allowed her to begin her career in aged care as a personal care assistant (PCA), Leanne discovered that the fee-free TAFE extended to pathway courses, including Kangan Institute’s Diploma of Nursing. She grabbed the opportunity to expand her career options and is on track to become an Enrolled Nurse.

Although finding the return to education later in life daunting, Leanne credits fee-free TAFE with motivating her to push past her doubts and grow as a person. It has allowed her to balance her face-to-face part-time study commitments with working two-days a week as a PCA at a local residential aged care facility.

Since 2023, fee-free courses at Kangan Institute, jointly funded by Victorian and Australian Governments, have made a significant impact on the nursing profession. Kangan has successfully trained over 210 students in free TAFE nursing programs, helping to improve access to education for future health professionals and address workforce shortages.

According to the Victorian Government’s Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, the Diploma of Nursing has been the most popular free TAFE course since the start of free TAFE in the state. A full-fee Diploma of Nursing course at Kangan Institute costs over $37,000 without concessions and government subsidies.  

“I don’t think I would have gone down this path had it not been for fee-free TAFE. But I’m forever grateful for it because I’m now about to become something (an Enrolled Nurse) that I’m going to be really proud of,” she says.

“Working in aged care has given me a great skillset. It’s given me an opportunity to work with a lot of like-minded people in a very supportive environment and draw on skills I probably didn’t know I had, the ability to connect with people on a level that helps them get through their day. Some of the residents, every now and then, they just want someone to stop and have a chat and give them a bit of TLC. It’s a privilege.”

Once she completes her Diploma of Nursing, Leanne, an Australian Nursing and Midwifery (ANMF Vic Branch) member, hopes to secure a grad year program at a hospital to consolidate her knowledge and skills.

Her advice to others thinking about returning to study? “Give it a go.” “I wish I’d done it years before, but free TAFE wasn’t around then. It’s given me the opportunity to follow my dream.”