Skills for work and life

TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) is the peak national body which represents Australia’s national network of publicly owned Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes and university TAFE divisions.

Each TAFE on behalf of its state or territory delivers comprehensive tertiary education, spanning technical and further education, senior schooling and higher education. In meeting the education and training needs of their students, the TAFE network serves the needs of Australian industry, enterprises and communities.

Australia’s network of TAFE institutes is the largest and most diverse component of our national tertiary education sector, with campuses located across central business districts, suburban, regional, rural and remote locations. Many institutes offer further services throughout the Asia-Pacific and other offshore regions.

TDA seeks to bring TAFEs together and link with key stakeholders in tertiary education, including with other education bodies, industry and across all areas of government activity.

The core business of TDA is supporting our member institutes, leading the advocacy for quality skills in Australia, managing a range of professional development opportunities for our members and thought leadership for the sector.

TAFE Directors Australia was established by TAFE directors in 1998.

In 2025, TDA established a Coordination Hub for Australia’s new National TAFE Network (NTN), a collaborative initiative established under the National Skills Agreement by the Australian Government and participating state and territory governments. Its purpose is to harness and strengthen the collective capacity of TAFE, ensuring TAFE remains at the heart of Australia’s technical and tertiary education system.

Through the Network, TAFEs across jurisdictions work together to deliver nation-leading outcomes for learners, industry, and communities, responding to social, economic, and technological change. For more information about the National TAFE Network, see https://ntn.edu.au/