From time to time directions may be issued by the responsible Minister to clarify the management, reporting and other responsibilities of TAFE Institution Boards, and to give direction about employment of staff, the charging of fees, or other specific matters. Directions may take the form of a Ministerial order, where a staff position is declared to be part of the management of an institution. TAFE institutions are required to observe and give effect to the directions.

Other providers may also be required to comply with the directions, where applicable to their funding contracts.

Ministerial Directions were made in 1995 by the authority of the Vocational Education and Training Act 1990. A series of amendments have been made to these directions since 1995. Amendments are incorporated in an updated version of the Ministerial Directions to Councils of TAFE Institutes and Universities with TAFE Divisions 1995, which is still in force for 2009.

This document has not been adjusted to reflect changes in national governance structures since 1995, so it contains references to organisations that have since closed, for example, the former Australian National Training Authority (ANTA). The Directions about Fees and Charges refer to an hourly rate that has since been adjusted each year.

Ministerial Directions currently in force (revised September 2006)

Ministerial Orders - TAFE Institute Constitutions

Ministerial Directions to Councils of TAFE Institutes and Universities with TAFE Divisions (Doc 224.5 kb)The purpose of these Directions is to clarify management, reporting and other responsibilities of Councils of TAFE Institutes and Universities with TAFE Divisions and to give directions about the employment of staff of those institutions.

The purpose of these directions is to clarify management, reporting and other responsibilities of Councils of TAFE Institutes and Universities with TAFE Divisions, to give directions about the employment of staff of those institutions, and to set out a framework for the calculation, charging and recording of student fees.

These directions incorporate amendments as of 1 September 2006, including:

Fees and charges

• 2005/47 Executive Memo - Indexation of Student Fees and Charges for 2006 (September 19)
• 2004 amendment (October 13)

Employment of staff

• 2006 amendment (August 17)
• 2005 amendment (October 7)
• 2004 amendment (September 10)
• 2001 amendment (December 4)

Undergraduate higher education courses and award

• 2003 amendment (August 16)

Fee adjustments

Indexation adjustments to tuition fees have been announced each year by Executive Memorandum, as follows:

• 2008 Executive Memo - Students Fees and Charges for January 2009 to June 2009 (Doc 33.0 kb)
• 2007 Executive Memo - Indexation of Student Fees and Charges for 2008 (Doc 34.0 kb)
• 2006 Executive Memo - Indexation of Student Fees and Charges for 2007 (Doc 37.5 kb)
  

Indigenous Completions Initiative

In addition to announcements on indexation, Executive Memoranda have been issued on tuition fees applicable to Indigenous students as part of the Indigenous Completions Initiative within the Wurreker Strategy:

• 2009 Executive Memo – Tuition Fees for Indigenous Students for 2009 (Doc 32.0 kb)
• 2007 Executive Memo – Tuition Fees for Indigenous Students 2008 (Doc 28.0 kb)