Tertiary Harmonisation in Australia

As a significant provider of talent to the vocational and Higher Education sectors across Australia, Future Leadership is committed to contributing to initiatives to further improve and harmonise national Education.  At the recent AFR Workforce Summit, our Managing Director, Michelle Loader, with Barney Glover (Commissioner, Jobs and Skills Australia), and Melinda Cilento, (CEO, CEDA), addressed some of the key issues of immigration, future skills gaps and the challenges facing our education sector.

Jobs and Skills Australia has subsequently released a report titled “Opportunity and Productivity: Towards a Tertiary Harmonisation Roadmap”.

Here are some of our key takeaways:

Tertiary Harmonisation

Tertiary harmonisation refers to the strategic alignment—not merger—of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education sectors. Its goal is to create a more cohesive, student-centered system that allows learners to easily navigate between the two sectors, acquiring combinations of skills, knowledge, and applied learning necessary for success in Australia’s evolving labour market.

Why Harmonisation?

The current Australian tertiary education system is fragmented, with misaligned qualifications, regulatory frameworks, and funding structures. This disjointedness creates inefficiencies, duplications in learning, and barriers for students transitioning between VET and Higher Education. It also hampers the education sector’s ability to meet the needs of modern industries that demand hybrid skill sets—especially in sectors like health, clean energy, care, and digital technology.

Harmonisation is not about erasing the distinctive missions of each sector. Rather, it fosters cooperation between providers, improves credit transfer systems, encourages co-designed qualifications, and ensures a level playing field through regulatory and funding reforms. This change aims to benefit all key system actors—students, providers, governments, unions, employers, and accreditation bodies.

The Pillars of Harmonisation

The harmonisation framework is structured around three core pillars:

1. Key Players – Roles and Relationships:
Effective collaboration among state/territory and federal governments, employers, unions, licensing bodies, and education providers is essential. Clear roles and shared governance frameworks must guide the process.

2. Knowledge, Skills and Qualifications – Architecture and Perceptions:
Harmonisation requires a shared language and understanding of qualifications and learning outcomes. Reforms to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and the development of a National Skills Taxonomy (NST) are crucial. These efforts will elevate the status of VET and encourage flexible, stackable qualifications that blend academic and vocational strengths.

3. Legislative, Regulatory, Financial and Data Architecture:
To support collaboration, reforms must address funding disparities, credit recognition, regulatory burdens, and inconsistent data systems. Equal financial and legislative treatment of both sectors is essential for incentivising harmonisation.

System Benefits

A harmonised tertiary system provides a number of significant benefits:

• Efficiency and effectiveness: By reducing duplication and promoting collaboration, students save time and money while gaining more relevant skills.
• Access and equity: A smoother, more navigable system helps disadvantaged students, especially those in regional, remote, and First Nations communities, access and succeed in tertiary education.
• Workforce readiness: Industries transitioning to new technologies or facing labour shortages—such as healthcare, aged care, and green energy—will benefit from graduates who are equipped with both academic insight and practical skills.
• Productivity and economic growth: Harmonisation strengthens human capital by enabling more Australians to upskill, reskill, and engage in lifelong learning.

Recommendations and Roadmap

The roadmap to harmonisation involves 19 recommendations grouped into short- and medium-term priorities. Key recommendations include:

• Collaborative governance: A coordinated effort led by a newly formed Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) in partnership with Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), governments, and stakeholders.
• Innovation and credit transfer: Establishing a national credit transfer system and an innovation fund to support joint qualifications and cross-sector partnerships.
• Qualification and funding reform: Updating the AQF, developing the NST, and introducing a needs-based, purpose-driven funding model that supports blended qualifications and equitable student access.
• Student-centered tools: Creating digital infrastructure such as a National Skills Passport and a consolidated tertiary information platform to support informed choices and lifelong learning.

Real-world case studies from Queensland and New South Wales illustrate successful examples of harmonisation. These include dual qualifications in nursing and tourism/hospitality, which improve transition between VET and Higher Education, shorten degree completion times, and support underrepresented learners.

Implementation Context

The harmonisation agenda is supported by other major reforms:

• The Australian Universities Accord promotes collaboration between VET and Higher Education and calls for 80% of the working population to have tertiary qualifications by 2050.
• The 2024 VET Qualification Reform aims to modernise VET design to align better with Higher Education.
• The National Skills Agreement and Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council are fostering closer federal-state collaboration and system integration.

Conclusion

Tertiary harmonisation represents a bold opportunity for Australia to future-proof its education system, align better with industry needs, and offer students flexible, inclusive pathways to career success. By respecting the unique roles of both VET and Higher Education while breaking down structural barriers, the roadmap charts a pathway to a more effective, equitable, and agile tertiary system.

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Martin Searle is an Associate Partner leading Future Leadership’s Interim Academic practice. Our qualified senior candidate pool is a unique alternative resource for Institutions requiring the immediate deployment of pre-qualified interim talent for executive, management and specialist roles. If you would like to leverage this talent pool, please contact Martin.