As part of $45b in budget savings, the state government is cutting jobs and courses at TasTAFE, the state's only public provider of Vocational Education and Training.
The cuts to TasTAFE are significantly impacting courses in the Arts, a sector that is critical to Tasmania’s creative industries. Non-teaching staff across TasTAFE are also facing the axe.
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1. Sign our petition to protect TasTAFE from course and job cuts.
2. Use the form on the right of this page to tell us your story.
The first tranche of cuts already includes dozens of job losses across both teaching and non‑teaching roles, with further positions under threat. These cuts are not isolate — they span multiple teaching areas and essential support services, reshaping how TasTAFE operates and what it can deliver.
Courses and teaching teams are being directly cut across a wide ran
Teaching and courses: reduced options for students
Cuts to a range of disciplines, including:
- Creative and arts programs – with at least ten courses flagged to cease delivery and significant teacher reductions
- Laboratory operations – impacting both teachers and technical support roles
- Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) – funding reductions limiting course delivery and cutting teaching staff
Prison education and training programs – with contracts not renewed, ending training opportunities and associated roles.
These cuts have already led to the closure of courses in areas like design, screen and media, visual arts, music, and laboratory technology.
The result is fewer courses, fewer teachers, and fewer pathways for Tasmanians to gain skills — particularly in creative, technical, and community-focused fields.
The cuts are also hitting the non‑teaching workforce that keeps TasTAFE running.
Key impacts include:
International Services and Operations
- Job cuts to International Study Support Specialists and International Services Advisors, along with other compliance and admissions roles. A broader push to restructure or scale back international operations as part of cost‑cutting measures. Learning design and support roles
- Cuts to learning designers, project leaders, and digital learning leadership positions. Technical and support staff across teaching areas
- Reductions in lab technicians, technical employees, and support roles that enable course delivery.
These are not “back office” cuts—they directly affect student support, course quality, compliance requirements, and the capacity to deliver training.
The bigger picture
While some cuts have been detailed, they do not yet account for the full $45 million target, raising serious concerns that more job and course losses are still to come.
What we do know:
- Staff are being cut across both teaching and non‑teaching roles
- Courses are being reduced or withdrawn across multiple industries
- Students are losing access to training, support, and opportunities.
This is not a targeted efficiency measure — it’s a broad reduction in TasTAFE’s capacity to deliver public vocational education.