WA Labor’s $68.3 million TAFE investment to equip students for success

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will invest $68.3 million in new equipment and facilities to ensure the influx of Western Australians enrolling in affordable and Free TAFE courses continue to get world-class training that sets them up for future success.
  • Re-elected Cook Labor Government to fund $33.8 million equipment boost for WA TAFEs
  • $17.1 million expansion of Munster TAFE to grow WA’s clean energy workforce
  • $17.4 million to establish a new Heavy Vehicle Driver Training facility in Perth's north

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will invest $68.3 million in new equipment and facilities to ensure the influx of Western Australians enrolling in affordable and Free TAFE courses continue to get world-class training that sets them up for future success.

WA Labor’s commitment includes $33.8 million for a new, expanded round of the successful Modern TAFE Equipment Program, which was a 2021 election commitment and is already providing thousands of WA TAFE students with quality, industry-standard training resources.

This latest investment will deliver additional equipment for the State’s TAFEs across electrical, building and construction, health, driver training, automation and manufacturing courses.

A re-elected Cook Labor Government will also upgrade South Metropolitan TAFE’s Munster campus, which will be key to training and skilling the tens of thousands of workers needed for WA’s clean energy transition.

Western Australia is expected to need thousands of new electricians to deliver the clean energy transition, in addition to dozens of diverse construction, engineering and mechanical trades needed for big batteries, utility and rooftop solar, and wind turbines.

The $17.1 million expansion will provide state-of-the-art facilities to deliver future workforce skills for renewables industries, including wind energy, battery technology, green hydrogen, electrification, automation and robotics.

The project is expected to include instrumentation and battery laboratories, automation classroom and control room, specialist classrooms for wind energy training, computer laboratories, general classrooms, and other facilities.

Construction will begin early in 2027, with the new facilities set to be operational in late 2028.

A further $17.4 million will be invested to establish WA’s first dedicated TAFE Heavy Vehicle Driver Training facility at Neerabup, near the new Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct in Perth’s north.

The WA Labor Government’s Heavy Vehicle Driving Operations Skill Set has successfully trained hundreds of much-needed transport and logistics, civil construction and mining workers in partnership with industry.

The new facility will provide the metropolitan area with a new dedicated, TAFE run training facility with the capacity to train 170 students a year from 2026.

It will include Heavy Rigid trucks and trailers, forklift trucks, a high-tech Heavy Vehicle Driving Simulator and wide roads that are suitable for providing practical on-road skilled driver training.

The former Liberal-National Government gutted WA’s training system, increasing TAFE fees by up to 500 per cent and overseeing a dramatic 33 per cent drop in the number of people starting apprenticeships and traineeships. They also slashed investment in TAFE infrastructure by more than 25 per cent in their final term.

WA Labor’s commitments build on the Cook Labor Government’s record of rebuilding WA’s TAFEs and boosting course enrolments to record highs with affordable and Free TAFE to help meet the workforce needs of the State’s booming economy, including the $25 million Modern TAFE Equipment Program and major infrastructure upgrades at 22 TAFEs across Perth and regional WA.

Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:

“We want WA students to leave TAFE fully prepared for success in their next job.

“That’s why a re-elected Cook Labor Government will expand the popular TAFE Modern Equipment Program, ensuring students are trained using the same cutting-edge technology they will encounter out in the workforce."

“We will also undertake a major expansion of Munster TAFE, which is at the centre of efforts to skill and upskill local workers for the quality clean energy jobs of the future – including thousands of electricians."

“Only WA Labor can be trusted to invest in affordable and Free TAFE for Western Australians, and these commitments will ensure our TAFEs are delivering the world-class, industry-relevant skills that students and employers need.”

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