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Overview

There are five TAFE colleges throughout Western Australia, with campuses from Esperance in the south to Wyndham in the north. TAFE colleges are vocational education and training (VET) institutions established under the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996. Funded predominantly by the State ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿, through the Department of Training and Workforce Development, they offer VET training to more than 100,000 people each year. 

Governance in WA's public sector is defined as encompassing the systems and structures by which an organisation is directed, controlled and operated, and the mechanisms by which it and the people within it are held to account. Governance arrangements vary between different types of public sector bodies.

The TAFE college governance resources provided here are consistent with public sector wide governance guides developed by the WA Public Sector Commission.

For further information about TAFE college governance requirements, please contact our Training Provider Governance team at trainingprovidergovernance@dtwd.wa.gov.au.

TAFE Governing councils

The governing council is the governing body of the TAFE college and has the authority to perform the functions of the organisation and govern its operations and affairs. The governing council ensures that local industry and the community have direct input into the strategic development of TAFE colleges; and is responsible for ensuring that clear management, effective decision making and governance frameworks are in place and functioning for the college.

Under Section 39 of the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996, each TAFE college is required to have a governing council.

The effectiveness of each TAFE college is influenced by the efficiency of its governing council. Members have the opportunity to contribute expertise to a significant public training enterprise and participate in the growth and development of a vital community and State resource.

TAFE Governing council handbook

The TAFE college governing council handbook is an important and useful resource for prospective, incoming and existing governing council members. It provides information and tools necessary to meet the legislative, policy, accountability and governance responsibilities of governing council members of WA's TAFE colleges.

It also provides information on WA's VET system, Commonwealth and State priorities, and details the role of key stakeholders who are involved in achieving high quality training and workforce development outcomes.

View and download the TAFE Governing council handbook here

Nomination committees

The governing council can establish standing committees as required. Committees of the council consider certain issues and specialised functions in detail and then report back to the council with any recommendations. 

Nomination committees formulate policy for governing council member composition, renewal and evaluation, and make recommendations to the Minister on appointments. They are also responsible for: 

• developing criteria for evaluating the skills and experience of the governing council;
• identifying potential candidates, interviewing and conducting referee and ‘fit and proper person’ checks for the governing council;
• determining processes for reviewing the performance of the governing council and inducting new council members; and 
• considering potential conflicts of interest. 

Guidelines, resources and templates

The following guidelines, resources and templates are available to support governance process and practice for the TAFE college governing councils.

You can view and download them all here