Government funded enrolment: who qualifies, what the limits are, and what a subsidy does not cover

A funded place means a government program pays part of the cost of your training. It is not a discount we choose to give, and it is not automatic — it comes with eligibility criteria that you must meet and that we must evidence. This page sets out the criteria honestly, including the limits that catch people out, so that you can tell before you apply whether a subsidised place is realistically available to you.

If you are not eligible, that does not mean you cannot study with us. It means the fee-for-service route applies instead. For the general enrolment process, see course enrolment.

Which program, and where

Victoria — Skills First

We hold a Victorian VET Funding Contract under the Skills First program, as a Standard contract holder. The Victorian Government publishes the list of training providers with a VET funding contract under Skills First, and we appear on it under TOID 3722, Complete Hospitality Training (Vic) Pty Ltd, with trading names including Coffee School by CHT, Complete Hospitality Training, Ready Serve Achieve Melbourne and Victorian Bar School.

Skills First subsidises training in areas of job demand. Which products are subsidisable is governed by the Training Needs List, which is revised as skills needs change and is informed by the Victorian Skills Plan.

New South Wales

We deliver in NSW from our Surry Hills site, but NSW government subsidised training runs through the Smart and Skilled program, which requires the provider to hold a Smart and Skilled contract. We were not on the published Smart and Skilled Provider List for the 2026–2027 activity period, which NSW states was accurate as at 14 July 2026 and notes is subject to change.

So treat NSW enrolments as fee for service unless we tell you otherwise, and ask us directly rather than assuming a Victorian subsidy travels. Absence from the Smart and Skilled list does not by itself exclude other NSW arrangements such as apprentice and trainee funding, so it is worth the question.

Other states

Our qualifications carry delivery rights beyond Victoria, but a delivery right is not a funding contract. Ask us about the position for your state before you plan around a subsidy.

The critical distinction: Funded Scope is not scope of registration

This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it matters because it determines whether the course you want can be subsidised at all.

• Our scope of registration is what we are registered by ASQA to deliver and assess. It is public, on training.gov.au under RTO 3722.
• Our Funded Scope is the subset of that which can attract a Skills First subsidy. It is set in the contract schedules, drawn from the Training Needs List, and visible to us in the Skills Victoria Training System.

The Funded Scope is provider-specific and is not published alongside our scope of registration. So a course appearing on training.gov.au under our RTO code does not tell you it is subsidisable. Ask us whether the specific course you want is on our Funded Scope for the current contract period.

Eligibility criteria — Victoria

To be eligible for a Skills First subsidised place you must meet all of the following.

1. Citizenship or residency

You must be an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent visa, or a New Zealand citizen. Temporary visa holders, including student visa holders, are not eligible — if you are on a student visa, see our CRICOS courses instead, which are fee paying under provider code 04242E.

2. Commencement window

You must be enrolling and commencing within the current contract period. The present window runs to 31 December 2026 inclusive. Contract periods roll over, so confirm the window that applies to your intake rather than relying on a date on a web page.

3. Physical presence in Victoria

You must undertake all training and assessment while physically present in Victoria, or in a listed border-region postcode.

There is one exception and it is narrow: a student temporarily interstate or overseas for a Practical Placement may receive online training and assessment during that period, provided it accounts for no more than 50% of total Scheduled Hours. There is no general online or interstate concession. A Victorian-subsidised student who moves interstate mid-course is a compliance event, not a minor administrative change, so tell us if your circumstances change.

4. Not enrolled in a school

A student enrolled in a school — government, non-government, independent or Catholic — is not eligible, unless they are a school-based apprentice or trainee.

This one catches families by surprise. A 15-year-old can enrol with us on a fee-for-service basis for a short course such as RSA, but if they are enrolled in a school they are excluded from subsidy. "Can enrol" and "can be subsidised" are two different questions and we keep them separate deliberately.

5. If you are under 17 at commencement

A student under 17 at commencement must hold an exemption from school attendance, unless they are a school-based apprentice or trainee or have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

To obtain an exemption the individual must participate in training full time — defined as an average of at least 25 hours per week, excluding travel time, term and public holidays, and leave — or in a combination of training and employment. The exemption must clearly identify the provider and the training (or the employer, for an apprenticeship or traineeship), and must be signed by:

We must sight and retain the exemption. There is also an exit-notification duty on us: where an under-17 student enrolled on the basis of an exemption stops attending or completes while still under 17, we must notify the relevant Department of Education Regional Office and, where applicable, the student's previous Victorian school.

The volume limits — the rule most people have never heard of

Skills First caps how much subsidised training one person can commence in a calendar year.

Programs scheduled to commence later in the same calendar year count toward the limits.

This is directly relevant to us, because a large part of what we deliver is short, licensing-linked skill sets — responsible service of alcohol, food safety supervision, food handling, espresso machine operation. A student stacking short courses reaches the two-skill-sets limit quickly, and the limit counts commencements, not completions. If you commence two subsidised skill sets and withdraw from both, you have still used both.

So if you are planning several short courses in one year, tell us the whole plan at the start. We will check the limit at enrolment, and it is far better to sequence the plan deliberately than to discover the cap halfway through.

Fees, concessions and waivers

A subsidy reduces the tuition fee. It does not usually remove it, and it does not cover everything.

• Concessions must be offered, and a concession fee is no more than 20% of the standard tuition fee.
• Fee waivers must be offered to eligible students, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, Youth Access Initiative students, students from the Judy Lazarus Transition Centre, and young people on community-based orders.
• Otherwise providers set tuition fees according to the cost, specialisation and nature of the training, and may charge non-tuition fees such as materials and student services. Those are separate from tuition and separate from the subsidy.
• Additional funding attaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, regional delivery, and eligible young people. Higher subsidies apply to apprenticeships and apprenticeship pathways, high-value traineeships, and some NDIS and family-violence-response courses.

The detail sits in the department's Guidelines About Fees. What binds for you is the Statement of Fees we issue for your own enrolment — ask for it, in writing, before you pay anything.

What we have to evidence, and why we ask for documents

The provider, not the department, determines eligibility, and the provider bears the evidentiary burden. On request we must be able to produce, among other things:

• Evidence of Eligibility;
• Evidence of Fee Concession or Fee Waiver;
• Statements of Fees;
• Evidence of Participation;
• evidence of each Pre-Training Review; and
• evidence that fees reported as charged were actually received, including invoices or statements issued to the student and bank-generated transaction statements.

Records must be retained until three years after the student completed or withdrew from the program, and a contract retention rule does not override a stricter rule elsewhere.

There is a reason we are exacting about paperwork rather than relaxed: under the contract, a record we cannot make available when requested is deemed not to exist, and the activity it would have evidenced is deemed not to have occurred. So when we ask for a document twice, it is not bureaucracy for its own sake.

The department's audit rights are also broader than the training regulator's. It may audit, review or investigate at any reasonable time — including to determine the extent to which the training services are of high quality — and may enter premises at any time it reasonably requires, including while training and assessment is being delivered.

Questions and answers

Is CHT actually a funded provider?

In Victoria, yes. We hold a Victorian VET Funding Contract under Skills First and appear on the Victorian Government's published list of Skills First training providers under TOID 3722. For New South Wales, we were not on the published Smart and Skilled Provider List for the 2026–2027 activity period as at its 14 July 2026 snapshot, so treat NSW enrolments as fee for service unless we confirm otherwise.

Can I get a subsidised place for any CHT course?

No. Only courses on our Funded Scope can be subsidised, and the Funded Scope is a subset of our scope of registration drawn from the Victorian Training Needs List. A course appearing under our RTO code on training.gov.au does not tell you it is subsidisable. Ask us about the specific course.

I am on a student visa. Am I eligible?

No. Skills First eligibility requires Australian citizenship, an Australian permanent visa, or New Zealand citizenship. Student visa holders study on a fee-paying basis, and only three of our qualifications are CRICOS registered — see provider code 04242E.

I live in Sydney. Can I use a Victorian subsidy?

No. Skills First requires you to undertake all training and assessment while physically present in Victoria, or in a listed border-region postcode. The only exception is a temporary absence for a Practical Placement, capped at no more than 50% of total Scheduled Hours.

I am moving interstate mid-course. Does that matter?

Yes, and please tell us. A Victorian-subsidised student who relocates interstate mid-course is a compliance event under the funding contract. There is no general interstate or online concession.

Can I do an online course on a Victorian subsidy from another state?

No. The physical presence requirement applies to the mode of delivery as well — online training does not create an exception to it.

How many subsidised courses can I do in a year?

Two subsidised skill sets and two subsidised AQF qualifications commenced per calendar year, with a maximum of two subsidised programs running concurrently. Programs scheduled to commence later in the same calendar year count toward the limits.

I started two short courses and withdrew. Can I start another?

Not on a subsidised basis in the same calendar year, in most cases. The limit counts commencements, not completions. This is worth planning around before you enrol rather than after.

My child is 15 and still at school. Can they get a funded RSA place?

Almost certainly not. A student enrolled in a school is excluded from Skills First subsidy unless they are a school-based apprentice or trainee. They may still be able to enrol on a fee-for-service basis — the age requirements for a licensing-linked course are set by the relevant regulator, so check the specific course page.

My child is 16 and no longer at school. What do we need?

An exemption from school attendance, unless they are a school-based apprentice or trainee or have completed Year 12 or equivalent. The exemption requires full-time participation — an average of at least 25 hours per week excluding travel, holidays and leave — or a combination of training and employment, and must be signed by a school principal or a Department of Education Regional Director depending on whether Year 10 is complete. We must sight and retain it.

Does a subsidy make the course free?

No. A subsidy reduces the tuition fee. Concession fees are capped at no more than 20% of the standard tuition fee, and specified cohorts are entitled to fee waivers, but non-tuition charges such as materials and student services may still apply. Ask for a written Statement of Fees for your own enrolment.

Am I entitled to a concession?

Concessions must be offered, and specified cohorts must be offered fee waivers — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, Youth Access Initiative students, students from the Judy Lazarus Transition Centre, and young people on community-based orders. Whether you qualify depends on the department's Guidelines About Fees. Raise it before you enrol; a concession applied afterwards is harder.

Why do you need payslips, IDs and bank details?

Because we determine your eligibility and we carry the evidentiary burden for that determination. We must be able to produce Evidence of Eligibility, Evidence of Fee Concession or Waiver, Statements of Fees, Evidence of Participation, evidence of each Pre-Training Review, and evidence that the fees we reported as charged were actually received — including bank-generated transaction statements. Under the funding contract, a record we cannot produce is deemed not to exist.

How long do you keep my funding records?

Until three years after you completed or withdrew from the program, at minimum, and longer where a stricter rule applies under the regulatory standards or any other law. Note that certification records are kept for thirty years under a separate obligation.

What happens if my eligibility turns out to be wrong?

Tell us as soon as you know. Claiming a subsidy for an ineligible student is a recovery event under the funding contract, which is why we test eligibility properly at enrolment rather than taking it on trust. Getting it corrected early is straightforward; getting it corrected after an audit is not.

Where can I check all of this independently?

For our registration and scope: training.gov.au, RTO 3722. For our Skills First contract status: the Victorian Government's published list of Skills First training providers, TOID 3722. For the Skills First program rules, eligibility and the Training Needs List: the Victorian Government's own Skills First pages. For NSW: the published Smart and Skilled Provider List.

Related pages

Course enrolment · Fee-for-service enrolment · All courses · USI · Policies · Policies and student toolkit · Course enquiry · FAQ · Contact

Complete Hospitality Training (Vic) Pty Ltd, RTO 3722, CRICOS provider code 04242E, ABN 27 006 947 262. Level 3, 28 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Contact melbourne@cht.edu.au or +61 3 9654 1554.

Eligibility criteria, volume limits, fee and concession rules, under-17 exemption requirements and record obligations on this page are drawn from the Victorian VET Funding Contract and the Victorian Government's published Skills First material, and the NSW position from the published Smart and Skilled Provider List for the 2026–2027 activity period. Funding contracts, eligibility rules, the Training Needs List and contract periods change, and provider contract status is point-in-time. Confirm your own eligibility, the current commencement window and whether your course sits on our Funded Scope with us before enrolling.