Policy Priority: Participation in tertiary education
Improving pathways and accessibility to post-school education and training for people with disability assists them to achieve their full potential, and to access the same opportunities as Australians without disability (Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031). Having a higher level of education generally results in better employment outcomes and higher income, which are both key factors in economic security and independence (AIHW 2024).
The purpose of the “Participation in tertiary education” policy priority is to support people with disability to participate in and complete additional education after high school. This includes VET and higher education qualifications. There are 4 measures under this policy priority:
- VET participation (updated)
- Undergraduate participation (updated)
- VET completion (updated)
- Higher education completion (updated).
The updated measures are discussed below.
Measure: VET participation
Full name – Proportion of VET students with disability (aged 15–64)
The VET sector provides individuals with the skills needed to get a job or change jobs and supports the development of technical and employability skills to participate in the workforce (Griffin 2020). VET is also an important pathway for educational re-engagement for early school leavers (Lim 2022). For more information, see Data Dictionary: VET participation.
The measure determines the percentage of VET students with disability aged 15–64.
VET participation
Latest update: 3.9% (2023)
Baseline: 4.4% (2021)
Progress status: Regress
In 2023:
- 9.1% of First Nations VET students had disability, compared with 4.0% of non-Indigenous VET students
- 5.0% of VET students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds had disability, compared with 1.7% among the non-CALD group.
Figure 6.2: Proportion of domestic VET students with disability aged 15–64, 2015 to 2023
The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of VET students with disability (aged 15–64). Data from 2015 to 2023 are used. In 2023, 3.9% of VET students had disability, compared with 4.5% in 2015.
| Year | Proportion (%) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 4.5% |
| 2016 | 4.4% |
| 2017 | 4.3% |
| 2018 | 4.3% |
| 2019 | 4.3% |
| 2020 | 4.6% |
| 2021 | 4.4% |
| 2022 | 4.1% |
| 2023 | 3.9% |
Notes:
- Data includes domestic students aged 15–64 only.
- VET refers to vocational education and training.
- 'VET students with disability' refers to those who self-identify as having a disability, impairment or long-term condition.
- Data for VET domestic student numbers has a relatively high proportion of students for whom disability status was unknown; results should be treated with some caution. In 2023, disability status was unknown for 12% of students, a drop since 2017 (15%).
Source: NCVER (National Centre for Vocational Education Research) 2024, Australian vocational education and training statistics: Total VET students and courses 2023: DataBuilder.
Source:
NCVER 2024, Australian vocational education and training statistics: Total VET students and courses 2023 (DataBuilder)
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix B: Figure notes and sources.
Measure: Undergraduate participation
Full name – Proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability
Undergraduate higher education develops students’ skills and knowledge to prepare them for more highly skilled or professional employment. It is also a pathway to post‑graduate study. Undergraduate study in Australia includes an undergraduate certificate, a diploma or advanced diploma that is not accredited as a VET award, an associate degree, a bachelor degree or an honours program (Department of Education 2025). For more information, see Data Dictionary: Undergraduate participation.
The measure looks at the percentage of undergraduate higher education students with disability.
Undergraduate participation
Latest update: 13% (2023)
Baseline: 10% (2021)
Progress status: Improving
In 2023:
- 20% of First Nations undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 12% of non-Indigenous students
- 22% of undergraduate higher education students aged 65 and over had disability, compared with 11% of undergraduate students aged 15–24
- of the undergraduate higher education students with disability, 49% had a mental health condition and 26% had a medical condition.
Figure 6.3: Proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability aged 15 and over, 2011 to 2023
The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over). Data from 2011 to 2023 are presented with a break in series between 2020 and 2021. Data before and including 2020 are not comparable to data from 2021 onwards. In 2023, 13% of undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 10% in 2021.
| Year | Proportion (%) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 5.0% |
| 2012 | 5.2% |
| 2013 | 5.4% |
| 2014 | 5.8% |
| 2015 | 6.2% |
| 2016 | 6.5% |
| 2017 | 6.8% |
| 2018 | 7.3% |
| 2019 | 7.7% |
| 2020 | 8.1% |
| - | - |
| 2021 | *10% |
| 2022 | 11% |
| 2023 | 13% |
Notes:
- Includes domestic students aged 15 and over only.
- Excludes domestic students with permanent home residence outside of Australia.
- Based on Table A (Public universities) and Table B (Private universities that receive Commonwealth assistance) providers only.
- 'Disability' refers to students who have indicated that they have a disability, impairment or long-term medical condition which may affect their studies.
- Data on disability status are based on self-identification. This means that if a student does not self-identify, the student is considered to be without disability for the purposes of the data collection.
- The data collection method for Higher Education student data changed in 2020, including changes to detailed disability categories.
- Between 2020 and 2022, the increase in the proportion and number of domestic undergraduate higher education students with disability (3 percentage points, or around 24,200 students) was substantially larger than previous increases seen in the historical data. The particularly large increase in 2022 is likely due to changes made to the detailed disability categories, related to the implementation of the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) System, introduced in 2020 to improve data collection practices.
- Due to an issue related to implementation of the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) System over its first year of operation in 2020, enrolment numbers for students with disability were substantially under-reported in the case of several universities. As it is not yet possible to correct this oversight, the entire series has been reported as received and the figures for some individual universities, and the aggregate figures for states and university sectors have been affected. This issue can be seen in the 2020 access, participation, and success indicators and the 2020 retention rates as reported in the 2021 data set. For this reason, caution should be taken when including 2020 enrolment data for students with disability in either annual, aggregate, or cross-institutional comparisons.
Source: Department of Education Higher Education Statistics Collection.
*Due to changes in data collection, data before and including 2020 are not comparable with data from 2021 onwards. Based on Table A (Public universities) and Table B (Private universities that receive Commonwealth assistance) providers only.
Source:
Department of Education Higher Education Statistics Collection.
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix B: Figure notes and sources.
Measure: VET completion
Experiencing disability can substantially disrupt the educational attainment of young people. As a result, course completion rates tend to be lower among students with disability than among those without disability (Fossey et al. 2015). For more information, see Data Dictionary: VET completion.
The measure looks at the qualification completion rate for VET students aged 15–64 with disability, compared with students without disability.
VET completion
Latest update: 42% (with disability), 49% (without disability) (2019–2023)
Baseline: 40% (with disability), 46% (without disability) (2017–2021)
Progress status: Regress
For the 2019–2023 cohort:
- 45% of females with disability completed their VET qualification compared with 39% of males
- 43% of people with disability from CALD backgrounds completed their VET qualification, as did 42% of people with disability from non-CALD backgrounds
- 43% of people in Major cities with disability completed their VET qualification compared with 34% in Remote and very remote areas.
Figure 6.4: Qualification completion rate for VET students aged 15–64 with and without disability, cohorts 2015–2019 to 2019–2023
The data in the graph and the table below show the qualification completion rate for VET students aged 15–64 with disability, compared with students without disability. Data for cohorts 2015–2019 to 2019–2023 are used. For the 2019–2023 cohort, the qualification completion rate for VET students with disability was 42%, compared with 49% for VET students without disability. For the 2015–2019 cohort, the qualification completion rate for VET students with disability was 39%, compared with 43% for VET students without disability.
| Cohort | With disability | Without disability |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2019 | 39% | 43% |
| 2016–2020 | 39% | 44% |
| 2017–2021 | 40% | 46% |
| 2018–2022 | 42% | 49% |
| 2019–2023 | 42% | 49% |
Notes:
- Observed actual completion rates for the cohort 2019–2023 are for qualifications that commenced in 2019 and were completed by 2023. The calculation assumes that enough time has passed for all students who were going to complete their qualification have done so.
- Data includes domestic students aged 15–64 only.
- VET refers to vocational education and training.
- 'VET Students with disability' refers to students who self-identify as having a disability, impairment or long-term condition.
- These data on VET completion rates have a relatively high proportion of students for whom disability status was unknown, and results should be treated with some caution. For cohort 2019–2023, disability status was unknown for 16% of enrolled students. This was lower than the previous 3 cohorts: 19% in 2018–2022, 18% in 2017–2021, and 17% in 2016–2020.
- While completion rates improved, the number of VET students with and without disability who completed their qualification dropped. The number of students with disability in cohort 2019–2023 who completed their qualification was 5.2% lower (or 2,488 fewer) than for cohort 2015–2019. For those without disability, it was 20% (or 131,611 fewer students).
Source: NCVER (National Centre for Vocational Education Research) 2024, Australian vocational education and training statistics: Total VET students and courses 2023, customised data request.
Source:
NCVER 2024. Australian vocational education and training statistics: total VET students and courses 2023 (customised data request).
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix B: Figure notes and sources.
Measure: Higher education completion
Full name – Proportion of students with disability who complete a higher education qualification
Higher education in Australia consists of undergraduate and post‑graduate study. Post-graduate awards include a graduate certificate or diploma that is not accredited as a VET award, a master’s degree, and a doctoral degree (Department of Education 2025). For more information, see Data Dictionary: Higher education completion.
The measure looks at the percentage of students with disability who complete a higher education qualification.
Higher education completion
Latest update: 55.3% (2018–2023)
Baseline: 54.9% (2016–2021)
Progress status: No change
For cohort 2018–2023:
- the highest percentage of students with disability who completed a higher education qualification was among the 15–24 age group (61%), and the lowest was for the 45–64 age group (41%)
- 55% of students with disability from an English-speaking background completed a higher education qualification, compared with 63% of students with disability from a non-English-speaking background
- the highest percentage of students who completed a higher education qualification were in the ‘vision’ disability group (59%) and the lowest percentage were in both ‘mobility’ and ‘other’ groups (53%).
Figure 6.5: Proportion of students with disability aged 15 and over who completed a higher education qualification, cohorts 2005–2010 to 2018–2023
The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of students with disability (aged 15 and over) who complete a higher education qualification. Data for cohorts 2005–2010 to 2018–2023 are used. For cohort 2018–2023, 55% of students with disability completed a higher education qualification, compared with 59% for cohort 2005–2010.
Percentages in the report are generally rounded to whole numbers except for those less than 10% which are rounded to 1 decimal place. Exceptions include for the reporting on latest results, where rounding to whole numbers would obscure differences between the baseline and the latest results.
| Cohort | Proportion (%) |
|---|---|
| 2005–2010 | 59% |
| 2006–2011 | 59% |
| 2007–2012 | 58% |
| 2008–2013 | 58% |
| 2009–2014 | 59% |
| 2010–2015 | 59% |
| 2011–2016 | 58% |
| 2012–2017 | 57% |
| 2013–2018 | 56% |
| 2014–2019 | 56% |
| 2015–2020 | 55% |
| 2016–2021 | 55% |
| 2017–2022 | 55% |
| 2018–2023 | 55% |
Notes:
- Includes domestic students aged 15 and over only.
- Excludes domestic students with permanent home residence outside of Australia.
- Completion rates are 6-year rates for commencing students in a given year who completed their study within a 6-year period. For example, cohort 2018–2023 are students commencing in 2018 who completed their study in any year between 2018 and 2023.
- Includes Table A (Public universities) and Table B (Private universities that receive Commonwealth assistance) providers only.
- 'Disability' refers to students who have indicated that they have a disability, impairment or long-term medical condition which may affect their studies.
- The data collection method for Higher Education student data changed in 2020, including changes to detailed disability categories.
- From July 2024, small discrepancies with the data previously released on these webpages are due to the adoption of new student ID concordances, exclusion of students with an ‘unknown’ citizenship, and revision of the methodology in calculating completion rates.
- Of the student cohorts who had not completed their degree within the reported 6-year period, many are still engaged in their student, and have the potential to do so over a longer period. For data relating completions over a 9-year period, see Fourth annual report | Data tables: Education and Learning.
- The data presented for this measure do not consider that some students with disability may be studying part time, which is a factor in completion times. For the student population as a whole (that is, students with and without disability), lower completion rates may be observed in the older student cohort as they are more likely to be part-time students (Department of Education 2017).
Source: Department of Education Higher Education Statistics Collection.
Source:
Department of Education Higher Education Statistics Collection.
|
Data source overview
For figure notes, see Appendix B: Figure notes and sources.
AIHW (2024) ‘Education and skills’, People with disability in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 08 October 2025.
Department of Education (2025) 6. Courses of study, Department of Education, Australian Government, accessed 08 October 2025.
Federal Financial Relations (2021) Preschool Reform Agreement, Federal Financial Relations, accessed 08 October 2025.
Fossey E, Chaffey L, Venville A, Ennals P, Douglas J and Bigby C (2015) Supporting tertiary students with disabilities: individualised and institution-level approaches in practice, NCVER website, accessed 08 October 2025.
Griffin T (2020) Workforce-ready: challenges and opportunities for VET, NCVER website, accessed 08 October 2025.
Lim P (2022) VET as a re-engagement pathway for early school leavers, NCVER website, accessed 08 October 2025.
Previous page
Policy Priority: Participation in early childhood education
Next page
Health and Wellbeing