Apply for TAFE certificates and diplomas

You can apply for a TAFE certificate or diploma in minutes via our online direct application portal. If you prefer, we can also assist with your application on campus.

Start the online application process for your TAFE certificate or diploma directly from the course page or locate the most suitable link from the options provided below. Prior to commencing the application, ensure to review essential dates and other application information, including the arrangement of your Unique Student Identifier (USI).

Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB)

Depending on your level of education, after you submit your application, you will be emailed a link to complete Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB) numeracy and literacy assessments. The BKSB assessments are online, self-paced and take approximately 20-40 minutes to complete with the option to leave and come back if required. Your responses are not used to determine your entry acceptance, they will help us to determine your level of competency and what support you may need in your TAFE course so you can succeed.

Eligibility Documentation

To Apply for our TAFE courses and to assess your application for Government Funding options you will need to provide a variety of documentation. You can easily snap a clear picture of the necessary documents using your smartphone and attached them to your application. Below is a list of the types of documents you might need to provide.

Photos of one of the following documents can be used as confirmation of your identity and show your date of birth: 

  • Current Australian Driver's License (photo of front and back)
  • Adult Proof of Age Card (photo of front and back)
  • Photo Identification Card (photo of front and back)
  • Current Passport
  • Birth Certificate

Photos of one of the following documents must show evidence of your Queensland address. The address must match each document provided to show proof of your Queensland residency: 

  • Current Australian Driver's License (photo of front and back)
  • Current Adult Proof of Age Card (photo of front and back)
  • Current Photo Identification Card (photo of front and back)
  • Current Health Care Card
  • Pensioner Concession Card
  • Concession Card
  • Recent telephone, electricity or gas account issued the last six (6) months
  • Australian Electoral Commission document
  • Recent contract of property purchase, lease / rental document, mortgage/land ownership certificate
  • Recent Queensland local government rates notice
  • Queensland Driver Licence Receipt
  • Bank statement issued within the last six (6) months
  • Australian Taxation Office assessment / Tax-file number confirmation notice.
  • Official letter from Centrelink or the Australian Government Department of Human Services

Photo's of one of the following documents can be used a confirmation of your citizenship:

  • Australian or New Zealand Birth Certificate
  • Current Medicare Card (must be green)
  • Current Australian or New Zealand Passport
  • Current Australian Citizenship Certificate.
  • Certificate of Status for New Zealand Citizens in Australia (CSNZA).

Government Concession fees can apply to Government funded courses like the Certificate 3 Guarantee or Higher Level Skills for eligible students to help reduce the cost of study and training. To be eligible for the concession fee, you must be eligible to access subsidised training, as well as meet the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible you must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Have, or be listed on an Australian Government Low Income Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card; or
  • Hold a Department of Veterans' Affairs Pensioner Concession Card; or
  • Identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; or
  • Have a disability.

Confirmation of eligibility may be requested to support your concession status, such as:

  • A Current I.D. (e.g. birth certificate, student ID with photo, passport, driver's license)
  • advice from the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) that Abstudy has been approved
  • a declaration from the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community group or from TAFE Queensland Brisbane's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander officer.

If you are required to pay Student Contribution Fees as part of an apprenticeship or traineeship, you may be eligible for partial or full exemption. To be eligible for an exemption student must meet the following:

Partial Exemption

  • The participant was or will be under 17 years of age at the end of February in the year in which the Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) provides training, and the participant is not at school and has not completed year 12. 
  • The participant holds a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card issued under Commonwealth law, or is the partner or a dependant of a person who holds a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and is named on the card. 
  • The participant issues the SAS with an official form under Commonwealth law confirming that the participant, his or her partner or the person of whom the participant is a dependant, is entitled to concessions under a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card.
  • The participant is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. Acceptable evidence is as stated on the Training Contract and AVETMISS VET Enrolment Form.

Full Exemption

  • Where payment of the student contribution fee would cause extreme financial hardship, then the Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) may waive these fees.
    • The fee waiver process should be in place at the time of the participant’s enrolment.
    • For 2.6.3 (a) of this Fees and Charges section, the SAS must have a reasonable internal process to manage an appeal about the outcome of an application under financial hardship.
  • Where the Queensland Government, as represented by the departmental officer responsible for the User Choice budget, advises in writing that fees are optional. On receipt of such advice, the Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) may choose not to collect the student contribution fee. In this circumstance, any decision by the Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) not to collect fees does not create a liability for the department. 

The Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) may not apply for reimbursement by the department of fee revenue foregone. Refer to the User Choice Price List, for information on where fee exemptions are applicable. The Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) must apply a full exemption from the student contribution fee where the participant falls into one or more of the following exemption categories: 

  • where credit transfer/national recognition has been applied to a unit of competency/module.
  • the participant is a school-based apprentice or trainee.
  • the participant is undertaking a qualification as part of the Skilling Queenslanders for Work – Work Skills Traineeship program.

Find your application portal

Domestic Applicants:

If you are applying for any TAFE certificates or diplomas:

If you are applying for an Apprenticeship and Traineeship 

International Applicants:

  • Apply for a TAFE certificate or diploma via iSTART.

Need help with your application?

If you would like a hand with your application, apply in person at any CQUniversity campus by finding the nearest location to you. You can also call us on 13 27 86 if you need help. 

TAFE Subsidised Training

Learn about TAFE Subsidised Training options and reduce the fees you pay through a range of government subsidies. Free to low-fee TAFE course options available.

Want a Personal Chat?

Get your questions answered with a one-on-one conversation about your TAFE course of interest. Choose a time to connect with us via phone or video call, email or social media.