NACCHO calls for long-term investment in Aboriginal Community Controlled and First Nations Owned RTOs to build the workers, trainers and leaders Australia needs
Australia will not meet the workforce needs of its rapidly expanding care economy without Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainers and community-led training pathways, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) said today.
Health Care and Social Assistance is already Australia’s largest industry, accounting for close to one in six jobs, and is projected to record the strongest employment growth of any industry to 2035. Across the broader care and support economy, demand is growing in health, aged care, disability support, early childhood education and care, and community services.
These services are social infrastructure. They keep people well, support children to thrive, enable Elders and people with disability to live with dignity and choice, and help families participate in work and community life.
NACCHO has brought together Aboriginal Community Controlled and First Nations Owned Registered Training Organisations, the Minister for Skills and Training, government, regulators, workforce planners and industry in Brisbane for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander RTO Summit.
The Summit is focused on the practical foundations of a sustainable sector: shared decision-making, long-term funding, stronger trainer and assessor pathways, delivery that responds to place and culture, and a clear line from enrolment to secure employment.
Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, welcomed the inaugural Summit and the opportunities to hear direct feedback from organisations.
“We know there is a lot of work to do to ensure the care sector has the workforce it needs for today and for the future, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Minister Giles said.
“Closing the Gap is embedded in the National Skills Agreement, to ensure that all governments are working in partnership with RTOs to deliver training investment that is relevant to local communities.
“I’ve really appreciated the opportunity this Summit has provided to get many of the voices and partners in the room, to hear their feedback and ensure that the work our Government does continues to drive growth in this critically important sector.”
NACCHO Chief Executive Officer Dr Dawn Casey PSM FAHA said Australia’s care workforce could not be built through workforce targets alone.
“Australia often talks about meeting the workforce demands of the care economy as a future challenge. In our communities, that workforce is already keeping clinics open, supporting Elders to stay close to family and Country, giving children a strong start, and helping people live with dignity and choice,” Dr Casey said.
“The care economy needs more than training places. It needs trainers, assessors and RTOs that can turn local knowledge into recognised qualifications and secure careers. Every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainer we qualify is a workforce multiplier. They can train cohort after cohort across health, aged care, disability, early childhood and community services. The qualification belongs to one person, but the capability stays with the community.”
“Community-controlled RTOs must be involved at the beginning of workforce planning, not called in after the funding model, course design, and employment pathway have already been decided,” she added.
Jobs and Skills Australia’s 2026 research found the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander VET workforce grew by 18 per cent between 2016 and 2021, but still represented about 2 per cent of the national VET workforce. The research also found stronger engagement and completion outcomes when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners were taught by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators.
NACCHO Chair, Donnella Mills, said the sector brought knowledge no national plan could replicate on its own.
“The RTOs in this room know whether a qualification fits the job, whether a learner can reach the training, and whether a graduate has a real position to step into,” Ms Mills said.
“Walking together does not mean government chooses the road and community follows. It means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander RTOs are there when the need is defined, the funding is designed, and success is measured. For our young people, this is about more than a place in a course. It is a visible path from learner to worker, worker to trainer and trainer to leadership, without asking them to leave culture, Country or community behind,” Ms Mills added.
The Summit advances work under the five-year National Skills Agreement and the agenda taken to Skills Ministers in 2024 by former NACCHO Chief Executive Officer and inaugural Coalition of Peaks Lead Convenor Pat Turner AO.
Ms Turner called for partnership across the National Skills Agreement, urgent investment to sustain and grow the sector, and a long-term sector-strengthening plan. Skills Ministers subsequently committed to scoping that plan.
The Summit also follows the Indigenous Centre of Vocational Excellence becoming operational nationally this month. Hosted by Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services in partnership with Tranby, ICoVE has a mandate to strengthen sector capability and sustainability through policy and advocacy, capacity building, innovation, and research and data.
Alongside the Summit, NACCHO will hold a graduation ceremony recognising the first cohort to complete the Building the First Nations VET Workforce Program and receive their Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Led by NACCHO, delivered by MRWED Training and Assessment and supported by Aboriginal Community Controlled RTOs, the program has prepared graduates from health, early childhood, aged care, disability, community services and other fields to return to their organisations as qualified trainers and assessors.
NACCHO is calling for:
- a multi-year sector-strengthening plan developed and governed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander RTOs;
- sustained investment in trainer and assessor pathways, core RTO capability, and regional, remote and island delivery;
- equal shared decision-making through the nationally networked VET policy partnership; and
- industry commitments to paid placements, culturally safe supervision and secure employment.
“This is not a request to fund potential. The capability is already in the sector. The task now is to back it at the scale Australia’s care economy requires,” Dr Casey added.
