Policy and Research

Community Colleges Australia (CCA) is committed to providing input into the adult education policy debate at federal, state and territory government levels. CCA undertakes to express its members’ interests to ensure that the vital work undertaken by locally-owned NFP education providers of VET, foundation courses, personal development and life-long learning is acknowledged and represented in future government agendas.

This includes not only education policy, but other key areas that CCA members work across, including social inclusion, disability, health and ageing, Indigenous, re-engaging youth and refugee/migrant education.

Work-based learning in community education providers

This research project focused on developing a better understanding of the extent to which community providers are delivering training, including foundation skills, through work-based learning arrangements, and the styles of work-based learning that have been successful in up-skilling workers.

The research questions were:

• To what extent are community providers providing work placements?
• To what extent are community providers delivering work-based learning?
• To what extent are community providers offering foundation skills to business?
• What styles of learning have been successful for up-skilling workers?

This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training through its Strategic Partnerships Program. Click here to view a copy of CCA’s interim report for this project (December 2015). The project finished in June 2016; the final report will be available shortly and will be published on this website.  Please contact us if you have any questions about this project.

Community education in rural, regional and remote Australia

"A basic education is the key to success in Australia's economy for individuals and regions alike. Achieving more equitable education outcomes across regional Australia is our nation's greatest challenge in realising the potential of regional Australia." - Regional Australia Institute

Because a significant amount of community-based education takes place in rural, regional and remote Australia (more than 60% in New South Wales), community education providers have an important role to play outside of the capital cities. CCA is partnering with governments and peak regional and rural organisation to determine the most effective ways for community education to assist in Australia's regional economic development, and to achieve educational equity for all Australians.

Read our research report The Role of Community Education in Australian Regional and Rural Economic Development(published February 2017).

Community education for people with disabilities

With the roll-out of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme, community education providers have an important role to play in supporting people with disabilities.

Community education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Community Colleges Australia acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of our land, Australia. CCA acknowledges that our Sydney office is located on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

CCA is in the process of developing a strategy for how the not-for-profit Australian community education sector can work collaboratively with Indigenous organisations and communities to achieve a real improvement in Indigenous educational attainment and empowerment, on local, regional and national levels.  CCA notes the statement from Adult Learning Australia: “Adult education responses [to Indigenous adult education] too often focus on centrally developed and administered Vocational Education and Training curriculum for jobs that often don’t exist in those communities or ‘bridging programs’ to fill an arbitrary gap.”

Read CCA’s statement about Indigenous Australians and VET, in honour of NAIDOC Week, July 2017

Mental health and community education

Community education providers frequently play an important role in supporting the mental health outcomes of their communities, working with Primary Health Care networks and other local and regional organisations to run collaborative projects.  CCA has commenced working with a number of our providers, cataloguing best practice community education activities and models in mental health.