NCVER News 18 June 2012
More students than ever are studying at tertiary level, according to the latest tertiary education and training figures, according to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Tertiary education and training in Australia 2010 . The report combines data that is usually looked at separately from vocational education and training (VET) and higher education
Full-time equivalent tertiary student numbers increased nationally, from 1.4 million in 2009 to 1.5 million in 2010, representing an 
increase of 6.7%. The rise was reflected across all states and territories, with the greatest increase occurring in Queensland, up by 8.7%.
There was also an increase in the number of equivalent full-time tertiary students in diploma qualifications in 2010, from 113 100 in 2009 to 130 600 in 2010, representing a 15.5% increase.
When it comes to pathways, similar proportions of Australian students have a prior qualification from VET before commencing higher education and vice versa. In 2010, 32 800 (7.1%) full-time equivalent VET students held a bachelor degree prior to their VET study, while in the same year 16 700 (7.0%) higher education students already had a VET qualification behind them.
