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The purpose of the paper is to present estimates of changes in the funding of [vocational education and training] VET and to consider the relationships of funding to participation and to quality. The broad context for the study is Australian and state government commitment to the expansion of VET but at lower cost in a more competitive market with greater involvement of the private sector. Its focus is Australia in the last 15 years. The paper presents funding data in real terms by discounting for price changes. It relates funding to information on participation and on quality. It draws on studies by academics and government agencies and uses recent Productivity Commission, [National Centre for Vocational Education Research] NCVER, [Australian Bureau of Statistics] ABS and Australian Department of Education sources. Conclusions include: the long term decline in real funding per hour in VET has continued; the VET sector fares badly compared with schools and higher education; participation changes in part are due to funding changes; and quality changes are associated with the expansion of funding to private for-profit providers without adequate assurance of their assessments.

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