Urgent Review Needed on TasTAFE Arts & Design Course Subsidy Cuts
The Design Institute of Australia calls on the Tasmanian Government to immediately review its decision to remove subsidies from nine Arts & Design courses at TasTAFE.
Image courtesy of TasTAFE.
This decision is economically shortsighted. Tasmania's technology sector is projected to triple over the next decade, growing from 11,200 workers to 33,000 by 2035, contributing over $1 billion to the state's economy. Design education is not peripheral to this growth, it is foundational.
Digital technology requires visual designers, UX specialists, web designers, and graphic communicators. These are precisely the skills developed through the courses now facing elimination. The courses receiving funding cuts will directly impact future technical engineers, web designers, illustrators, and graphic designers, the very professionals Tasmania's expanding tech sector will desperately need.
The cuts to fashion design courses are equally shortsighted. Tasmania is home to unique manufacturing assets that depend on design skills. Waverley Mills in Launceston is the last remaining vertical woollen mill in Australia that's still in full operation from raw wool to finished product. This 150-year-old heritage manufacturer needs a pipeline of skilled designers and textile technicians to remain viable. By cutting fashion courses, the government undermines one of Tasmania's most distinctive manufacturing capabilities and severs the connection between local design talent and local production.
Australia's National Skills Priorities rightly emphasise digital technology, renewable energy, and healthcare. What the Minister has failed to recognise is that modern digital technology is inherently visual. Design training creates pathways into digital careers. By cutting funding to design courses while claiming to prioritise digital skills, the government is removing the ladder while demanding people climb.
Currently 448 students are enrolled in arts and design courses at TasTAFE. These are not frivolous pursuits, they represent young Tasmanians investing in careers that align with national priorities and Tasmania's economic future.
This decision will also accelerate Tasmania's brain drain. The number of Tasmanian permanent residents choosing to study interstate has already jumped from 17.9% in 2013 to 28.5% in 2024. By making design courses unaffordable in Tasmania, the government is effectively exporting our young talent to Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, where they will build their careers and lives, taking their skills and economic contribution with them. When you cut funds to TAFE, it only makes the brain drain worse.
The decision to redirect subsidies from design to construction and care presents a false choice. A prosperous Tasmania needs both a strong caring and construction workforce and a thriving creative sector. Starving one industry to feed another weakens the entire economy.
We urge Minister Ellis to reverse these cuts and work with industry to understand how design education supports Tasmania's economic priorities rather than contradicting them.
The Design Institute of Australia welcomes further conversation on this important matter. Please contact CEO Jo-Ann Kellock ceo@design.org.au. The letter to Minister Ellis can be viewed here.
Ryan Russell, DIA National President
Jo-Ann Kellock, DIA CEO
Paul Turley, Chair DIA Education Committee
DIA Tasmania State Council
Prepared by Georgina Greenland