Defence Youth Development
Project Timeline
August 2025 – May 2026
Project Overview
This project has been established to support young Australians engaged in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Schools, as well as those participating in the Australian Defence Force Cadets and other Defence-affiliated youth development programs. Collectively, these programs engage over 30,000 participants nationwide. They provide structured, military-style experiences underpinned by Defence values and delivered in collaboration with local communities, providing a strong foundation for future employment and national service.
Existing regulatory and packaging rule constraints currently prevent the DEF21115 Certificate II in Military Skills from being delivered through VET in Schools and other youth development programs, highlighting the need to modernise the qualifications to ensure contemporary alignment with safety standards while supporting Defence-aligned pathways.
This project aims to redesign the packaging rules of the qualifications to connect youth development with real-world career opportunities, strengthening Australia’s future workforce across Defence and public service sectors.
This project aims to redesign the packaging rules of the qualifications, broadening pathways into Defence thorough unique experiences and engaging training opportunities for young people, strengthening Australia’s future workforce across Defence and public service sectors.
Scope
This project will see the update of two entry level qualifications within the DEF Defence Training Package, including:
- DEF10117 Certificate I in Defence Skills
- DEF21115 Certificate II in Military Skills
Timeline
Commencement: August 2025
Consultation: November – December 2026
Governance and Finalisation: January – March 2026
Completion: April 2026
Technical Committee Nomination
Technical Committee Nominations have now closed.
Project Updates
Aug 2025 - Apr 2026The Defence Youth Development Project has been successfully initiated and delivered in partnership with key stakeholders, including the Australian Defence College. The original objective to design and update vocational education and training (VET) products that support youth pathways into Defence, Defence industry and the Australian Public Service has been achieved.
This project has developed two entry-level qualifications suitable for youth cohorts in the DEF Defence Training Package. These have been published on the National Training Register.
- DEF10126 Certificate I in Defence Skills
- DEF20326 Certificate II in Defence Skills
The newly created DEFSS00049 Foundational Military Skill Set contains units that have military training significance that are not suitable for youth programs.
These qualifications provide foundational employability and life skills for young Australians, particularly those participating in VET in Schools, Cadets, and other youth development programs. They support pathways into Defence, the Defence industry, and broader public sector roles.
All planned governance, scoping and stakeholder engagement activities were completed, establishing a strong foundation for the development of relevant and contemporary training products.
Consultation
Nov 2025 - Jan 2026Consultation Completed
Consultation occurred from 12 November 2025 to 15 January 2026. A summary of the feedback compiled is found in the Consultation Log here.
Objective of Consultation
Public Skills Australia has worked with the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence College to establish collaborative partnerships aimed at enhancing the development of training products. By engaging with the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence College, Public Skills Australia leveraged their specialised knowledge and experience in Defence education and training. Consultation allowed for meaningful involvement of stakeholders and further enhanced the development process.
Consultation Plan
| Project Phase | Description | Communication Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Commencement of Project | Publication of project overview information | Upload the Annual Training Product Development Plan to the Public Skills Australia website. |
| Upload project overview information on the Public Skills Australia website. | ||
| Establishment of Technical Committee and Consultation Strategy. | Notify Assurance Body, State Training Authorities (STA), Senior Responsible Officers (SRO) and other Jobs and Skills Councils (JSC) of Technical Committee membership details and Consultation Strategy. Due to the sensitivity of information sharing within Police, Technical Committee member names will not be published, only organisation, jurisdiction and job title. | Email notification to STAs and SROs and to relevant JSCs. |
| Public and Government Consultation | Provide stakeholders with workshop registration forms that detail the dates and times of virtual sessions, as well as the qualifications and units of competency they wish to review. Once consultation begins, these forms will be directly accessible from each project’s Consultation page on Public Skills Australia’s website. | Public Skills Australia to provide access to draft training products and a survey for feedback. |
| Conduct public information sessions webinars. | Provide a link to register interest for information sessions on Public Skills Australia website | |
| Internal Governance | Public Skills Australia to progress the draft training products to its established governance groups. | Conduct hybrid meetings with established governance groups. |
Stakeholder Identification
Key stakeholders have been drawn from:
- Defence National Skills Framework (Education Experts)
- Defence Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
- Defence Welfare Association
- Department of Defence
- RTOs and Tafe
- State and Territory Departments of Education
- State and Territory Training Authorities
- Training Skills Councils
Finalisation
Jan 2026 - May 2026This project received support from all State and Territory Senior Responsible Officers before progressing through Public Skills Australia’s internal Governance.
The Training Package Assurance Body completed their evaluation and recommended the project to the Skills Minister for endorsement.
Endorsement was received in May 2026.
The qualifications are now published on the National Training Register.
Project Timeline