Helping young people in out-of-home care into TAFE and university

Making the move from secondary school to TAFE or uni can be exciting. And challenging.

For young people who are in out-of-home care or leaving care, there can be extra social and economic barriers. They want to go on to further study, but they often don’t have the right support.

That’s where the Raising Expectations program is making a difference.

Raising Expectations helps young people with out-of-home care experience to succeed at TAFE and university.

The program offers mentoring and practical resources so people have the tools and confidence to:

• set personal, career and study goals
• enrol at TAFE or uni
• access financial support
• connect with academic and personal support.

When it began in 2015, Raising Expectations found fewer than 45 care-experienced students at 2 universities in Victoria.

With support from the program, almost 1,000 care-experienced people have completed their studies since 2020. In 2025 there were nearly 1,400 care-experienced students at Victoria’s TAFEs and universities.

Raising Expectations is led by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. It is the only program of its kind in Australia.

Raising Expectations is a joint initiative between the Australian Government and Victorian Government.

Raising Expectations will receive more than $2 million in further government funding. This will support the program to run until 2028. It will also help the program to expand into regional areas and develop more partnerships with TAFEs and universities across Victoria.

Learn more about the Raising Expectations program on their website.