Academic calendar 2026

Your academic calendar can help you plan and keep track of your studies at TAFE NSW. 

Below you’ll find important dates for:

• all TAFE NSW students
• Vocational and Educational Training (VET) and short courses
• the Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC)
• Higher Education courses. 

If you need help with dates, our staff are always available to assist students.

Public holidays and student non-attendance dates apply to all TAFE NSW students, regardless of the course they are studying. 

TAFE NSW courses offer flexible start times and learning options, meaning they can begin at any time of the year.

The Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) is a VET course that is sometimes referred to as a high school or HSC equivalency course.

While courses don’t have to follow a semester schedule, Semester 1 and Semester 2 each run for 18 weeks, with term dates aligning to each semester.  When it comes to census dates, please note that these may vary for VET and short courses. 

To find out your courses census date, you can:

• check your enrolment confirmation letter
• speak to a student services staff member on 131 601, or
• contact your teacher. 

You can determine if you are enrolled in a Higher Education course by checking your course code. If it starts with 'HE' or 'MHE' (e.g., HE20534V01 Bachelor of Creative Practices, or MHE20502B Wind Energy Conversion Systems), then the dates below apply to your study schedule.

If you are unclear about the dates that apply to your study path, please contact your teacher.

You can also speak to a student services staff member by calling 131 601.