Free TAFE enrolments have surpassed 214,000, soaring past the initial 180,000 target six months earlier than anticipated.
The care sector is the biggest winner, with more than 51,000 students, or about a quarter of all enrolments.
Construction attracted almost 21,000 enrolments, technology and digital scored almost 17,000 and early childhood education and care almost 12,000.
Women made up the majority of enrolments with more than 60 per cent and more than a third are in regional areas.
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The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is holding a hearing in Melbourne.
It focuses on leadership, accountability and military justice, as well as issues relating to the rehabilitation of veterans and the culture of the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
The Commission was established in July 2021 to examine cultural, structural and systemic issues which are contributing to high rates of suicide and suicidal behaviour in the military community.
Flinders University Professor and Veteran Ben Wadham told the commission about a case where medication failed to improve the condition of the veteran.
"One of the problems about medication is that sometimes they can be overloaded. And in this case the medication regime wasn't handled that well. And it led to exacerbating these issues. That combined with personal issues around family and children, led us to a loss."
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Recovery efforts are underway to retrieve the bodies of three United States marines killed in a military plane crash in a remote area off the Northern Territory coast yesterday morning ((27 Aug)).
Five marines remain in hospital - with one in a critical condition.
Investigators are working to establish what occurred but Northern Territory police commissioner Michael Murphy says the priority is to recover the bodies.
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Victorian medicinal cannabis users will be put through a trial to see when it's safe for them to drive.
The 18-month trial will look at the level of impairment which can be caused by using medicinal cannabis.
Current roadside drug testing can only identify if it's present in a person's system, but not whether it comes from medicinal or recreational cannabis.
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Russia is now dealing with the aftermath of the death of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash.
While supporters gather at a makeshift memorial in Moscow, questions remain about the future of his private army.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has now ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state.
He signed the decree bringing in the change with immediate effect on Friday after the Kremlin said Western suggestions Mr Prigozhin had been killed on its orders were an "absolute lie".
Doctor Matthews Sussex is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University Strategic and Defence Studies Centre and Griffith University's Asia Institute.
He comments on what may happen next to Wagner.
"What Putin has done is asked Wagner soldiers to basically swear allegiance to Russia and to the Constitution and to the armed forces. And it's probably the last bit that's the most important because previously, Wagner had a code of honour which said that it should uphold Russian interests everywhere. But it certainly didn't swear an oath of allegiance to the Armed Forces, which was I think, probably a source of a lot of the tension."
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A vigil has been held in Florida for three people who were killed by a gunman over the weekend.
The shooter entered a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, shooting the trio dead before turning the weapon on himself.
The United States Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as an act of "racially-motivated violent extremism."
