Demand for vocational education suffered during the early years of the Depression until a decision to expand training services was made to help decrease high unemployment rates by the mid 1930s.

[4] In September 2015, a leaked document revealed the State government intended to close 27 sites in order to reduce costs and raise funds.

[5] On Thursday 16 June 2016, the NSW Government announced that the EBS4 student management system for TAFE would be scrapped.

The EBS4 rollout for TAFE NSW resulted in extensive major problems with enrolments, inability to track student financial data and generate testamurs, and a project budget over run of approximately $100m.

[14][15] Merritt's purpose was to provide training in the arts for Aboriginal students,[16] as an alternative to NIDA and the Australian Film and Television School.

As well as Merritt himself, established Aboriginal actors, writers and directors such as Bob Maza and Brian Syron, as well as non-Indigenous theatre professionals like George Ogilvie were appointed to the teaching staff.

[24] The cast of Merritt's feature film Short Changed, made in 1985 and released in 1986, included EORA students.

[25] In 1989, funding was cut by the New South Wales Government, along with a directive to teach only guitar, and not didgeridoos and clapsticks.

It is home to one of only two Cisco training centres in the Australasia Pacific region, offering degrees in network security and finance.

The coordinator's duty includes meeting with them when they arrive at their designated campus, assisting with their orientation program, answering questions about their units, and helping them access support services.

TAFE NSW enrols a number of students with a disability, offering a range of support services.

This includes counselling, helping students choose the right courses for them, identifying support and assessment modifications, and access to services such as disability assistants, adaptive technologies, and sign-language interpreters.

[42] Students who are parents or caregivers have the opportunity to put their children in childcare facilities, which are provided at some TAFE NSW locations.

[45] When seeking advice on course and career choices, students are able to get assistance on job opportunities, CV writing, applications, and interview skills.

TAFE NSW provides multicultural services to students with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

[47] Funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training, TAFE NSW offers the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), providing students up to 510 hours of free English lessons and childcare to newly arrived eligible migrants, and refugees.