LLEN and Regional LLEN Networks

Regional Education Commissioner

Education Commissioner, Honourable Fiona Nash visit

On 1 July, Northern Mallee LLEN hosted a full‑day visit to Mildura by the Honourable Fiona Nash, Australia’s first Regional Education Commissioner. The visit included engagement with local schools, industry and community stakeholders Tours of the SuniTAFE Smart Farm, Chaffey Secondary College Farm home of the Northern Mallee Horticulture Immersion Program, and agricultural enterprises including Olam Group(Carwarp), Gill Estate and the Fresh Produce Group.

Commissioner Nash Visit to Mildura Fruit Company
The visit concluded with a presentation at the Mercure Hotel, where Commissioner Nash outlined key labour and skills issues from the latest Jobs and Skills Australia report impacting the Sunraysia, Mallee and Riverland food supply chains. The visit reinforced Northern Mallee LLEN’s commitment to building strong, connections between schools and industry, supporting educators, and aligning career education with real‑world opportunities.

Department of Education – Mallee, North West Victoria Region

In 2025, Northern Mallee LLEN maintained regular engagement with the Jobs, Skills and Pathways Manager Robin Kuhne and Senior Officer Linda Snoxall to align regional and statewide priorities. This included participation in Northern Mallee VET Cluster governance and operational meetings, Department of Education (DE) led webinars and conferences, and statewide forums such as the VET Cluster Conference, ensuring local challenges and inform system‑level solutions. Northern Mallee LLEN also plays a key role in distributing and supporting DE communications to schools, employers and community stakeholders, ensuring timely awareness of policy updates, contract changes and performance expectations.

LLEN Executive

Northern Mallee LLEN Exectuive Officer, met with LLEN Executive Officer’s frequently throughout the year. The meetings governed by an Agenda with a strategic focus on;

Department of Education funding arrangement feedback through LLEN Executive
2025 Common Funding Agreement, network and regional delivery requirements.
2025 Performance Framework, network and regional requirements.
Industry partnerships, national and small medium enterprise scaling.
Cross border agreements, between LLENs.
Regional and Metropolitan Work Based Learning collaborations.
Future Common Funding Agreement and DE negotiations.
VET Cluster Transitional Program funding.
VDSS Transport Fund.
The Northern Mallee Executive Officer attended three LLEN State Network Meetings in 2025.

LLEN Network – Regional

As part of the Loddon Mallee LLEN Partnership, Northern Mallee LLEN worked closely in 2025 with North Central, Goldfields, Campaspe Cohuna, Central Ranges, and Murray Mallee LLENs. This network leveraged strong industry partnerships to create experiences for students from Year 7 through Year 12. On a Mallee Regional level the Northern Mallee LLEN meets regularly with North Central and Murray Mallee LLENs. Working with regional LLENs enables us to share scalable models such as the group work experience model example of the Broader Horizons Program. The Regional LLENs partnership’s strategic responses often address skills shortages, builds early aspiration, and ensures that rural students have access to high-quality, place-based career education.