Formerly known as the Sunraysia College of TAFE, SuniTAFE was the first purpose-designed and built TAFE college in Victoria. It was set up to provide a quality teaching program that would meet the needs of the community and industry and give access to training to those living in remote regional areas of north-west Victoria. Right from the start, residential accommodation and childcare facilities were included in the planning phase of the new college. This was unprecedented in Victoria at the time but was strongly fought for by the steering committee, who deemed the facilities necessary in order to provide access for remote students.

Removing educational obstacles for regional and rural students was a significant driver for the initial establishment of the Institute. During the very early years of the Institute’s inception the vital role partnerships with other educational providers could play was recognised. Links and relationships were fostered with Ballarat University College, La Trobe University, Hawthorn Institute of Education, Victoria College and Deakin University. Notably, SuniTAFE continues to enjoy strong links with all of these early partners, although some are operating under different names. 

Today, SuniTAFE is a vibrant educational community, with two main campuses at Mildura and Swan Hill, and a training farm at Cardross. Together these facilities provide vocational education and training for the people of Loddon Mallee North and beyond. In fact, SuniTAFE now has programs on its scope of registration operating in every state and territory in Australia. Through the use of technology and a commitment to building educational partnerships that improve opportunities for our students, SuniTAFE's reach now extends far beyond the boundaries of its geographic location.

SuniTAFE celebrated 40 years of providing education and training to the region in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 situation a commemorative lift out was developed.