Current policy discourses on "equity" in VET tend to gloss over the nature of the socioeconomic disadvantage that underlies questions of the participation and achievement of the so-called "target equity groups." While indexes of socioeconomic disadvantage are widely applied in education, their application to VET participation is as problematic. Postcode participation studies of Sydney and Melbourne have shown there is strong participation and achievement in disadvantaged areas identified by such indexes. A key question, then, is how these patterns of participation result from the ethos and programs of those technical and further education (TAFE) providers responding to the needs of large VET clienteles in such areas. The analysis requires a multi-dimensional framework encompassing client characteristics, provider factors, and the way these interact in and are modified by the nature of the regional context. Research along these lines shows that an important focus of equity research needs to be the nature of the local clienteles that takes advantage of the programs that public providers customize in their knowledge of local disadvantage and the need for "equity." (Contains 22 references.) (Author/KC)