Australian Apprenticeships attract financial assistance for eligible employers to help reduce the real cost of training.
Employers hiring an Australian Apprentice may be eligible for a range of Australian Government and State Government incentives and personal assistance starting from $1250 for most employers for Certificate II – IV, together with some targeted Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications. These incentives encourage employers to offer employment-based training opportunities that will encourage people to acquire and expand their working skills.
The first and second year of an Australian Apprenticeship can be tough for those entering the workforce for the first time. But there’s plenty of support available to help you when you need it most – at this early stage in your career. During your Australian Apprenticeship and depending on your situation, you may be eligible to apply for one or more of the following forms of assistance.
The following summarises the Australian Government Apprenticeships Incentives regime for all Australian Apprentices (apprentices and trainees).
You can discuss eligibility for incentives with your local Australian Apprenticeships Centre.
From 1 January 2007, Incentives for Higher Technical Skills have extended the Australian Apprenticeship Incentives Program to include incentives of $4,000 for targeted Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications.
Industry is calling for higher level qualifications. Australian businesses will need higher level skills and the ability to continuously upgrade workforce skills to remain competitive. Qualifications at the Diploma and Advanced Diploma levels which are eligible to attract employer incentive payments under the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive Program are contained in the below Fact Sheet: Incentives for Higher Technical Skills.
The Government is committed to building Australia’s competitive advantage in both emerging and traditional industries. To do this industry needs to have access to people who can understand, apply and manage enabling technologies considered crucial for innovation. Key sources of innovation include pharmaceutical, aircraft, electronics and chemical industries, as well as the major utilities.
The Innovation Incentive provides for an additional $1,100 incentive to be paid on commencement in an identified occupation. Further information is available from our brochures page.
Assistance to people with disabilities provides additional assistance to eligible employers who recruit an Australian Apprentice with a disability. Assistance for employers of Australian Apprentices with a disability includes:
Each form of assistance is intended to help Australian Apprentices with a disability reach their full potential.
Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support is available to an employer who currently employs an Australian Apprentice with a disability and has been assessed as a person requiring assistance. Evidence must be provided to support a claim for assistance.
An employer of an Australian Apprentice with a disability who satisfies the eligibility criteria may receive wage support of either $104.30 for a full-time Australian Apprentice, or pro-rata amount for part time Apprentices.
Assistance for Tutorial, Interpreter and Mentor Services is payable directly to the Registered Training Provider in respect of an Australian Apprentice with a disability who has been assessed as eligible for Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support and who requires additional assistance with off-the-job training. An Australian Apprentice with a disability may attract this form of assistance regardless of whether their employer receives Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support.
Financial assistance available for tutorial services for an Australian Apprentice is $38.50 an hour up to a maximum of $5,500 annually; and for interpreter/mentor services, $38.50 an hour, up to a maximum of $5,500 annually.
TopThese incentives are designed particularly to support employers who provide ongoing employment opportunities for Australian School-based Apprentices, assisting them to make a smooth transition from school to work.
Employers may be eligible for an additional $750 commencement incentive for employing an Australian Apprentice in an endorsed Australian School-based Apprenticeship at Certificate II to IV level; and $750 for continuing to employ the young person after the student has completed Year 12.
The Australian Government has a broad commitment to providing support for mature aged workers. Disadvantaged mature aged workers face particular barriers to employment and training. Therefore an employer of a disadvantaged worker (aged 45 years or older) may attract a special $750 Mature Aged Worker Commencement Incentive and a $750 Mature Aged Worker Completion Incentive.
From 1 July 2007, the Australian Government will provide financial support for mid-career workers (aged 30 years or more) to upgrade their skills through an apprenticeship in a trade occupation in high demand. The payment is made to either the employer or the apprentice (depending on award arrangements) and will be set at $150 per week ($7,800) per annum) in the first year and $100 per week ($5,200 per annum) in the second year.
The Australian Skills Vouchers Program (ASVP) is set to conclude in the first half of 2008.
The government is committed to the delivery of 450,000 new training places in areas of skill shortage over the next four years commencing on 1 April 2008. To ensure a seamless transition, voucher issue for both Work Skills and Business Skills Vouchers for apprentices will cease effective 31 March 2008.
You are encouraged to keep up with developments in this area through the department’s website at www.deewr.gov.au and look for opportunities for your organisation to participate in the delivery of training under the new arrangements.
Approved training providers have been notified via email dated 4 February 2008. For further assistance, please contact your Contract Liaison Officer.
The Australian Government, through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Programme, provides a range of financial incentives to employers to open up Australian Apprenticeships opportunities to people in their community, particularly in rural and regional areas.
To boost training in rural and regional Australia the Government provides a special commencement incentive of $1,000 for an employer in rural or regional Australia who employs an Australian Apprentice in an eligible national skills needs area at the Certificate III, IV or selected higher qualification. Examples of some of the national skills needs qualifications include automotive, community services, electrotechnology and engineering, furnishing and construction and IT.
Rural and regional Australia comprises those workplace locations identified on the Rural and Regional Eligible Workplace Postcodes list.
The workplace address as shown on the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Claim Form determines whether the Australian Apprentice satisfies this criterion. Where a Group Training Organisation is the employer, the workplace address for the purposes of this incentive is the host employer’s workplace address.
Prolonged drought in a region has a direct effect on the training and employment opportunities of that region. The Declared Drought Area incentive is aimed at offsetting this potential crisis, to encourage primary producers who hold an Exceptional Circumstances Drought Area Certificate to continue to offer skill development and employment opportunities in a declared drought area.
The exceptional circumstances drought declared incentive $1,500 on commencement and $1,500 on completion applies to Certificate II rural, agriculture and horticulture Australian Apprenticeships where the primary producer holds the Exceptional Circumstances Drought Declared Area certificate.
TopThe Commonwealth Trade Learning Scholarship provides two $500 tax exempt payments to eligible Australian Apprentices in national skills needs industries on completion of each of the first and second year of training where the employer is a small or medium-sized enterprise or a Group Training Organisation.
The National Skills Needs List provides information about Australian Apprenticeships occupations that may attract the Commonwealth Trade Learning Scholarship.
For more information regarding the Commonwealth Trade Learning Scholarship and associated eligibility criteria, contact your Australian Apprenticeships Centre.
Other assistance and incentives may be available from your State or Territory Training Authority.
The Tools For Your Trade Initiative provides up to $800 for the purchase of trade tools for eligible Australian Apprentices. For more information regarding Tools For Your Trade call 1800 557 875 or visit the website www.toolsforyourtrade.com.au
The National Skills Needs List provides information about Australian Apprenticeships occupations that may attract the Tools For Your Trade Initiative.
Centrelink administered benefits include:
Fact
Sheet: Payments for Australian Apprentices
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More information is available from Centrelink on 13 36 33.
Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) provides assistance to eligible Australian Apprentices in their first three years of training, if they:
Fact Sheet: Living Away From Home Allowance
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rtf For information on how to access Australian Government assistance and the full range of incentives employers may be eligible for, contact an Australian Apprenticeships Centre in your region.
2002 Review of the Commonwealth New Apprenticeships Incentives Programme
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