The Australian Government has made recent changes to the Australian Apprenticeships incentives program.
The new model, effective from January 2023, replaces the former system, which was based on three categories of occupations that attracted different incentive structures. These categories were defined by occupations that appeared on the National Skills Needs List (which contained a select number of trades in shortage), a list of Priority Occupations (Aged Care, Child Care, Disability Care Workers and Enrolled Nurses) and the rest.
The new incentives program now divides apprentices and trainees into two categories – those occupations that appear on a new Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, and those that don’t. A big difference is that this list is much larger than previous lists. It contains 110 occupations, almost double the number that appeared on previous lists. The types of occupations are also more diverse and include occupations that are not traditional trades or only found in the health and community sector.
The incentives that apply have also changed. For those on the list, there is a wage subsidy of 10% for the first and second 12-month period (up to $1,500 per quarter) and 5% of the wages paid to the Australian Apprentice for the third 12-month period (up to $750 per quarter).
For occupations that are not on the list, there is a hiring incentive of $1,750.
Eligibility for incentives is determined by an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider and you are encouraged to contact them to discuss your situation. Further information can be found here.
Ai Group Centre for Education and Training has previously submitted to the Australian Government that the prior lists were too restrictive and focussed too much on male dominated industries. This change, although still needing adjustments, goes some way to addressing our concerns.
