Eligibility

An employee must be at least 15 years of age before they are allowed to commence an apprenticeship or traineeship, unless they have written evidence of special dispensation, which has been granted by their school principal.

There is no maximum working age limit for undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship. An increasing number of mature age workers are now choosing to upgrade their skills and knowledge through an apprenticeship/traineeship qualification.

A few qualifications require a minimum level of education before an employee is eligible to commence training. If an employee does not meet this standard, they may be allowed to undertake the qualification following an assessment by the Department of Employment and Training (DETA).

Australian Government Requirements

To undertake an apprenticeship/traineeship and attract Government funding, your employee must be employed on either a full-time, part-time or Australian school-based basis (not available to casual employees), and be:

• an Australian citizen; or
• a permanent resident; or
• a New Zealand passport holder who has been a resident in Australia for at least six months.

Prior Qualifications

Generally, if your employee has a prior qualification at Certificate Level III or higher they will be ineligible to attract Australian Government incentives unless they have:

• completed a Certificate Level II, II or IV more than seven years ago and the apprenticeship/traineeship is in a different or higher level qualification; or
• commenced a Certificate Level II, II or IV over seven years ago but did not complete it; or
• completed a Certificate Level II, II or IV which commenced whilst they were at school or within two years of completing their schooling, through a pathway other than an apprenticeship/traineeship. The apprenticeship or traineeship must be in a different or higher level qualification.

Currently Studying

If your employee is studying, the apprenticeship/traineeship must not be from a similar field to the qualification they are currently studying.

Existing Employee

Existing employees may be eligible to attract Australian Government incentives if the apprenticeship or traineeship qualification has a minimum 24 month full-time nominal duration at either Certificate Level III or IV and they meet prior qualifications guidelines.

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Queensland Government Requirements

In addition to Australian Government eligibility criteria, the Queensland Government will also register apprentices/trainees who are:

• on Temporary Protection Visa or
• fiancés of, or recently married to, an Australian citizen and are holders of Temporary Residency Visas under subclass 820 and 309 (Note: Australian Government funding is not available for these two categories).

An apprentice or trainee that meets the Queensland Government eligibility guidelines, but does not meet the Australian Government guidelines can still undertake an apprenticeship/traineeship, though they will not attract Australian Government incentives.

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