Eligibility

Your 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.

In regards to age, there is no maximum working age limit for undertaking apprenticeship or traineeship, with an increasing number of mature age workers now choosing to upgrade their skills and knowledge through an apprenticeship or traineeship qualification.

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

Australian Government Requirements

In order to undertake an apprenticeship or traineship and attract Australian Government funding, your employee must meet the following eligibility criteria. They must be either:

An Australian citizen or
A permanent resident or
A New Zealand passport holder who has been a resident in Australia for at least 6 months

and employed on either a full-time, part-time or Australian school-based basis (not available to casual employees).

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 qualification, more than 7 years ago and the apprenticeship or traineeship is in a different or higher level qualification; or
They commenced a Certificate Level II, II or IV qualification over 7 years ago but did not complete it; or
They completed a Certificate Level II, II or IV qualification which was commenced whilst they were still at school or undertook it within two years of completing their schooling, through a pathway other than an apprenticeship or traineeship. The apprenticeship or traineeship must be in a different or higher level qualification.

Currently Studying

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

Existing Employee

Your 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.

Queensland Government Requirements

In addition to Australian Government eligibility criteria, the Queensland Government will also register apprentices and 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 (Please 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 or traineeship, though they will not attract Australian Government incentives.