APPRENTICE AND TRAINEE WAGE SUBSIDY

3 April 2020

Employers can now register to receive a 50 percent subsidy for wages paid to apprentices between January to March this year.

This will provide urgent financial assistance to help businesses retain their existing apprentices and trainees through the Government’s $1.3 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees package. 

Wage subsidies will be available to small businesses, including those using a Group Training Organisation, to help retain existing apprentices and trainees.

Employers of any size who re-engage an apprentice or trainee that has been displaced from a small business may also attract a wage subsidy.

The apprentice or trainee must have been in-training with a small business as at 1 March 2020.

Subsidies will cover wages paid from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Businesses will be reimbursed up to $7,000 per quarter, up to a maximum of $21,000, per eligible apprentice or trainee. Final claims for payment must be lodged by 31 December 2020.

For further information on how to apply for the subsidy, including information on eligibility, contact an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider (click here)