If your business employs or hosts apprentices, you may be eligible to receive a 50% reimbursement of apprentice wages from 1 Jan 2020 to 30 September 2020 (up to a total of $7,000 per apprentice per quarter).
Eligibility Requirements
A business is eligible to apply for the apprentice wage subsidy if it had less than 20 employees on 1 March 2020, and employed or hosted one or more eligible apprentices on this date. The business will stay eligible provided the same apprentice continues to be hosted or employed.
An eligible apprentice is deemed to be any person:
“…employed in an Australian Apprenticeship at the Certificate II level or above, with a Training Contract formally approved by the state training authority and who was employed or hosted by an eligible business on 1 March 2020.”
Master Builders
Exclusions
Employers will not be eligible for the assistance if they have received or are currently receiving the Australian Apprentice Wage Subsidy or equivalent Australian Government wage subsidy for the apprentice. Employers will also not be eligible if the apprentice was suspended or stood down on 1 March 2020.
If an employer lets an eligible apprentice go, they can no longer access the apprentice wage subsidy even if they re-hire that apprentice or hire a different eligible apprentice.
What happens if a business has to stand down an apprentice?
If a business stands down or suspends an eligible apprentice after 1 March 2020, they can access the wage subsidy provided the apprentice returns to the same employer within six months. If the apprentice has been stood down for longer than six months, the wage subsidy will not be available.
How to apply
- If you employ apprentices, you can apply for the apprentice wage subsidy from 2 April 2020 by contacting your local Apprenticeship Support Network.
- If you host apprentices, your Group Training Organisation (GTO) can apply for the wage subsidy from 2 April 2020.