An apprenticeship or traineeship joins training with a registered training organisation to practical work and on-the-job training, under a training contract registered with the state or territory training authority. An apprenticeship leads to a trade qualification and often takes 3 to 4 years full-time; a traineeship leads to a certificate level qualification and often takes 1 to 2 years full-time.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Registration rules and timeframes vary from state to state, and incentive amounts change; figures here are as at October 2026.
From signing to finishing
Six stages of an apprenticeship
Signing up
An apprenticeship or traineeship can start with a current employer or a new one. The employer and the apprentice sign a training contract that sets out the apprentice’s rights and obligations, and it must be registered with the state or territory training authority. The timeframes for registering vary between states, and the period before registration can sometimes count towards the apprenticeship.
Full-time, part-time or school-based
The Ombudsman says training authorities generally require apprentices and trainees to be employed full-time or part-time. A high school student can do a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship, which combines work, training and secondary school. The minimum age to start work depends on the state or territory.
Safety from day one
Under the model WHS laws an apprentice or trainee is a worker, so the business’s duty to provide information, training, instruction and supervision applies to them from the start. Row 01 sets out that duty and row 02 the induction.
Trade school, on paid time
Off-the-job training is structured training delivered by a registered training organisation, often away from the workplace, and does not include normal duties or supervised practice on the job. For an apprentice, time at trade school is paid and counts within their ordinary hours. The employer and apprentice agree how often it happens, for example a day a week or in blocks, usually in the training plan. Row 04 covers paid training time and fees.
Support at 6 and 12 months
The Priority Hiring Incentive and the Key Apprenticeship Program Employer Incentive are each paid in two instalments, at 6 and 12 months. Both are summarised below, as at October 2026.
Finishing, or ending early
The Ombudsman says an apprentice or trainee is usually entitled to notice of termination, unless they were employed for a specified period, such as the length of the training contract, or are dismissed for serious misconduct. It suggests talking early about whether the job is ongoing or ends with the contract.
As at October 2026
Employer payments under the Incentive System
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) says the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System focuses support on priority occupations, including housing construction and new energy, listed on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, which is updated each January. Its fact sheet, last updated 28 August 2026, describes these payments to employers:
Employer payments for new apprenticeships, as DEWR describes them (October 2026)
Payment
Who it is for
Up to (full-time)
Priority Hiring Incentive
Employers of apprentices training towards a Certificate III or higher linked to an occupation on the Priority List
$2,500 in the first year, in two instalments
Key Apprenticeship Program Employer Incentive
Employers of apprentices doing a Certificate III or higher leading to a New Energy or Housing Construction occupation on the Priority List, who can give real experience and work in that sector
$5,000 in the first year, in two instalments
Disability Australian Apprentice Wage Support
Employers who hire an apprentice who meets the disability eligibility criteria
$226.01 a week, paid in arrears
Part-time amounts are lower, and apprenticeships that began earlier may stay under earlier arrangements, which the fact sheet sets out under grandfathering. Apprentices have their own payments too, including the Key Apprenticeship Program Apprentice Incentive, the Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans.
DEWR’s fact sheet says to check eligibility or find out how to apply through an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider. DEWR describes a Provider as the first point of contact for apprentices, trainees and employers.
Pay
Pay, and where the rates are found
The Ombudsman says many of an apprentice’s entitlements are the same as other employees’, under the National Employment Standards, and that awards and registered agreements can add rules that apply to apprentices. Someone who starts an apprenticeship at 21 or older is known as an adult apprentice. Most trainees take their pay and conditions from Schedule E of the Miscellaneous Award. This guide gives no pay rates: they depend on the award, and the Ombudsman’s tools are the place to find them.
The person who teaches the apprentice
The national training register has a unit for this role, TAEDEL414 Mentor in the workplace, aimed at supervisors and colleagues who mentor someone at work, including an apprentice or trainee. Row 06 describes it.