Apprenticeships in the ACT: incentives, fees and where to start

Who runs apprenticeships in the ACT

Skills Canberra is the ACT's training authority. Under the Training and Tertiary Education Act 2003 it approves training contracts, decides which qualifications can be done as apprenticeships in the ACT, can suspend, cancel or change contracts, and helps sort out training disputes between you and your employer.

To get signed up you need a job first. Once you have an employer, a qualification and a registered training organisation (RTO), an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider lodges the training contract. In the ACT those providers are MAS National and MEGT, and their service is free.

Everything is managed online through AVETARS, the ACT's training records system. You need an email address because that is where variations, approvals and reminders land.

• •Your employer must have a physical ACT workplace address (not a PO box) that is your usual work site, or an ACT shop, depot or home base if you work across sites.
• •You must be at least 15, paid for your work, and doing at least 15 hours of combined work and training a week.
• •Probation is compulsory in the ACT: 60 days for apprenticeships with a nominal term of 24 months or less, 90 days for longer ones. It is not stretched out for part-time or school-based apprentices.
• •Leaving school under 17? If you finished Year 10 you need an Approval Statement from the ACT Education Directorate. If you did not finish Year 10 you need an Exemption Certificate before Skills Canberra will approve the contract.

Live in Canberra, work in NSW (or the other way round)

Plenty of apprentices live in Canberra and work for a Queanbeyan, Yass or Goulburn business, or live in NSW and work in the ACT. The rule is simple: your training contract follows your employer's workplace, not your home address.

If your workplace is in the ACT, you are on an ACT contract and ACT funding rules apply, even if you live in NSW. If your workplace is in NSW, your contract sits with NSW Training Services and NSW funding rules apply, even if you live in Canberra. CIT trains NSW apprentices too, under NSW Smart and Skilled funding.

• •If your workplace permanently moves out of the ACT, your ACT contract is cancelled and a new one is set up in the new state or territory.
• •Working across the border temporarily for the same boss (up to 90 days) does not end your ACT contract.
• •Moving to another state to keep going? Apply for an ACT Extract of Record after your ACT contract is cancelled, so your time and units carry over.
• •Moving to the ACT from interstate? Send your interstate Extract of Record to Skills Canberra when your new contract is lodged so your term can be reduced.

What training costs in the ACT (as at October 2026)

The ACT does not have a blanket fee-free apprenticeship scheme like NSW or Queensland. Instead, the ACT Government subsidises training through its User Choice program, and the subsidy level is guided by the ACT Skills Needs List (last updated 29 September 2026). RTOs set their own fees, which are published on the ACT Qualifications Register, but Skills Canberra requires a minimum fee of $350 to be charged on enrolment.

At CIT, subsidised apprentice fees apply to new workers, and to existing workers in an occupation on the ACT Skills Needs List. Full fees apply to existing workers outside the list, and to apprentices employed directly by the ACT or Australian Government, because government employers are not eligible for User Choice funding. An existing worker is someone who worked for the business for more than three months full-time (or the part-time equivalent) before signing.

Many awards require your employer to reimburse your training fees, so ask your boss before you pay out of pocket. Check the live CIT course page and the ACT Qualifications Register for your exact fee, because CIT says fees can change regularly.

• •Concessions: if you hold a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or DVA pension card (or your parent does, if you are under 18), you can get a 50% concession at CIT. Apprentices without a card can apply on low income payslips or financial hardship. Apply before your first class, every semester.
• •Fee exemptions: no tuition fee is charged if you lose your job and restart within 12 months with a new employer in the same qualification and same RTO, if you are forced to change RTO, or if you are a school-based apprentice and your school is the RTO.
• •Fee-Free TAFE and Fee-Free Construction at CIT end in December 2026 and are due to move into a new Free TAFE program in 2027. As at October 2026 CIT lists no fee-free places left for 2026. Check the live CIT page for the 2027 list.
• •Extra help with learning: Skills Canberra can fund your RTO for literacy and numeracy support, disability support, Auslan interpreters or mentoring if you need it. Your RTO applies, not you.

Support you can actually claim right now

Some trades are not taught in the ACT, so you travel interstate for block training. If your qualification is listed as Block Release on the ACT Qualifications Register, Skills Canberra pays a fixed contribution toward travel and living costs, as long as your employer is not already covering them. Claims must reach Skills Canberra within 3 months of the block, with a signed and stamped form and a statement from your RTO.

If you started a User Choice funded contract between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2023, you can claim a $300 completion payment per qualification by finishing your qualification and the User Choice Completion Survey, within a year of completing. You will not get it if more than half your units came through recognition of prior learning. Check with Skills Canberra that this is still paying before you count on it.

• •Closed, do not chase it: the ACT cost of living payment for apprentices and trainees ($250, plus an extra $250 for first years toward tools) covered 2025-26 only. Applications closed on 21 June 2026 and the payment ended on 30 June 2026. No 2026-27 round had been announced as at October 2026.
• •Construction workers: the ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority (TFA) rebates approved training such as the White Card, asbestos and silica courses for eligible workers in ACT construction. At CIT you must ask before enrolling so the rebate can be applied; it cannot be added afterwards.
• •National incentives and support from apprenticeships.gov.au apply in the ACT on top of the above.

What employers get (and why it helps you get hired)

The ACT does not run a general state wage subsidy for apprentices. The main ACT-specific money for employers comes through the construction industry and payroll tax rules.

• •TFA group training funding for 2026-27: the TFA funds group training organisations for each construction trade apprentice they employ, paid quarterly in arrears. Rates are $150 per school-based apprentice, $300 per full-time apprentice under 21, and $450 per mature-age full-time apprentice aged 21 and over.
• •Payroll tax: ACT payroll tax only kicks in once a business's Australia-wide wages pass the $1.75 million annual tax-free threshold, so most small trade businesses never pay it. Wages paid to apprentices by approved not-for-profit group training organisations are exempt. Larger employers should check any apprentice exemption with the ACT Revenue Office.
• •Employers also get national incentives through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System, and free sign-up and mentoring help from MAS National and MEGT.

Pay and conditions

The ACT has no state industrial relations system. Every private sector apprentice in the ACT is covered by the national Fair Work system, so your pay comes from a national modern award (such as the building, electrical or plumbing awards) or from an enterprise agreement if your employer has one. Big commercial builders and government employers often have their own agreements.

Apprentice pay goes up each year of your apprenticeship and depends on your award, your age and whether you finished Year 12. Do not rely on what someone on site tells you. Use the Fair Work Pay Calculator to check your exact rate, or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.

• •Apprentices are treated like any other employee for super, workers compensation and leave.
• •You can be full-time, part-time or school-based, but you must work through the year, including school holidays if you are school-based.

Licensing, safety and WorkSafe ACT

Access Canberra handles construction licences, with the Construction Occupations Registrar as the regulator. In the ACT you need a licence to work as a builder, electrician, plumber, drainer, gasfitter or gas appliance worker. Carpenters, bricklayers and many other trades do not need a licence yet. The ACT Government is looking at licensing trades like carpentry, bricklaying, concreting, tiling, plastering, painting, glazing and waterproofing, but says changes are not expected before 2027 and there will be transition periods for existing workers.

Electrical apprentices doing licensed work must always have a licensed supervisor available on site, and your work must be checked face to face before any circuit is commissioned or energised.

WorkSafe ACT is the safety regulator. Its guideline supervision ratios are one supervisor to one apprentice under direct supervision in years 1 and 2, and up to one to five under general supervision in years 3 and 4, depending on your experience and the risk.

• •White Card: do the training with an RTO, then apply to Access Canberra for the card.
• •Asbestos awareness and crystalline silica training are mandatory in the ACT if your work exposes you to them. Carry proof, because your boss or a WorkSafe ACT inspector can ask for it.
• •Unsafe work: you have the right to refuse unsafe work. Report it to WorkSafe ACT on 13 22 81 or through its online Report a Workplace Concern form. After-hours emergencies: 0419 120 028.

Where to train

CIT (Canberra Institute of Technology) is the ACT's TAFE. It has campuses at Bruce, Fyshwick, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Woden (Phillip), and runs apprenticeships in automotive, construction, electrotechnology and electrical trades, metal fabrication, plumbing, hairdressing, horticulture, culinary and hospitality. Check each course page for which campus delivers your trade.

Private and industry RTOs also deliver apprenticeships, and you can choose any RTO listed for your qualification on the ACT Qualifications Register. Master Builders ACT, for example, runs carpentry apprenticeships through MBA Group Training in Fyshwick.

Group training organisations (GTOs) employ you and place you with host employers, which helps if one business does not have enough work for a full apprenticeship. In the ACT a GTO must be registered with Skills Canberra and hold an ACT labour hire licence. Search the national GTO register at apprenticeships.gov.au to find one operating in Canberra.

School-based apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships

Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASbA) let you start a trade while you are still at school, earn a wage and count some of it toward your ACT Senior Secondary Certificate. Your school has to endorse the part-time contract, and you keep working and training through the year, including holidays. You do not need an Approval Statement for a school-based apprenticeship.

If you do not want to keep going after Year 12, the contract has to be formally cancelled. If you do keep going full-time, you count as a new worker for funding, which keeps your fees at the subsidised rate.

• •CIT runs a General Construction and Safety Taster, a pre-apprenticeship short course covering the White Card, silica and asbestos units, measuring and basic construction. The youth version for 17 to 24 year olds runs with Ginninderry SPARK. Places for 2026 were limited, so check the live page for 2027 intakes.
• •CIT encourages women into non-traditional trades through courses like the Certificate II in Construction Pathways and the Certificate II in Electronics.

Where the work is

The ACT Skills Needs List shows where the territory is short of skilled workers, and it drives which apprenticeships get the best subsidies. The September 2026 list includes a long run of building and construction trades, plus electrical, automotive and metal trades.

There is no mining or heavy industry in the ACT, so most trade work is in housing, commercial building, fit-outs, maintenance and vehicles. Check the live list before you choose, because a trade on the list usually means a better subsidy and steadier demand.

• •Construction: carpentry, concreting, bricklaying and blocklaying, plumbing, roof plumbing, roof tiling, solid plastering, painting and decorating, and waterproofing are all on the list.
• •Electrical: Certificate III in Electrotechnology (electrician), air conditioning and refrigeration, and renewable energy.
• •Automotive: light vehicle and heavy vehicle mechanics, auto electricians, electric vehicle technology and panel beating.
• •Other trades: engineering fabrication, cabinet making, locksmithing, hairdressing and commercial cookery.

Who to call, and how to cancel or change your contract

Cancelling an ACT contract normally needs both you and your employer to agree, through your AVETARS portal. If one side approves and the other does nothing, AVETARS cancels it automatically after 28 days. Either side can end it during probation without the other's agreement. A cancelled contract cannot be transferred, so if you change bosses you start a new contract, and your provider helps cancel the old one first.

If there is a problem with your training, bullying, poor supervision or being kept on casual arrangements, tell your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider. They must report it to Skills Canberra within seven days if they cannot fix it. You can also contact Skills Canberra directly. Skills Canberra can cancel a contract if an employer will not let you attend training.

• •Skills Canberra: (02) 6205 8555 or skills@act.gov.au, 8:30am to 5pm weekdays. Contracts, cancellations, disputes about training, travel claims.
• •MAS National (masnational.com.au) or MEGT (megt.com.au): sign-up, mentoring and help when things go wrong.
• •Fair Work Ombudsman: 13 13 94 (131 450 for an interpreter). Pay, conditions and unfair treatment.
• •WorkSafe ACT: 13 22 81. Unsafe work and injuries.
• •CIT Student Services: (02) 6207 3188. Fees, concessions and enrolment at CIT.
• •Training Fund Authority: (02) 6262 5630. Construction training rebates.
• •If your workplace is in NSW, your contract sits with NSW Training Services instead, so contact them for cancellations and disputes.