Apprenticeships in Queensland: incentives, free training and where to start

Who runs apprenticeships in Queensland

The state side of apprenticeships sits with the Department of Trade, Employment and Training (DTET). You'll see older material with the previous department name, DESBT, but DTET is the current one. Its Apprenticeships Info service handles training contract questions, cancellations, transfers, travel subsidy claims and disputes.

You don't sign up directly with the department. Your employer and an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider do the paperwork, and the Provider lodges your training contract so it gets registered in Queensland. The Provider is also your first stop for incentives and general support. The national Apprentice Connect line is 13 38 73.

• •Apprenticeships Info: 1800 210 210 or apprenticeshipsinfo@qld.gov.au
• •There's also a free Apprenticeships Info app with a digital card, answers to common questions and key contacts
• •Your training provider must be a government approved Skills Assure Supplier for you to get state funding. Check on the Queensland Skills Gateway, where approved providers show as Funded

What your training costs (as at October 2026)

Most Queensland apprentices pay little or nothing for their off-the-job training right now. Which scheme covers you depends on your age and your trade.

If none of the free schemes fit, User Choice funding still applies. The government pays part of your course costs straight to an approved provider and you pay the rest as a co-contribution fee. Your employer or your parents can pay it for you, but the provider can't. Queensland's student page doesn't publish the fee rate, so ask your provider for the exact figure before you enrol. If you go with a provider that isn't government approved, you pay full fees.

• •Free Apprenticeships for Under 25s: covers course fees for 130+ priority apprenticeships and traineeships across 17 industries, including construction, automotive, engineering, mining and electrotechnology. You must be under 25 and have started between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2027. Funding continues until you finish, even if you turn 25 or finish after 30 June 2027
• •Free Construction Apprenticeships for Over 25s: covers course fees for about 30 construction Certificate III trades, such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing and bricklaying, if you were 25 or older when you started between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2027. Training must be through TAFE Queensland or CQUniversity
• •School-based apprentices and trainees don't pay the co-contribution fee
• •Funding limits: you generally can't have completed two funded apprenticeships or traineeships in the last 10 years
• •Free fees don't mean free everything. You may still pay for uniforms, resources, tools and travel
• •If you're on Youth Allowance and get a health care card, that card may reduce your student contribution fees. Ask your provider

Support you can claim right now

The main state payment that apprentices claim themselves is the travel and accommodation allowance for block training. Most of the newer money in Queensland goes to employers instead (see below), which still helps you because it makes bosses more likely to put you on.

• •Travel and accommodation allowance: if you're a registered Queensland apprentice or trainee (not school-based) and must travel more than 100 km return to your closest training organisation, you can claim up to 34c per km for road and rail, $58 a night for accommodation in Queensland and $112 a night interstate (rates from 1 July 2025). Flights can also be covered. Claim online through TRACC or on form ATF-022 within 6 months of travelling
• •Disability support: help with adapted technology and workplace and training adjustments
• •Learning support: help with language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills
• •Australian Government support also applies in Queensland: Youth Allowance if you're 24 or under, Austudy if you're 25 or over, ABSTUDY for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander apprentices, and the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive Program

Closed schemes: don't chase these

Free Tools for First Years is closed. It offered first-year housing industry apprentices a tool rebate of up to $1,000. The $4 million program opened on 25 May 2024 and closed on 30 June 2025 after the money ran out. You'll still find old articles and shop ads talking it up, but no new claims are being accepted. If you lodged a claim just before it closed, the department says those are being assessed and you'll be told the outcome.

What employers get (and why it matters to you)

Queensland has put serious money into getting employers, especially small builders and trade businesses, to take on construction apprentices. If you're chasing a start, it's worth knowing these exist, because a small business may not realise it qualifies.

• •TradieStart (open October 2026): for construction, plumbing, engineering and electrical apprentices who started or restarted from 1 August 2026. Small businesses (1 to 19 staff, under $10 million turnover) taking on their first ever apprentice can get $10,000 for an apprentice under 21 or $14,000 for one 21 or over, paid in two halves at 6 and 18 months, with a higher rate if the apprentice is from a priority group such as women, veterans, First Nations people or people with disability. Larger businesses and GTOs can claim for priority group apprentices. Capped at the first 2,500 apprentices
• •Small Business Apprenticeship Program: wage subsidies for small construction businesses (19 or fewer staff, under $10 million turnover) with apprentices who started on or after 1 July 2025. It covers 50% of the typical wage for training time in first and second year and 25% in third and fourth year, for the first 4,000 eligible apprentices. Another 2,000 places opened on 20 July 2026
• •Payroll tax: apprentice and trainee wages are exempt from Queensland payroll tax, and employers also get a 50% rebate on apprentice and trainee wages through to 30 June 2027
• •Both TradieStart and the Small Business Apprenticeship Program are funded by Construction Skills Queensland in partnership with the state government. Contact for both is 1800 210 210

Pay and conditions

Most Queensland apprentices are paid under a national modern award, such as the Building and Construction General On-site Award, the Electrical Award or the Plumbing Award, or under an enterprise agreement (EBA) if your employer has one. On big commercial and civil jobs an EBA rate can sit well above the award, so ask if one applies to you. Rates depend on your year, your age and whether you finished Year 12.

We don't list dollar figures because they change every July. Use the Fair Work Pay Calculator at calculate.fairwork.gov.au to check your rate, or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94. Wages, entitlements and unfair dismissal go to Fair Work, not the state department.

One Queensland quirk: if you work for a Queensland Government agency or a local council, you may be covered by the Queensland industrial relations system instead of the national one. If that's you, ask your employer which award or agreement applies.

Licensing and safety regulators

Queensland splits trade licensing between a few bodies. Knowing which one covers your trade saves you a headache at the end of your time.

• •Electrical: the Electrical Safety Office (part of WorkSafe Queensland) licenses electricians. You must be supervised at all times by someone licensed for that work, never by another apprentice or a trade assistant, and there are extra limits in your first 6 months. Lighter supervision only comes after you pass milestones like your Capstone assessment. When you finish, your RTO sends your completion statement (ATF-012) to the ESO, and you'll need CPR training done within the last 12 months to get your licence
• •Plumbing and drainage: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) issues occupational licences. Newly qualified plumbers usually start on a provisional licence, which lasts 1 year, can't be renewed and means you work under a licensed plumber's supervision. After 12 months of supervised licensed experience you can apply for a full licence. Experience from your apprenticeship doesn't count toward that 12 months
• •Building trades: the QBCC also handles contractor licences for carpentry and other building work once you're qualified and want to work for yourself
• •Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ), part of WorkSafe Queensland, is the safety regulator. To report unsafe work, use the online Raise a workplace safety concern form or call 1300 362 128. Tell your supervisor about injuries and near misses too

Where to train

TAFE Queensland is the biggest trade trainer in the state. Its flagship trade centre is at Acacia Ridge on Brisbane's southside, covering automotive, construction, electrotechnology, engineering, mining and more. Other big trade sites include the SkillsTech centres at Bracken Ridge, Eagle Farm and Alexandra Hills, the Ashmore Trade Training Centre on the Gold Coast, and the Townsville Trade Training Centre at Bohle, which trains more than 2,000 apprentices a year.

CQUniversity also delivers trade training in Central Queensland and is one of the two providers approved for Free Construction Apprenticeships for Over 25s. Private RTOs can be funded too, as long as they're a Skills Assure Supplier.

Group training organisations (GTOs) employ you and place you with host employers, which is a solid option if you can't find a direct employer or want a range of experience. Apprenticeships Info can point you to approved GTOs in your area.

School-based apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships

Queensland students can start a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship while still at school, usually in Years 10 to 12. You get paid, you work part of the week and you train toward a real qualification. School-based apprentices pay no co-contribution fees. An apprenticeship usually can't be finished before you graduate, so most people convert to full-time afterwards.

If you're school-based and need to stay away from home for training, your school sector (state, Catholic or independent) handles the travel allowance, not the department's TRACC scheme.

If you've left school and aren't working, Skilling Queenslanders for Work funds training and support for job seekers, young people and low-skilled workers, and can be a way into an apprenticeship.

Where the work is

Construction is the big one. The Queensland Government says the state faces a predicted peak shortfall of 50,000 construction workers, which is why most of its new incentives target construction, plumbing, engineering and electrical apprentices.

The free fee schemes also cover priority trades in automotive, mining, utilities, engineering and electrotechnology, which tells you where the state sees long-term demand. If you're in the regions, ask your local TAFE campus and your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider which trades local employers are short on, because demand varies a lot from town to town.

Who to call and how to cancel or transfer

Talk to your employer or training provider first. If that doesn't fix it, Apprenticeships Info can help with training contract problems and lodge formal complaints. If you're not happy with the department's response, you can go to the Queensland Training Ombudsman. Training quality complaints can also go to ASQA. Problems with your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider go through their complaints process, then the National Training Complaints Hotline, and you can change Provider.

Your training contract can't just end because you're sacked or you quit. It has to be formally cancelled. Before that, look at the alternatives: transferring to another employer (temporarily or permanently), suspending, amending or extending the contract.

• •Mutual cancellation: after probation, you and your employer agree on an end date and send form ATF-034 to your Provider. There's a 7-day cooling-off period where either of you can withdraw consent in writing
• •Cancellation by one party: if one side can't meet its obligations, either party can apply to the department on form ATF-050. The effective date must be at least 7 days after the application is received
• •The department can also cancel, for example if the business has closed or moved too far away
• •Appeals: some department decisions, such as certain cancellations, can be appealed to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission within 21 days of being notified
• •Apprenticeships Info: 1800 210 210. Fair Work Ombudsman: 13 13 94. Apprentice Connect Australia: 13 38 73. WorkSafe Queensland: 1300 362 128