Apprenticeships in Victoria: incentives, Free TAFE and where to start

Who runs apprenticeships in Victoria

Apprenticeships Victoria, part of the state Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, oversees the apprenticeship and traineeship system. It runs the Apprentice Helpdesk, the Apprenticeship Support Officers, the Apprentice Employee Assistance Program and the Head Start school program.

The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) is the regulator. It decides which qualifications can be done as apprenticeships in Victoria, deals with employer obligations, investigates complaints and runs the formal dispute process for training contracts.

You do not sign up directly with the state. Your employer contacts an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider, which sets up your training contract and checks what incentives you and your employer can get.

What training costs in Victoria (October 2026)

Apprenticeships are funded under Skills First, the state training subsidy. Since 1 January 2023 you can get a Skills First place regardless of the highest qualification you already hold. You must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen and be physically in Victoria (or a designated border region) while you train.

Free TAFE is a different thing. It covers tuition for about 80 priority courses and short courses, including pre-apprenticeship courses, but it does not make your actual apprenticeship free. Even on Free TAFE you still pay student services and materials fees. You can usually only use Free TAFE once, so pick your course carefully.

• •Skills First caps you at 2 subsidised courses at a time and 2 per calendar year.
• •Concession fees apply to Certificate IV and below if you hold a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran's Gold Card, or you are a dependant of a cardholder.
• •Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians pay no tuition fees for any Skills First VET qualification.
• •Apprenticeship tuition fees differ between TAFEs and RTOs and change each year. Check the live fee page of your provider before you enrol, and check your award, as some awards require your employer to cover fees.
• •TAFE and Training Line for course and fee questions: 131 823, 8:30am to 4:30pm weekdays.

State support you can claim right now

The big one is the Trade Apprentice Registration Discount. Eligible trade apprentices who use their own car for work can get 100% off their VicRoads registration renewal. You apply through myVicRoads using your VRQA registration number or training contract ID, and your employer has to confirm the vehicle is needed for work. Apply at least 5 days before your rego is due, and reapply if you change employers because you get a new number.

Apprenticeships Victoria also runs free services for all apprentices and trainees: Apprenticeship Support Officers who help with wages, training, safety and wellbeing, and the Apprentice Employee Assistance Program for confidential counselling and coaching.

Travel and accommodation for block training: as at October 2026 we could not find a current Victorian state travel and accommodation allowance on official pages. Check your award first, because many awards make the employer cover extra travel costs for block release, then ask the Apprentice Helpdesk what applies to you.

• •National payments (Trade Support Loans, the Australian Apprentice Wage Subsidy and the Key Apprenticeship Program for housing construction and clean energy) still apply in Victoria. Your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider checks these.
• •Ignore older posts about a 50% rego discount. The current scheme is a 100% discount on renewal.

What employers get in Victoria

Victoria is stricter than some states on payroll tax. Wages paid to apprentices and trainees are generally taxable here. The main exemptions are for re-employing an out of trade apprentice or trainee who started with their new employer on or after 1 July 2016, and for apprentices employed by a declared group training organisation and placed with a host employer.

On big government jobs, the Major Projects Skills Guarantee requires contractors on publicly funded construction projects worth over $20 million to use Victorian apprentices, trainees or engineering cadets for at least 10% of labour hours. That is a big reason Big Build contractors hire apprentices.

Pay and conditions

Victoria handed its private sector workplace powers to the Commonwealth, so almost every private employer here, including sole traders and partnerships, is in the national Fair Work system. Unlike WA, there is no separate state award system for small private employers.

Your pay is set by the modern award for your trade or by an enterprise agreement (EBA) if your employer has one. Union and EBA rates on big commercial and Big Build sites are often well above the award. To check your exact rate, use the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on a mate's figure.

Training contract rules: cancelling, pausing and disputes

This is where Victoria really differs. After probation, an apprenticeship can only be changed, paused or cancelled if both you and your employer agree. A traineeship is different: either side can cancel without the other's agreement.

If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must sign your training contract and agree to any change or cancellation.

If you and your employer cannot agree, the VRQA can run a formal dispute and, for apprenticeships, make a binding decision. Authorised officers may visit the workplace. If your job ends while a dispute is unresolved, you must ask the VRQA to look at it within 30 days.

Want to change employers? Talk to your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider and the Apprentice Helpdesk before you walk off the job, so your hours and training are not lost.

Licences, regulators and safety

• •Electrical: Energy Safe Victoria licenses electricians. Electrical apprenticeships take at least four years, you must be supervised by an A Grade electrician on installation work, and you need to pass the 3 part Licensed Electrician's Assessment (LEA) to get your licence. Applications go through ESVConnect.
• •Plumbing and building: registration and licensing for plumbers and builders sits with the Building and Plumbing Commission, which took over from the Victorian Building Authority. Check its site for the registration steps when you finish your trade.
• •Safety: WorkSafe Victoria is the safety regulator. Report a notifiable incident immediately on 13 23 60 (call 000 first if anyone is in danger). For advice or to raise unsafe work, call the WorkSafe Advisory Service on 1800 136 089, 8am to 5:30pm weekdays.
• •Bullying, harassment or exploitation on site: contact WorkSafe. Pay problems: contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Where to train

Free TAFE courses run at more than 90 campuses across the state. In Melbourne the big trade trainers include Chisholm (Dandenong, Frankston, Berwick, Cranbourne and others in the south east), Holmesglen, Kangan Institute, Box Hill Institute, Melbourne Polytechnic, plus the dual sector unis RMIT, Swinburne and Victoria University. In the regions look at Bendigo TAFE, The Gordon in Geelong, Federation TAFE in Ballarat, TAFE Gippsland, GOTAFE, Wodonga TAFE, South West TAFE and SuniTAFE.

Group training organisations (GTOs) employ you and place you with host employers, which is handy if a small business cannot commit for four years. The Apprenticeship Employment Network is the group training network in Victoria and a good place to find a GTO.

School-based apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships

Victoria's Head Start program supports students in Years 10 to 12 to do a paid school-based apprenticeship or traineeship that counts toward the VCE, VCE Vocational Major or VPC. It runs through 12 hubs, matches you with a real employer, starts with a work trial, and keeps supporting you in your first year out of school. Funding is confirmed for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 school years. Ask your school careers practitioner to connect you, and watch School Jobs Vic for Head Start vacancies.

Not at school or not ready to sign up yet? A Free TAFE pre-apprenticeship, such as a Certificate II in plumbing, carpentry or electrotechnology, gives you basic skills and makes you far more attractive to an employer. Remember Free TAFE is usually a one time deal.

Where the work is in Victoria

The Victorian Skills Plan for 2025 into 2026 expects about 64,500 new construction workers to be needed between 2025 and 2028. Demand is driven by transport projects like the Suburban Rail Loop, new hospitals and residential housing.

Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners, and painting trades are named as in demand trades. Government projects on the Big Build must use apprentices for at least 10% of labour hours, so civil, electrical, plumbing and carpentry apprentices are steadily needed on those sites. Big Build Apprenticeships has offered pathways across 24 areas, from carpentry and electrical to civil construction.

Who to call

• •Apprentice Helpdesk (Apprenticeships Victoria): 1300 311 820, 9am to 5pm weekdays, or apprenticehelpdesk@djsir.vic.gov.au. Free for apprentices, parents, employers and trainers.
• •VRQA (training contract disputes and complaints): 1300 722 603, 10am to 4:30pm weekdays, or vrqa.apprenticeships@education.vic.gov.au.
• •TAFE and Training Line (courses, Free TAFE, fees): 131 823.
• •WorkSafe Victoria: 13 23 60 for incidents, 1800 136 089 for advice.
• •Fair Work Ombudsman for pay and conditions, and the Fair Work Pay Calculator to check your rate.
• •Your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider for sign up, incentives and transfers.