Apprenticeships in WA: incentives, fees and where to start

Who runs apprenticeships in WA

The Apprenticeship Office, part of the Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD), registers and administers training contracts and regulates the apprenticeship system under the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996. Once your apprenticeship is up and running, questions about your training contract go to them on 13 19 54. Changes like suspensions, transfers and terminations are lodged through the WA Apprenticeship Management System (WAAMS) portal.

To actually get signed up, or to find an employer, you go through an Apprentice Connect Australia provider. The Apprenticeship Office lists three in WA.

• •Apprenticeship Support Australia (powered by CCIWA): 1300 363 831
• •MEGT: 13 63 48
• •The Apprenticeship Community (The Busy Group): 13 28 79
• •General Apprentice Connect Australia info line: 13 38 73

What training costs in WA (October 2026)

WA's Lower fees, local skills program cuts course fees on many qualifications by half or more, and some are free. On top of that there's an annual course fee cap. As at September 2026, the cap is $400 a year if you're aged 15 to 24, a jobseeker or a concession card holder, and $1,200 a year for everyone else. Resource fees are charged on top, so ask your TAFE or RTO for the full cost.

Half-price qualifications that are offered as apprenticeships get the same reduced rates and caps. For 2026, plumbing, bricklaying and blocklaying, wall and ceiling lining and solid plastering apprenticeships were added to the fee-free list at WA TAFEs. The May 2026 State Budget put $124 million into keeping current fee settings, fee-free and lower-fee courses, running through 2027, with a focus on building, construction and clean energy.

Fee lists change each year and depend on your qualification, so check the live course search or call a Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64 before you enrol.

Money you can claim right now

These were open as at October 2026. Check each live page before you claim, because rates and dates do change.

• •DTWD Travel and Accommodation Allowance: for apprentices and trainees with a WA home address who travel more than 70 km round trip to the closest DTWD-funded approved training provider. Your contract must be active or suspended at the time. Claim through the WAAMS online portal within 60 days of the last day of each block (or each day-release day), or you miss out. Rates aren't listed on the page, so check the live page or call 13 19 54 (option 2).
• •Construction Training Fund (CTF) Apprentice Tool Allowance: up to $1,000 for tools and safety gear when you start, and another $1,000 when you finish, for construction-related apprentices and trainees who start or complete between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2029. Claim within 11 months of starting (tools bought from one month before your start date count) and within 6 months of finishing. Keep every receipt.
• •CTF Apprentice Support Bonus: up to $3,000 over the course of an eligible construction apprenticeship, on top of the tool allowance. Check the CTF bonus page for timing and cut-off dates.
• •CTF travel and accommodation top-up: for regional apprentices travelling more than 70 km round trip to training. CTF pays 40 cents per km for travel and covers the gap between your accommodation bill and the DTWD grant, up to $100 a night below the 26th parallel or $150 a night above it. You can claim this on top of the DTWD allowance. Claim within 12 months of the end of the training period.

Pay and conditions: WA has two systems

Most WA apprentices work for companies (Pty Ltd), which puts them in the national Fair Work system. Your pay then comes from a modern award or an enterprise agreement (EBA), and EBAs are common in mining and big commercial jobs. Use the Fair Work Pay Calculator at calculate.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.

WA quirk: if your employer is a sole trader, an unincorporated partnership, an unincorporated trust, or certain not-for-profits that aren't trading corporations, you may be in the WA state industrial relations system instead. Then your pay comes from a WA award or, if no award applies, the WA award-free minimums, which have separate rates for apprentices and trainees. WA award rates and the State Minimum Wage went up from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2026, and award-free apprentice rates went up too.

Not sure which system you're in? Call Wageline on 1300 655 266. Wageline covers the WA state system and can point you to the current WA award or award-free rate. If you turn out to be in the national system, go back to Fair Work.

Licences and staying safe

Electrical apprentices in WA need an electrician's training licence before they can legally do electrical work under supervision. It's issued by Building and Energy, part of the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS), and lasts six years.

WorkSafe WA (also part of LGIRS) polices safety on site. Try to sort a safety problem with your boss or supervisor first, but if that goes nowhere, report it.

• •To get your training licence: read the safe working guidelines, pass the apprentice safety test your employer runs (80% or better), complete the safety report, then lodge form R116 with ID, a police check from the last 3 months and the fee.
• •From 1 July 2026, if you lodged as a pre-apprentice, you don't need a new application when you move to an apprenticeship.
• •If your apprenticeship is extended, the training licence is extended automatically once DTWD updates your contract.
• •When you finish, apply for your full electrician's licence straight away.
• •Report unsafe work to WorkSafe on 1300 307 877, by email to wscallcentre@lgirs.wa.gov.au, or through the online form.
• •A death, serious injury or life-threatening incident goes to WorkSafe's 24 hour line on 1800 678 198.

Where to train

WA's public training is delivered by five TAFE colleges. They share one number, 13 64 64. The State Budget also put $24.1 million into upgrading South Metropolitan TAFE's Munster campus for renewables, battery and electrification training.

Each of these campuses also hosts a Jobs and Skills Centre, which gives free help with finding and keeping an apprenticeship. Group training organisations (GTOs) can employ you and place you with host businesses, which is handy if one boss can't commit to the full four years. Jobs and Skills WA keeps the list of registered WA GTOs.

• •North Metropolitan TAFE: Balga, Joondalup, Northbridge, Midland
• •South Metropolitan TAFE: Rockingham, Thornlie, Peel (Mandurah), Armadale, Fremantle
• •South Regional TAFE: Bunbury, Albany, Collie
• •Central Regional TAFE: Kalgoorlie, Northam, Geraldton
• •North Regional TAFE: Karratha, Broome, Kununurra, South Hedland

Still at school?

You can start a school-based apprenticeship while you're in school. You're a full-time student and a part-time employee with the same conditions as other apprentices. In WA you must do at least 7.5 hours of paid work a week with your employer, averaged over six months, and that includes school holidays.

If you're under compulsory school age, your parent or guardian has to apply for an exemption or Notice of Arrangement through the Minister for Education before the contract can go ahead.

Not ready to sign up? A pre-apprenticeship (building and construction, electrical, automotive, fabrication and welding and more) gives you credit toward a real apprenticeship. If you do one while you're still enrolled at school, there are no course fees.

Where the work is

Housing and construction are WA's big push right now. That's why the state made plumbing, bricklaying, wall and ceiling lining and solid plastering apprenticeships fee-free for 2026, why the 2026 to 2027 Budget focuses on building, construction and clean energy, and why the CTF pays construction apprentices directly.

Mining and resources is the other big one. The sector needs mechanics, electricians, fitters, machinists and fabricators, mostly trained through apprenticeships. The Pilbara holds the largest share of resources jobs, ahead of Perth. Rosters include FIFO, drive-in drive-out and residential, so ask about the roster before you sign. Regional apprentices should also look at the travel and accommodation money above.

Why WA employers can afford to hire you

Worth knowing if you're pitching yourself to a small business. Figures are maximums as listed in April 2026.

• •Payroll tax: apprentice wages are exempt from WA payroll tax for the whole contract, as long as it's a registered Class A or B apprenticeship. There's no exemption while a contract is suspended, and trainee contracts registered from 1 July 2019 aren't exempt.
• •Jobs and Skills WA Employer Incentive: base payment up to $8,500 for a four-year apprenticeship, with loadings for Aboriginal, regional, disability, priority occupation and mature-age apprentices.
• •Adult Apprentice Employer Incentive: up to $26,800 for a four-year building and construction apprenticeship for someone 21 or older.
• •CTF Employer Grant: up to $36,500, paid at milestones, for building and construction apprentices and trainees.
• •GTO Wage Subsidy: helps small builders host GTO apprentices. The 2026 to 2027 Budget funded 330 extra places.

Changing, cancelling or disputing your contract

Your probation runs for one to three months from your start date, depending on how long the contract is. During probation, either you or your boss can end it. After probation, your employer needs your consent to terminate. If you don't agree, your Apprentice Connect Australia provider steps in, and if it's still not sorted, the Apprenticeship Office runs a conciliation meeting with both of you.

If the Department decides to cancel or terminate your contract and you think it's wrong, you can appeal to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. You only get 14 days from the decision, using Form 8C.

• •Moving to a new boss (assignment): your old employer, your new employer and you all have to agree. It's lodged through WAAMS.
• •Suspension: both you and your employer must agree. Anything over 12 months in a row needs Apprenticeship Office approval first.
• •Walking off the job isn't quitting properly. Your employer can apply to cancel your contract for abandonment, so call 13 19 54 before you leave.
• •Apprenticeship Office: 13 19 54 (08 6551 5499 from outside WA)
• •Jobs and Skills Centres: 13 64 64
• •Fair Work Ombudsman (national system): 13 13 94
• •Wageline (WA state system): 1300 655 266
• •WorkSafe WA: 1300 307 877