How much should a first-year apprentice get paid?

The practical breakdown

Apprentice minimums come from the modern award that covers your trade and employer, not from a figure your employer picks. First-year pay is set as a percentage of the full qualified tradesperson rate for that award, and the percentage steps up each year or stage of the apprenticeship. A first-year sparky, plumber, chippy and hairdresser all have different minimums, and the figures usually change from 1 July after the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review, so always pull the current number from the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool rather than a mate's payslip or an old forum post.

Two personal details can lift your minimum before you have even swung a hammer. First, some awards, including the Building and Construction Award, set a higher apprentice percentage for someone who has completed Year 12 than for someone who has not. Second, your award may pay all-purpose allowances (like the industry and tool allowances in construction) on top of the base rate, and those form part of your ordinary rate for overtime too.

You only get apprentice rates if you have a formal training contract registered with your state or territory training authority and training through an RTO such as TAFE. No registered contract means apprentice rates do not apply, and you should be on the normal award rate for the work you are doing.

Resi vs commercial vs industrial: award or EBA

Small residential builders and most suburban subbies usually pay straight award rates. Larger commercial and industrial employers often have an enterprise agreement (an EBA) approved by the Fair Work Commission instead. When an EBA applies, it replaces the award, and its base rates cannot be lower than the award, but in practice union-negotiated agreements on commercial construction, electrical and mechanical sites commonly pay apprentices well above award, plus extras the award does not match, such as site allowances, fares and travel payments, redundancy contributions and rostered days off.

That gap is real money, and it is worth knowing before you sign with an employer, not after. Two first-years in the same trade in the same city can be on very different pay simply because one employer runs an EBA and the other pays award. Ask any prospective employer directly: award or agreement? You can look up any approved agreement by employer name through the Fair Work Commission's agreement search on its website, and your union can tell you what the current agreement for your trade pays.

Adult apprentices are a different category

Many trade awards set a higher minimum for adult apprentices, commonly defined as someone who is 21 or older when they start the apprenticeship, though the exact age cut-off and the rates vary from award to award. What usually matters is your age when the training contract starts, not your age later on, so check your own award's adult apprentice clause rather than assuming.

There is a second protection worth knowing. Under the Building and Construction Award, an employee who is 21 or older and already worked for the employer before signing up as an apprentice cannot have their minimum wage reduced. So if you were labouring for a builder and they put you on as an apprentice, your pay should not go backwards. Check your own award, or run your details through the Pay and Conditions Tool with your age and start date.

GTO or direct: who actually employs you

Plenty of first-years are not employed by the business they turn up to each day. If you came through a Group Training Organisation (GTO), the GTO is your legal employer: it pays your wages, super, leave and allowances and handles your training contract, while the host business provides the work and supervision. Your payslip comes from the GTO, and the same award or agreement minimums still apply to you.

The practical upside is continuity. If a host business runs out of work or drops you, the GTO is responsible for placing you with another host so your apprenticeship and pay keep going. If you are ever unsure who your legal employer is, check the name on your payslip and training contract, because that is who you chase if pay goes wrong.

Money on top of the base wage

• •Superannuation must generally be paid on top of your wages (slightly different rules apply if you are under 18), and your payslip must show the contributions and the fund name. Check contributions are actually landing via myGov linked to the ATO, because unpaid super is one of the common ways apprentices get short-changed, and you can report it to the ATO online
• •Under the Building and Construction Award your employer must cover your training costs, including RTO fees and textbooks, or reimburse you within set timeframes if you paid up front. Other awards have similar clauses, so do not assume TAFE fees are yours to wear
• •Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (AASL) are an optional loan paid monthly for apprentices training in priority occupations. The loan is indexed rather than charged interest, you repay through the tax system only once your income passes the repayment threshold, and part of the loan is discounted if you successfully complete the apprenticeship
• •The Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) can help in your early years if you have to move out of your family home to take up or keep your apprenticeship, or you are homeless. Your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider assesses eligibility
• •States and territories run their own travel and accommodation subsidies for apprentices travelling long distances to trade school. Ask your state training authority or your RTO what applies where you live

Common mistakes

Comparing your bank deposit straight to the award base rate. Your legal minimum can include all-purpose allowances, and time spent at trade school generally has to be paid, so check how your award treats training time. If training days are missing from your payslip, raise it early rather than letting back pay stack up.

Sitting on a lower pay point longer than you should. Awards with competency-based progression let you move to the next pay level as soon as you achieve the required competencies, which can be before the 12 months is up, and if competencies are not signed off, time-based progression still applies. If an employer or RTO drags out sign-off to keep you cheap, that is exactly what the dispute processes through your state training authority and your award's dispute clause exist for.

Assuming an underpayment is too old to fix. You can pursue unpaid wages and entitlements through the small claims process, and a claim must be made within 6 years of when the money should have been paid. Keep your payslips, timesheets and training records, because they are your evidence.

What to ask your supervisor

• •Am I under the award or an enterprise agreement, and which one exactly?
• •What year or stage am I on, and is my progression time-based or competency-based?
• •Which allowances am I entitled to: tools, industry, travel and fares, site allowances?
• •Who is my legal employer, the business here or a GTO?
• •Who pays my TAFE fees and textbooks, and when do I get reimbursed if I have paid?
• •Which super fund are my contributions going to, and are they up to date?

When to stop and ask for help

If your payslip does not match what the Pay and Conditions Tool or your agreement says, raise it with your employer first. It is often a payroll mix-up, and a calm conversation with the calculation printed out fixes most of them.

If that goes nowhere, call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or use the Fair Work Ombudsman's online help. For training contract problems, including stalled competency sign-off, go to your state or territory training authority. Your union and your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider can also back you up.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your award or agreement, your training contract and your state's rules are the final word, and the official tools linked below are the place to confirm your own numbers.