Skilling Australians Fund

The Australian Government is committed to Australia’s training system

The Skilling Australians Fund (Fund) was established as an ongoing arrangement by the Australian
Government as part of the 2017–18 Budget. The purpose of the Fund is to ensure businesses that
benefit from employing migrants are also skilling Australians. It does this by encouraging improved
employment outcomes in supporting the training needs of Australians prioritised towards
apprenticeships and traineeships in industries and occupations in demand.

From 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2022, the Fund was managed through the National Partnership on the
Skilling Australians Fund that supported the delivery of state and territory projects. These projects
aimed to increase the uptake of apprenticeships and traineeships, pre-apprenticeships and pre-
traineeships, and other employment related training opportunities.

Since 2017, the Fund has provided over $854 million to state and territory projects that have
supported over 269,000 additional apprenticeships, traineeships, pre-apprenticeship and
traineeships and other employment-related training activities.

The Skilling Australians Fund levy (levy) was the principal mechanism for raising revenue for the
Fund.

Skilling Australians Fund Levy

The levy is paid by employers who sponsor skilled workers from overseas, under certain visa classes.
The collection of the levy in this way means that employers seeking to access skilled workers from
overseas are contributing to the skills development of Australians.

The collection and management of the levy is the responsibility of the Department of Home Affairs.

National Partnership
Under the National Partnership, projects delivered by the states and territories were set out in
individual bilateral agreements between the Australian Government and six participating states and
territories—New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital
Territory and the Northern Territory.

In addition to a description of the project, each agreement included the level of funding
commitments (including matched funding and funding for their state skills system), performance
benchmarks for additional training places, and milestones. Any differences in the agreements were

Updated October 2022

to accommodate the vocational education and training (VET) system and industry needs in each state
and territory.

To receive a payment under the National Partnership, the participating states and territories were
required to report to the Commonwealth on 30 April each year. The reports were assessed against
the requirements in the National Partnership and bilateral agreements. Funding was then allocated
based on their achievements and the funding amounts in the bilateral agreements.

State and Territory Projects

The projects under the National Partnership were developed by the states and territories and
considered by the Australian Government.

The projects funded were prioritised towards those that support training in occupations in high
demand that rely on skilled migration, future growth industries, and in rural and regional areas. The
projects were also required to demonstrate engagement with, and support from, industry and
employers.

Industry involvement was essential to ensure that any training delivered the skills industry needs and
that skills spending was targeted to jobs in demand. Through continued industry engagement in the
VET sector, the state and territory projects have supported ongoing employment outcomes for
apprentices and trainees.

New South Wales

The New South Wales Smart and Skilled Apprenticeship and Traineeship and complementary training
programs project supported a range of training activities, including:

• The expansion of the New South Wales Smart and Skilled Entitlement Apprenticeship and
Traineeship program to reduce up-front costs to training.

• Pilot projects and research across targeted areas of New South Wales to increase the uptake
and completion of apprenticeships, including school-based apprenticeships and traineeships.
• Expanding the number of people who could access the New South Wales Smart and Skilled
Targeted Priorities in Pre-Vocational and Part Qualification Program.
• Expanding the number of people who could access higher level qualifications through
apprenticeships and traineeships at the Australian Qualifications Framework Levels V and VI
by trialling alternative higher apprenticeship models in areas including Engineering,
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security and Aboriginal Healthcare Tertiary Pathway.

• Expanding the number of people accessing ‘like apprenticeship’ training to gain qualifications
in areas of high demand through a pathway that does not require a training contract. This
also include expanding and creating new and flexible pathways into trade qualifications to
address skill shortages.
Western Australia
Western Australia’s Jobs and Skills WA program was expanded by implementing:

• An employer incentive scheme designed in consultation with industry that focused on

workforce priorities, small business and employer incentives.
• An Enterprise Training Program to support skills development for existing workers, with an
initial focus on those in the social assistance and allied health sector, including the skills
needs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

• A Workplace Placement Program, developed in collaboration with industry, to provide

employment related training at Certificate III to IV levels.

• An expanded WA Pre-apprenticeship Program to provide more opportunities for young

people to do an industry supported per-apprenticeship or pre-traineeship.

South Australia
South Australia’s Skilling South Australia Initiative aimed to reform the VET market in South Australia
to meet future demands, shift perceptions of VET, and pilot and embed new models of training
delivery that lead to sustainable skilled careers, meet industry needs and support the state’s
economy by providing:

• Industry and employer support through activities such as an advisory service for employers
and students, targeted incentives and funding for Group Training Organisations to grow.
• Student support through improved career information, learner support services, targeted
incentives and funding.
• Support for teachers and trainers including through subsidised courses, and tailored project
funding and VET provider market development activities.
• System development through marketing, reducing regulatory burden for employers,
partnering with Industry Skills Councils, and strengthening support policy.

• Delivering new industry sector plans with innovative models training delivery models.

Tasmania
Tasmania’s Building Tasmania’s Skills program aimed to:

• Engage with industry to support additional up-take of apprentices and trainees to develop a
range of new innovative programs; and promote the value of VET with incentives such as
Wool Harvesting Training Tasmania Project and Launceston Apprenticeship Pipeline project.
• Encourage businesses to employ apprentices and trainees in priority industries and develop
new programs and initiatives such as a Payroll Tax Rebate Scheme, Targeted Apprentice and
Trainee Grant for Small Business Program.
• Increase engagement with pre-apprenticeships and pre-traineeships by establishing new
Training and Work Pathways projects and expanding existing work preparation programs.
• Boost the capacity of the Tasmanian training system by establishing centres of excellence in
tourism and hospitality, trades and water, and agriculture.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory’s project consisted of two major work programs—Territory Workforce
Program and Pre-Employment Training Program.

The Territory Workforce Program was an industry driven program that aims to provide flexibility in
meeting industry needs, stimulate skilling opportunities for jobs in demand, and be responsive to the
changes in the Northern Territory’s economic conditions through three areas of focus:

• Workforce Development to support innovative projects to increase commencements and

completion of training that is relevant to Northern Territory business and industry sectors
and support targeted upskilling.

• Industry Workforce Strategies for industry-led projects with an innovative and/or

collaborative approach to meet sector demands, reduce skills gaps and improve productivity
of businesses and the industry sector.

The Pre-Employment Training Program sought to drive a greater number of commencements.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) Skilling Australia’s Capital Region aimed to contribute to the
growth of a highly skilled workforce by:

• Understanding and removing barriers to training by: increasing Registered Training

Organisations subsidies to reduce upfront cost for new students; targeting support for
Australian Apprenticeships; and reviewing the Forecasting of Industry Needs and Entitlement
model and ACT Government funding model to meet industry needs.

• Encouraging market diversification by revising the ACT Adult and Community Education
Grant program, support for the Future Skills Jobs Grant Program and innovative projects with
industry to identify new employment pathway opportunities; delivering new and expanded
pre-employment and pre-apprenticeship initiatives and expanding pre-employment
initiatives and the Australian School-Based Apprenticeship initiatives.

• Increasing collaboration with industry by trialling programs through the Australian

Apprenticeships Growth Project to support ACT Public VET Network to meet increased
demand for Australian Apprenticeship commencements; and working with local industry to
build awareness and undertake promotion and advocacy to attract potential employers and
participants in VET.

• Delivering targeted campaigns and leveraging existing communication activities to educate

employers and raise awareness within local industry and schools about VET pathways and
support services; and developing an ACT VET Investment Plan.
Funding Amounts
Funding provided to the states and territories from the Fund is as shown below:

Funding under the National Partnership

2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22*

State
($millions) ($millions) ($millions) ($millions) ($millions)

New South
99.9 93.8 105.073 99.218 71.146
Wales

Western
9.8 18.4 32.0 38.887 29.742
Australia

South
19.1 20.1 20.1 21.076 14.981
Australia

Tasmania 7.7 5.5 6.8 6.342 4.5

Northern
3.1 2.9 2.8 2.0 3.030
Territory

Australian
Capital 6.1 4.9 5.49 5.162 3.701
Territory

Queensland** 39.4

Victoria** 52.2

Total 237.3 145.6 172.263 172.685 127.100

* This was the final payment under the National Partnership

** Queensland and Victoria were not signatories to the National Partnership

Further Information
Further information on the Fund can be found at the Skilling Australians Fund site.

A copy of the National Partnership and each of the state and territory bilateral agreements can be
viewed at the Council of Federal Financial Relations website.

More information about the levy, including payment and refunds can be found on the Department of
Home Affairs website.