Apprentice Wages

An apprentice in Australia can be paid a training wage that is less than the average industry award rate.

However, many employers choose to pay above the specified minimum wage as an incentive to ensure they:

• Attract the best candidates when recruiting.
• Build a healthy relationship with existing Australian apprentices and, in turn, retain their services after apprenticeship completion.
• Provide their trades with quality education and training.

Help tradespeople such as carpenters and electricians become fully qualified.

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman

All figures are approximate and based on full time employees who are under the age of 21 and don’t have any additional benefits or subsidies.

Employers must pay Australian apprentices for the time they spend training. The wage level that employees receive will vary according to:

• The level of qualification
• The year of training the apprentice is in
• The industry and sector of the Australian apprenticeship
• The type of Australian apprenticeship (e.g. TAFE school-based, part-time or full-time)
• Whether the apprentice has finished school
• Previous skills already acquired by the apprentice.
• The apprentice’s amount of working hours and their training contract

As Australian Apprentices become more skilled and achieve the competencies detailed in the training plan, they progress through each wage level. Click here to read about the major myths of Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

For mature-aged and adult students aged over 21, mature-age apprenticeship wages will apply. These wages are higher than standard apprenticeships.

Awards set out minimum pay rates and conditions of employment for specified employees in every industry, including Australian apprentices.

Awards may include:

• Minimum rates of pay and allowances
• Overtime, shift penalty and other penalty rates
• Hours of work
• Leave provisions, including sick leave and annual leave.

Industry award rates can either be at a federal or state level:

Federal Awards apply in more than one state or territory. All federal awards have a clause that identifies who is bound by the award, for example employers who are members of the Australian Hotels Association or Master Builders Association.

State Awards are made by state or territory industrial tribunals. These are similar in content to federal awards, and also set out minimum pay and conditions of employment for groups of employees. They cover all employers and employees in the industry or occupation that the award relates to.

In some cases, more than one award may apply to an employee but provide different parts of the overall employment package.

Employers need to determine which award or awards cover their employees. The easiest ways to find out are to call WageLine in your state or territory or visit the Fair Work website.

With other costs such as superannuation, workers’ compensation, and entitlements including leave, Australian apprentices are treated the same as all other employees.

Some state and territory governments offer exemptions on workers’ compensation and/or payroll tax.

What are you waiting for?

There’s no time like the present to further your education with an apprenticeship. Now is the time to boost your career, get your first job or make a move into a whole new area.

Whether you’re doing an apprenticeship or returning to work later in life, don’t wait. Jump straight in and find that course you’re looking for.