Further payments & assistance

Assistance for Australian Trainees with a Disability

Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support (DAAWS)

• Disabled Australian Trainees Wage Support provides additional assistance to employers who employ an Australian Apprentice / Trainee with disability in a Certificate II or higher level qualification.
• Disabled Australian Trainee Wage Support is paid at a rate of $104.30 per week for a full-time Australian Apprentice, and on a pro-rata scale according to the hours worked for a part-time Australian Trainee.

 

Off-the-job Tutorial, Mentor and Interpreter Assistance 

• Assistance for Tutorial, Mentor and Interpreter Services is available to Registered Training Organisations to support Australian Trainees with a disability who are experiencing difficulty with the off-the-job component of their Australian Traineeship because of their disability.
• Assistance for Tutorial, Mentor and Interpreter Services is paid at a rate of $38.50 per hour (up to a maximum of $5,500 per annum).

 

Payments to Australian Trainees

Living Away From Home Allowance 

• Australian Trainees undertaking a Certificate II or higher level qualification may be eligible for the Living Away From Home Allowance if they have to move away from their parental/guardian home for the first time to commence or remain in an Australian Trainees, or are homeless.
• Australian Trainees may be eligible for up to twelve months of Living Away From Home Allowance at the first year rate of $77.17 per week, a further twelve months assistance at the second year rate of $38.59 per week, and a further twelve months assistance at the third year rate of $25 per week.

 

Further Australian Government assistance available for Australian Trainees

Trade Support Loans 

• Australian Trainees may be eligible to receive financial support through Trade Support Loans. Further information and assessment of eligibility is undertaken by a Trainee's Network provider.
• Eligible Australian Trainees will have access to loans totalling up to $20,000 over the course of their Traineeship to assist with the costs of undertaking an apprenticeship.
• Eligible Australian Apprentices may receive payments of $666.67 per month over the first year of their apprenticeship (up to a total of $8,000 per annum), $500.00 per month over the second year (up to a total of $6,000 per annum), $333.34 per month over the third year (up to a total of $4,000 per annum) and $166.67 per month over the fourth year (up to a total of $2,000 per annum).
• Further information on Trade Support Loans can be found at www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au.

 

Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY 

Australian Trainees may also be eligible to access fortnightly payments delivered by Centrelink:

• Youth Allowance for Australian Trainees aged 16-24;
• Austudy for Australian Apprentices aged 25 and over;
• ABSTUDY for Australian Apprentices of any age and who are Indigenous Australians.

 

Further information about these payments is available from the Department of Human Services on 13 24 68 or www.humanservices.gov.au. 

You must include the wages paid to apprentices and new entrant trainees in your payroll tax calculation, including superannuation, allowances and Fringe Benefit Tax.

 

What is the rebate for apprentice and trainee wages?

 

New South Wales (NSW) introduced a payroll tax rebate on wages paid to apprentices and trainees recognised by the NSW Department of Industry (NSW DOI) and under the definition of an apprentice or trainee in the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001.

You cannot claim a rebate for trainee wages when the trainee has been continuously employed by you for more than three months full-time or 12 months casual or part-time immediately prior to commencing employment.

Generally, we will accept claims for a rebate if the NSW DOI accepts the trainee as a new entrant trainee. If you are unsure, you should seek clarification from NSW DOI regarding the status of your trainees.

 

How do I claim the rebate?

The rebate is a self-administered scheme allowing the rebate amount to be calculated and offset against the monthly payments and annual reconciliation.

If you use your own spreadsheet or a commercial software package, such as MYOB, to calculate your monthly payment, you have the option of either determining your own monthly offset or claiming it at the end of the financial year.

 

How do I calculate the rebate?

To calculate your monthly rebate, use the following formulas.

Step 1 – Tax Liability

(Total wages for the month – Monthly threshold) x Payroll tax rate

Step 2 – Rebate

Apprentice and/or Trainee wages x Payroll tax rate

Step 3 – Tax Payable

Tax liability – Rebate

For example payroll tax calculations, download the example calculations for the monthly calculator and annual reconciliation.

Note: if you also have interstate wages, the inclusion of the apprentice and/or trainee wages will affect threshold deduction entitlements between each State and/or Territory.

 

I am a non-profit group-training organisation, do I need to declare the wages?

No, wages are exempt if they are paid to an employee who is employed by a non-profit group-training organisation in accordance with a group apprenticeship or traineeship scheme approved by NSW DOI.

 

What common errors are made when claiming the rebate?

Some of the common errors made when claiming the rebate include:

• continuing to apply old rules by claiming an exemption instead of the rebate by not including apprentice and/or trainee wages after 1 July 2008
• apprentices and/or trainees not registered with NSW DOI
• continuing to claim the rebate despite the worker no longer being considered an apprentice or new entrant trainee by NSW DOI
• not claiming the rebate despite being eligible
• only claiming the rebate on apprentice/trainee hourly wages, instead of including all remuneration such as superannuation, allowances and bonuses.