Apprenticeships and traineeships

Skilling Australians Fund - additional funding

The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) will include additional funding of $34.2 million in 2019-20 to the six state and territory signatories in response to an expected drop in the SAF levy revenue (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Additional Identified Skills Shortage Payment

To support up to 80 000 new commencements over five years, $156.3 million will be allocated over four years from 2019-20, and $108 million from 2023-24 for the new 'Additional Identified Skills Shortage Payment' under the 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' measure.

• The payment is available to employers and apprentices in the top 10 occupations with a demonstrated need for increased commencements and the primary entry pathway is through apprenticeship.
• Employers will be eligible for an additional $4000 payment.
• Apprentices will be eligible for $2000, paid at key milestones (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Streamlined Incentives Program

$44 million over four years from 2019-20 is included in the 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' measure for a new 'Streamlined Incentives Program' with a streamlined payment structure and eligibility criteria, underpinned by a forward-looking National Skills Priority List, making it simpler for employers to take on an apprentice or trainee (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

National Rugby League's VET Apprenticeship Awareness Program

The 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' also includes funding of $350 000 to help the National Rugby League provide ongoing player and community education through their VET Apprenticeship Awareness Program (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Employment

Foundation Skills for Your Future

The 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' includes the establishment of a new language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy (LLND) program including $52.5 million over four years from 2019-20 to upskill at-risk workers by supporting 11 000 workers with low-level LLND skills (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

National Career Institute and Ambassador

$36.3 million over four years is allocated in the 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' to establish a new National Careers Institute and appoint a National Careers Ambassador to work with industry, governments, schools and tertiary providers to ensure every working age person has access to quality career advice (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

VET Information Strategy

The 'Skills Package - delivering skills for today and tomorrow' also includes $6.1 million over four years to continue the 'VET Information Strategy' to raise the profile of VET and promote career opportunities available through VET pathways, including skills shortages (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

Trades Recognition Australia — full cost recovery

$131.6 million over five years is provided to streamline and strengthen the oversight of Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) of skills assessments related to migration, employment and licensing purposes. The activities will be fully cost recovered by the collection of fees from individual applicants by TRA rather than through registered training organisations (RTOs) (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 71).

New Employment Services Model - pilot and transitional arrangements

$249.8 million is allocated over five years to pilot a new employment services model prior to a national rollout, and to extend existing deeds for Jobactive and related programs until 30 June 2022. Net efficiencies of $59.4 million over the five years due to a reduction in expenditure for face-to-face servicing arrangements will be reinvested in services for those who need extra help. The measure builds on the 2018-19 MYEFO measure titled 'Online Employment Services Trial - expansion', and the 2018-19 Budget measure titled 'Online Employment Services Trial' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, pp. 149-150).

Rollout Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers Program

$3.929 million is allocated in 2019-20 to rollout the Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers Program. $17.4 million over four years from 2018-19 is provided for the progam, which each year, from 1 September 2018, will support 5000 employees aged 45-70 to remain in the workforce (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 56).

Industry

Skills Organisation pilots

$41.7 million over four years is provided for the pilot of two Skills Organisations in the areas of digital technologies and human services to trial industry-led methods of qualification development and assessment, and develop standards for industry to accredit RTOs (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

National Skills Commission

$48.3 million over four years has been allocated for the establishment of a National Skills Commission that will develop efficient pricing for training, informed by the Productivity Commission. The Skills Commission will also oversee Skills Organisations (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

Improving STEM Gender Equity in Australia

$3.4 million over four years from 2019-20 is provided to extend the 'Science in Australia Gender Equity' program for an additional 3 years; and a digital content National Awareness Raising Initiative, led by the Women in STEM Ambassador. Funding for this measure will be offset by redirecting uncommitted funds from the Entrepreneurs' Programme and the Industry Growth Centres Initiative (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 120).

National Agreements

Total payments to the states and territories for skills and workforce development are estimated at $1.7 billion in 2019-20, comprising:

• National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purposes Payment (SPP): $1.5 billion
• National Partnerships: $160.4 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal financial relations, p. 34).

National Skills and Workforce Development SPP

The National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development identifies the long-term objectives of the Commonwealth and the States in the areas of skills and workforce development. The National Skills and Workforce Development SPP is the funding associated with Agreement.

The allocations to the states and territories for 2018-19 are: New South Wales $491.8 million, Victoria $401.7 million, Queensland $308.4 million, Western Australia $158 million, South Australia $105 million, Tasmania $32 million, Australian Capital Territory $26.1 million, and Northern Territory $14.9 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 34).

National Partnerships - Skilling Australians Fund

The National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund supports the training of Australians through a range of projects focused on skills priorities. These include training in occupations in high demand, those that rely on skilled migration, future growth industries, and rural and regional areas. There is also a strong focus on apprenticeships and traineeships.

The allocations to the six signatory states and territories for 2019-20 are: New South Wales $93.8 million, Western Australia $305 million, South Australia $20.3 million, Tasmania $6.1 million, Australian Capital Territory $4.9 million, and Northern Territory $2.9 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 35).

National Partnership on skills for Tasmania

The Australian Government will provide $2.3 million in 2019-20 for fee-free training and support for training materials to encourage Tasmanians to train in areas of priority skills needs (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 35).  
Note: This item became Energising Tasmania

National Partnership on job ready generation package - north-west Tasmania

The Australian Government supports the delivery of training, workforce planning and job matching initiatives in north-west Tasmania that are focused on meeting the skill needs of industry in the region. The Government has provided $3.2 million in 2018-19 (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 35).

Regulation

Australian Skills Quality Authority resourcing

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) estimates its total resourcing will be $55.198 millon, which includes a departmental appropriation of $36.454 million for the 2019-20 financial year (Portfolio budget statements 2018-19: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 140).

ASQA's priorities for the year ahead

In 2019-20 ASQA will focus on: addressing the target areas, and progressing the strategic initiatives, detailed in the Authority's Regulatory Strategy 2018-20; progressing ASQA's move to full cost recovery by 1 July 2020; and addressing recommendations emanating from the review of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 that relate to ASQA (Portfolio budget statements 2018-19: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 139).

Training providers and programs

Industry Training Hubs

$67.5 million over five years is provided to establish 10 Industry Training Hubs supporting school-based vocational education and creating linkages between industry and schools in regions with high youth unemployment (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Remote Communities Pilots - Foundation Skills for Your Future

$9.9 million is allocated over three years, as part of a new language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy (LLND) program, to pilot delivery of project-based LLND skills in four pilot areas to individuals in remote Indigenous communities (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 12).

Commonwealth Scholarships Program for Young Australians

The Commonwealth Scholarships Program for Young Australians will be expanded, with $8.2 million to provide up to 400 scholarships across more trial areas (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Destination Australia Program

$93.7 million from 2019-20 and $23.7 million per year ongoing is provided to establish the Destination Australia Program to support domestic and international students to study in regional Australia by providing scholarships of up to $18 000 towards a HE or VET qualification. The program will be funded by terminating the Endeavour Leadership Program (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 64).

VET Student Loans - increase in loan limit for aviation courses

The lifetime loan limit for students undertaking practical flight training through a VET Student Loans approved provider will increase from 1 January 2020 from $104 440 to $150 000 (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 11).

Unique Student Identifier service - extension to higher education students

The Unique Student Identifier (USI) service will be extended to all HE students, with $15.8 million over four years supplemented by $2.2 million in 2019-20 to develop the first stage of a repository to record an individual's HE and training records (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).

Jobs and Education Data Infrastructure Project

$1.8 million over two years is allocated to continue the Jobs and Education Data Infrastructure Project - this third phase will develop a prototype tool to assist education providers to respond to the skill needs of employers and industry (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13).