Apprenticeships and traineeships

Ensuring a strong pipeline of apprentices

The Australian Government will invest a further $2.8 billion over five years from 2021-22 to upskill apprentices, including by introducing a new streamlined Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System (AAIS). This investment establishes a pathway that backs and develops apprentices in priority trades and moves away from a complex system with over 30 different payments for employers and apprentices (Budget paper no. 1: Budget strategy and outlook, p. 10).

Investing in Skills Development and Growing Australia's Workforce

$1.3 billion over five years from 2021-22 is provided to support employers to engage and retain new apprentices, and reform the Australian Apprenticeships system to sustain a skilled and responsive workforce. This funding includes:

• $954 million over five years from 2021-22 to introduce a new Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System from 1 July 2022, providing support to employers and apprentices in priority occupations
• $365.3 million to extend the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies by three months
• $2.8 million in 2022-23 to increase apprenticeship In-Training Support by an additional 2500 places for young Australians aged 15-20 years.

The cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resources of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, and builds on the 2021-22 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) measure titled 'Supporting Jobs in the Economic Recovery' and the 2021-22 Budget measure titled 'Building Skills for the Future - Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy - expansion' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, pp. 76-77; Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 12).

New Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System

From 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024:

• Employers of apprentices in priority occupations will be able to access a wage subsidy set at 10 per cent for first year apprentices, 10 per cent for second year apprentices, and 5 per cent for third year apprentices.
• Apprentices in priority occupations will receive a direct payment - the Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment - to support them in completing their apprenticeship with $1250 paid every six months over the first two years of their apprenticeship, up to a total amount of $5000.
• Employers of apprentices in non-priority occupations will receive a $3500 hiring incentive.

From 1 July 2024, support will target employers and apprentices in priority occupations, including:

• a $4000 hiring incentive for employers
• Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment of up to $3000 paid to apprentices.

As part of the AAIS, several payments from the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program will continue, including the Living Away From Home Allowance, Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support, and the off-the-job Tutorial, Mentor and Interpreter Assistance available to apprentices with disability (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, pp. 12-13).

Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements - extension

To support the transition to the new AAIS, $365.3 million over five years will be provided to extend the existing Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements (BAC) wage subsidy measure to 30 June 2022 and extend the Completing Apprenticeship Commencements (CAC) wage subsidy measure to 30 June 2027. This brings the total amount available through the BAC and CAC to $5.8 billion. BAC and CAC are currently supporting 73 245 employers. This has contributed to the record high number of trade apprentices in training at around 220 000 and total in-training numbers of 352 020 across a range of trade and non-trade occupations and reflects 238 360 commencements in the 12 months since the BAC commenced (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 13).

Additional support for apprentices

From 1 July 2022, young apprentices (aged 15 to 20 years) will receive additional support to complete their apprenticeship. All newly commencing young apprentices will receive a follow-up call within three months of commencing to ensure any issues are identified early. In addition, $2.8 million is allocated to fund 2500 more in-training support places for young Australian apprentices (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 13).

Trade Support Loans Scheme

Subject to the passing of legislation, the Trade Support Loans Scheme will transition to the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Scheme from 1 January 2023.

The Government will also provide $22.5 million to expand eligibility for the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (formerly the Trade Support Loans Scheme) to align with the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List, and enable the backdating of payments to provide immediate support to recipients (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, pp. 13 and 73).

Training apprentices in regional Australia – Regional Apprenticeship Boost

As part of the Regional Accelerator Program, there will be an increase in support via a $144.1 million boost for regional employers of apprentices. Until mid-2024, eligible regional and rural employers will be able to access an additional 5 per cent wage subsidy for the first year of an apprentice's wage - equating to a wage subsidy of 15 per cent of an apprentice's wages in their first year, 10 per cent in the second year and 5 per cent in the third. The Government will also provide $22.6 million for more than 29 000 additional in-training support places to ensure regional apprentices have the support they need (Building Australia and strengthening our regions, p. 31).

Women's Leadership Package - boosting women in trades

The Government will provide $106.9 million over five years from 2021-22 to further promote women in leadership. Funding includes $38.6 million over four years from 2022-23 (and $9.3 million per year ongoing) to provide additional support for women who commence in trade occupations that are higher paying trade occupations on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, in order to boost the number of women participating in these roles. The additional support will be provided by increasing access to comprehensive wraparound support through the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network including personalised advice and information on career options and apprenticeships pathways, pastoral care, career and industry mentoring, counselling and mediation (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 65; Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 13).

Employment

Boosting Participation and Building Australia's Workforce

$153.5 million over five years from 2021-22 is provided to address workforce shortages, support job seekers to find employment, and make it easier for vulnerable Australians to participate in the workforce. Funding includes:

• $52.8 million over five years from 2021-22 to deliver the new ReBoot initiative and support Workforce Australia to support up to 5000 disadvantaged young Australians to develop employability skills, providing a pathway to employment services and training opportunities
• $49.5 million over two years from 2022-23 to provide an additional 15 000 low and fee-free training places in aged care courses under the JobTrainer Fund
• $1.5 million in 2022-23 to extend the trial of career coaching for job seekers of all ages participating in Digital Services under Workforce Australia. The trial will provide career coaching to digitally serviced job seekers, to help them secure employment.

The cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resources of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, the Department of Social Services and Services Australia, and builds on the 2021-22 MYEFO measure titled 'Supporting Jobs in the Economic Recovery' and the 2021-22 Budget measures titled 'Getting Vulnerable Australians Back into Work - additional support for job seekers' and 'New Employment Services Model' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 65; Media release 19 March 2022).

'Workforce Australia' was formerly reported as 'New Employment Services Model' and will launch on 1 July 2022. It includes a modern digital platform that is designed to become a single front door for all government employment and skills programs and initiatives (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 78; More jobs and a strong economy, p. 20).

Indigenous Rangers – capacity building

The Government will provide $636.4 million over six years ($14.6 million in 2022-23) to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program to increase the capacity of Indigenous people to undertake land and sea country management while also providing long term education and employment outcomes in regions where there are limited other employment opportunities. This measure will fund up to 1089 new rangers by 2026-27, and 88 new ranger groups across Australia. The measure will also provide incentives to increase the number of women rangers, expand the youth rangers program, and set up a professional Indigenous Land and Water Management body that will increase the professionalism of ranger groups, bring Indigenous knowledge into land and water management, and provide environmental and operational expertise to support ranger organisations. The Indigenous Rangers Program will contribute towards economic and cultural targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 161).

Supporting Regionalisation

The Supporting Regionalisation initiative includes $18.6 million over three years from 2022-23 to establish a pilot program to provide unique digital and data training and employment opportunities for regional Australians (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 152).

National Careers Institute and Ambassador funding

$29.6 million over four years was allocated in the 2020-21 Budget to support the ongoing role of the National Careers Institute to simplify and strengthen career information, promote vocational education and training (VET) pathways, and enhance partnerships between industry, employers, schools and tertiary providers. $16.601 million is allocated to the initiative in 2022-23, and $1.067 million for 2023-24 (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 73).

Industry

Modernising Australian labour market data

The Government is investing in modern data so that it can better target spending on education and training and help meet skills gaps. $23.7 million over four years from 2022-23 is provided for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to update the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations annually, with new and emerging occupations to be incorporated into the ABS' labour market data (More jobs and a strong economy, p. 11; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 173).

National Workforce Strategy

The Government has developed a National Workforce Strategy to guide workforce development and ensure a more coordinated and aligned approach to workforce issues. The National Workforce Strategy outlines a vision for a more dynamic, responsive and capable workforce to be realised through its guiding principles. The Strategy will inform and shape the development of workforce policy and sector-specific strategies across Commonwealth agencies (More jobs and a strong economy, p. 27; Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 14).

Regional Accelerator Program – establishment

To strengthen the regions and critical infrastructure, $2.0 billion is allocated over five years from 2022-23 to establish the Regional Accelerator Program (RAP) to drive transformative economic growth and productivity in regional areas. The RAP will provide dedicated funding for regional businesses and communities to access programs targeted to local priorities in infrastructure, manufacturing and industry development, skills and training, research and development, and education.

Programs receiving the regional extension funding include (but are not limited to) the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, Australian Apprenticeships initiatives, Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative, Export Market Development Grants, Recycling Modernisation Fund and Defence Industry programs. The program will take a whole-of-government approach to drive regional investment, targeted at regions experiencing high levels of population growth and economic performance or undergoing long-term structural adjustment (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 150; Budget paper no. 1: Budget strategy and outlook, p. 17).

Small Business - skills and training boost

A skills and training boost to support small businesses to train and upskill their employees will apply to eligible expenditure incurred from 7:30pm (AEDT) on 29 March 2022 (Budget night) until 30 June 2024. Small businesses (with aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million) will be able to deduct an additional 20 per cent of expenditure incurred on external training courses provided to their employees. The external training courses will need to be provided to employees in Australia or online and delivered by entities registered in Australia. Some exclusions will apply, such as for in-house or on-the-job training and expenditure on external training courses for persons other than employees. The boost for eligible expenditure incurred by 30 June 2022 will be claimed in tax returns for the following income year. The boost for eligible expenditure incurred between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2024 will be included in the income year in which the expenditure is incurred. This measure is estimated to decrease receipts by $550.0 million, and increase payments by $7.0 million over the forward estimates period (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 26).

Support for Defence Industry

$151.6 million is allocated over five years from 2021-22 to the Department of Defence to continue existing defence industry support programs. Funding includes:

• $84.7 million for the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grants Program
• $20.3 million for the Skilling Australia's Defence Industry Grant Program.

These programs will enable Australian small and medium-sized businesses to supply critical industrial capabilities to Defence, and provide training and skilling opportunities for defence industry. The cost of this measure will be met from within the existing resources of the Department of Defence (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 73).

JobTrainer Fund - Aged care workforce

$468.3 million is allocated over five years from 2021-22 to further implement the Government's response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. To support Australia's aged care workforce, the Government is investing a further $48.5 million over two years from 2022-23, contingent on matched funding from the states, to expand the JobTrainer program to provide 15 000 free and low-fee training places for aged care related qualifications. The initiative forms part of the budget measure 'Boosting Participation and Building Australia's Workforce' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 74; Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 15).

Media Sector Reforms - Journalist (Cadetship and Training) Fund

$10 million is allocated over two years from 2021-22 to establish the Journalist (Cadetship and Training) Fund to support broadcasters and publishers to hire, train and upskill cadets and journalists to support public interest news in regional Australia (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 145).

Industry Clusters funding

The 2021-22 'Stronger Support for Skills Reform' budget measure includes $149.2 million over four years from 2021-22 to establish up to 15 industry owned Industry Clusters to deliver improved skills and workforce outcomes through collaboration with industry and to ensure that the VET system is responsive to industry and employer skills needs (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 93). The estimated annual administered expenses for Industry Clusters are $74.127 million for 2022-23, with a further $321.8 million allocated over the forward estimates. The Skills Organisation Pilots and the Australian Industry and Skills Committee will receive $9.8 million and $787 000 respectively in 2022-23, with no further funding allocated across the forward estimates (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 73).

Industry Workforce Training

Industry Workforce Training, which supports industry engagement in the National Training System, has estimated program expenses of $29.094 million in 2022-23 (Portfolio budget statements 2021-22: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 73).

National Skills Commission resourcing

The annual administered expenses for the National Skills Commission (NSC) are estimated at $4.365 million for 2022-23, with an additional $6.2 million allocated over the forward estimates to 2025-26 (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 73).

Remote Engagement Program – pilot extension

$11.5 million over five years from 2021-22 is provided to continue the five pilots supporting the design of the Remote Engagement Program, extending the measure for a further two years, with the full roll out of the program commencing on 1 July 2024. The Remote Engagement Program will replace the Community Development Program and support remote communities by targeting job creation and skills development. As part of the settlement of the Community Development Program Class Action the Commonwealth will provide funding for legal fees and grant funding to support projects. The cost of this measure will be partially met from within the existing resources of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, and builds on the 2021-22 MYEFO measure titled 'Changes to Wage Scheme - Remote Engagement Program' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 164).

National Agreements

In 2022-23, the Australian Government will provide funding of $1.8 billion to support state skills and workforce development services, including:

• $1.6 billion through the National Skills and Workforce Development SPP
• $232.9 million through other National Partnership payments (Budget paper no. 3: Federal financial relations, p. 44).

National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purpose Payment (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 2022-23 are: New South Wales $507.8 million, Victoria $414.4 million, Queensland $328.4 million, Western Australia $168.2 million, South Australia $110.8 million, Tasmania $33.8 million, Australian Capital Territory $26.9 million, and Northern Territory $15.4 million (Budget paper no. 3: Federal Financial Relations, p. 45).

National Partnerships

The funding of $232.9 million provided through National Partnership and Project payments in 2022-23 comprises:

• Energising Tasmania ($4.7 million) to provide fee-free training and support for training materials to encourage Tasmanians to train in areas of priority skills needs for the energy sector.
• JobTrainer Fund ($226.5 million, to be matched by the states) to provide a rapid increase in free or low cost training places for job seekers and young people, including school leavers, in areas of identified skills need and/or employment growth. The funding is allocated to New South Wales ($72.1 million), Victoria ($59 million), Queensland ($45.5 million), Western Australia ($23.5 million), South Australia ($15.6 million), Tasmania ($4.8 million), Australian Capital Territory ($3.8 million), and Northern Territory ($2.2 million).
• Revitalising TAFE campuses across Australia ($1.8 million) to improve vocational education infrastructure. For 2022-23 the funding is allocated to Queensland ($0.5 million), South Australia ($1.3 million). $27.3 million was allocated across all the states and territories in 2021-22.
• Skilling Australians Fund ($0). $75.3 million was allocated to the states and territories in 2021-22, excluding Victoria and Queensland, which were not signatories to the Agreement (Budget paper no. 3: Federal financial relations, pp. 46-47). The National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund expires on 30 June 2022.

Skills Reform to Support Future Growth - National Skills Agreement

The Government has committed up to $12 billion over five years from 2022–23 for a National Skills Agreement (NSA) with state and territory governments. In addition to the $8.3 billion National Skills and Workforce Development SPP, the Budget includes provision for a further $3.7 billion to support the NSA. The NSA will transform the way the states and territories support VET, ensuring investment decisions are evidence-based and linked to skills needs, funding is transparent, and greater consistency applies across jurisdictions.

The NSA has the capacity to deliver around 800 000 additional training places over five years. It will reduce the number of students facing unreasonably high fees and improve access to free and low-fee training for priority students, including people with disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for select priority courses. It will make the VET system simpler and fairer for students. All governments remain committed to major reform of the VET system through the Heads of Agreement for Skills Reform, which was signed by First Ministers in August 2020. The Australian Government is continuing to negotiate in good faith with jurisdictions and remains committed to securing agreement to the NSA with all states and territories by mid-2022 in line with the National Cabinet deadline. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment will receive $6 million in the 2022-23 Budget to support the NSA (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 12; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 78).

Regulation

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) was established under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (NVR Act) on 1 July 2011, following the referral of powers by the majority of state and territory governments. ASQA is accountable for the regulation of:

• providers that deliver VET courses to domestic students in Australia or offer Australian qualifications overseas
• providers that deliver VET courses to overseas students - providers must be approved on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) to teach overseas students in Australia
• certain providers that deliver English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS).

ASQA also provides national accreditation for courses to meet an established industry, enterprise, educational, legislative or community need and the assessment of training packages for compliance with the applicable standards and requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 171).

Skills Reform to Support Future Growth - Establishing assurance functions

$3.7 billion over six years from 2021-22 (and $284.6 million per year ongoing) is provided to increase investment in Australia's skills development, address critical skills needs and meet the demands of a growing economy. The funding includes $28.5 million over five years from 2021-22 for ASQA to establish assurance functions to support the VET system. Partial funding for this measure has already been provided for by the Government, and builds on the 2021-22 budget measure titled 'Stronger Support for Skills Reform' (Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 78).

Australian Skills Quality Authority resourcing

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) estimates its total resourcing will be $66.298 million, which includes a departmental appropriation of $46.184 million for 2022-23 (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 173).

Fee relief extension

On 12 April 2020, the Government announced a package of measures designed to mitigate negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on VET providers. Under these measures, it was announced that ASQA would waive fees and charges for some of its activities for the period 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021, and reimburse payments made for the included fees and charges where invoices were issued on or after 1 January 2020, resulting in revenue estimates for 2020-21 of $0.9 million.

In April 2021, the Government extended the fee relief budget measure for a further six months to 31 December 2021. This measure reduces ASQA's revenue estimate for 2021–22 by $14.7 million and deferred ASQA's implementation of full cost recovery to 1 January 2022. This deferral reduces ASQA's revenue estimate for 2021-22 by $6.2 million. In November 2021, the Government further extended the fees and charges waiver until 1 July 2022 for VET providers and 31 December 2022 for ELICOS-only providers and in doing so, extended the implementation of full cost recovery to 1 July 2022. The budget measures result in a revenue estimate for 2022–23 of $36.6 million (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, pp. 180-181).

ASQA's priorities for the year ahead

In 2022-23, ASQA will focus on: co-designing a model of provider self-assurance with and for the sector; refining its Regulatory Risk framework and Regulatory Operating Model; leveraging and supporting broader government data management initiatives to improve the way regulatory data is collected, stored, shared and utilised; implementing an agency-wide approach to investment in staged digital enhancements to underpin its continuous improvement of regulatory best practice and support efficiencies for providers in interacting with the regulator; implementing new Service Standards to support a focus on efficient and effective regulation and the quality of interactions with providers; maturing an evaluation framework to demonstrate regulatory impact and continuous improvement of regulatory outcomes over time; implementation of a model of full cost recovery; and implementing a new function to assess training packages for compliance with the applicable standards and requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 172).

Training providers and programs

Investing in Skills Reform

The National Skills and Workforce Development Specific Purpose Payment provides around $8.1 billion to the states and territories between 2021-22 and 2025-26 for the skills and workforce development objectives of the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development. An additional $3.7 billion over six years from 2021-22 (and $284.6 million per year ongoing) is available to support the new National Skills Agreement (NSA). The NSA could deliver a further 800 000 training places over five years, and improve access to free and low-fee training for priority students and for select priority courses. The 'Investing in Skills Reform' budget measure includes:

• $3.7 billion over five years from 2022-23 (and $284.6 million per year ongoing from 2027-28) to work with states and territories, to agree a new National Skills Agreement under the Heads of Agreement for Skills Reform to invest in the skills system to support economic growth and resilience
• $28.5 million over five years from 2021-22 to establish assurance functions to support the Vocational Education and Training system for the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has been allocated $6 million in the 2022–23 Budget to support the NSA. Partial funding for the 'Investing in Skills Reform' measure has already been provided for by the Government and builds on the 2021-22 Budget measure titled 'Stronger Support for Skills Reform' (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 12; Budget paper no. 2: Budget measures, p. 78).

VET Student Loans (VSL) IT system

$11 million will be provided in 2022-23 for critical maintenance of the VET Student Loans (VSL) IT system to ensure the system can continue to support the delivery of the VSL program (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 16).

Continuing initiatives

Annual administered expenses estimated under 'Sub-program 3.1.1 - Skills Development' and 'Sub-program 3.1.2 - Access to Training' include:

• Australian Apprenticeship Support Network - $263.869 million in 2022-23, and $655.991 across the forward estimates
• Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program – $2.6 billion in 2022-23, and around $3 billion across the forward estimates
• Mid-Career Checkpoint - $24.747 million in 2022-23 and $36.473 million in 2023-24
• Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers Program - $7.428 million in 2022-23, and $15.998 million across the forward estimates
• Accelerating Australian Apprenticeships Pilot - $6.895 in 2022-23
• Skills for Education and Employment - $125.418 million in 2022-23, and $414.433 million across the forward estimates
• Foundation Skills for Your Future Program - $14.283 million in 2022-23 and $12.139 million in 2023-24
• Foundation Skills for Your Future - Remote Community Pilots - $3.326 million in 2022-23 (Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 72).

For more information about these initiatives, see the VET Knowledge Bank Timeline of Australian VET policy initiatives 1998-2021.

Industry Training Hubs funding

$67.5 million over five years was provided in the 2019-20 Budget to establish 10 Industry Training Hubs to support school-based vocational education and create linkages between industry and schools in regions with high youth unemployment. The roll out of the initiative was completed in October 2021. Funding of $16.735 million is provided for 2022-23, with no further funding provided across the forward estimates (Portfolio budget statements 2019-20: Budget related paper 1.5: Education and Training Portfolio, p. 13; Media release 26 October 2021; Portfolio budget statements 2022-23: Budget related paper no. 1.4: Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, p. 73).