Frequently Asked Questions

Lodgement of Applications to Establish an Apprenticeship or Traineeship >> Questions

Q1 ) If an employer is based in Victoria, has an interstate address eg, both postal and business addresses are in Melbourne, has both entry level & Existing Worker trainees located throughout NSW and both on-the-job and registered training organisation (RTO) training is being undertaken in NSW, where will its applications be lodged?

Q2 ) Does an organisation have the ability to nominate which State Training Centre they will use for lodgements?

Q3 ) How can I make applications within 28 days if I have to get a Training Plan together to go with it? Will there be any time concessions?

Q4 ) What are the Industrial Relations implications that after some months, no Training Contract has been lodged?

Q5 ) Re: Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001, Part 2, Division 2, Section (7) Applications to establish apprenticeships and traineeships - Does this Section mean that an employer who employs a person as an apprentice or trainee, does not have to apply to the Commissioner for the establishment of an apprenticeship/traineeship?

Q1 ) If an employer is based in Victoria, has an interstate address eg, both postal and business addresses are in Melbourne, has both entry level & Existing Worker trainees located throughout NSW and both on-the-job and registered training organisation (RTO) training is being undertaken in NSW, where will its applications be lodged?

A1 ) The new Training Contract has provision only for postal and training addresses. Training Contracts are to be lodged with DET State Training Centres (STCs) according to the postal address of the employer. The postal address dictates the STC where lodgement is to occur. If the postal address was interstate, then the appropriate lodgement STC would be the geographically nearest STC, eg for Victoria it would be Wagga Wagga, for Queensland it would be Lismore.

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Q2 ) Does an organisation have the ability to nominate which State Training Centre they will use for lodgements?

A2 ) No. As outlined above, Training Contracts are to be lodged with DET State Training Centres (STCs) according to the postal address of the employer.

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Q3 ) How can I make applications within 28 days if I have to get a Training Plan together to go with it? Will there be any time concessions?

A3 ) Unless the application is for a part-time traineeship a Full Training Plan is not required on lodgement of the application. The Training Plan format which must be lodged with the new Training Contract is a simple single page Training Plan Summary document which should not create significant delays. A pro forma is available on the Department's website.

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Q4 ) What are the Industrial Relations implications that after some months, no Training Contract has been lodged?

A4 ) It is a requirement of the Apprenticeship & Traineeship Act, 2001 that a Training Contract and Training Plan be lodged within 28 days after the date on which an employer employs a person as an apprentice or trainee - see section 7 (2).

Section 25 of the Apprenticeship & Traineeship Act, 2001 provides that a 'junior' must not be employed in a recognised trade vocation unless the 'junior' is either an apprentice or qualified in that trade. Penalties apply to breaches of sections 7 & 25. Failure to establish an apprenticeship in breach of the above provisions may also result in a complaint to the relevant industrial agency about a breach of an industrial award or agreement and possibly substantial costs to the employer in lost wages.

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Q5 ) Re: Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001, Part 2, Division 2, Section (7) Applications to establish apprenticeships and traineeships - Does this Section mean that an employer who employs a person as an apprentice or trainee, does not have to apply to the Commissioner for the establishment of an apprenticeship/traineeship?

A5 ) No. The intent of section 7(1) speaks as at the initiation of the employment arrangement as the basis of that employment. Section 7(2) comes into effect after employment has commenced and provides a clear requirement that employment as an apprentice or trainee within the meaning of the Apprenticeship & Traineeship Act, 2001 must be substantiated within 28 days of such employment by making an application to the Commissioner for Vocational Training.

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