Australian Disability Apprenticeships: Information & Fact Sheets

Apprenticeships are available to anyone of working age and do not require any entry qualifications, they can be a school-leaver, re-entering the workforce or simply wishing to change careers. They are the best way to combine training and employment, and can lead to a nationally recognized qualification.

Main Content

Australian Apprenticeships encompass all apprenticeships and traineeships and combine time at work with training. They can be full-time, part-time or school-based. The Australian Government, in acknowledging the contribution people with disability make to their communities and workplaces, provides additional support to Australian Apprentices with disability to help them reach their full potential as skilled workers.

An Australian Apprenticeship can take from one to four years to complete, depending on the type of Australian Apprenticeship, the industry and the qualification you do.

A range of assistance is available to support Australian Apprentices with disability, including Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support which is paid to employers, and assistance for tutorial, interpreter and mentor services for apprentices. Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support (DAAWS) is an Australian Government incentive payable to an employer who employs an Australian Apprentice who satisfies the disability eligibility criteria in an Australian Apprenticeship. This wage support is also available to an employer who employs an Australian Apprentice who becomes disabled during their apprenticeship or traineeship.

Employers

• An employer of an Australian Apprentice with disability may receive an incentive of either $104.30 a week for a full-time apprentice or a pro rata amount for a part-time apprentice. The employer must be paying a suitable wage, which must be at least $104.30 per week or its part-time equivalent - www.humanservices.gov.au/business/services/centrelink/disabled-australian-apprentice-wage-support/
• Australian Apprenticeships Incentives for Employers
  www.jcub.edu.au/media/722133/rus001300-incentives-employers-flyer-lr.pdf

Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information:

• Flowchart summarizes the steps to finding an Australian Apprenticeship for people with a disability.
  www.aatinfo.com.au/getattachment/6f04b126-736c-41d3-b50f-20f699570326/file.aspx

Support for Australian Apprentices with Disability

• www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/publications/support-australian-apprentices-disability

Australian Apprenticeships incentives, initiatives, new and adult apprentices

• www.aatinfo.com.au/Government-Initiatives/Disability-Initiatives/National

List of publications relating to Australian Apprenticeships

• www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/publications

Disabled, ill or injured and looking for work

• www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/disabled-ill-or-injured-and-looking-for-work

For more information and advice on all aspects of Australian Apprenticeships, contact your local Apprenticeship Network provider or call the Australian Apprenticeships referral line on 13 38 73.

Apprenticeship Network providers are contracted by the Australian Government to provide free Australian Apprenticeships support services to apprentices and employers.

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.