FAQs for Apprentices & Trainees

Info on how to apply for the Trade Support Loan can be found here.

Payments will be approved for 6 months at a time and payments will be released on your monthly anniversary. (eg. Commenced on 21 April, Apply on 15 July, Payments will be released on the 21st of July for the next 6 months.)

Absolutely, please refer to the ATO website for details on how to do this. https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/study-and-training-support-loans/when-must-you-repay-your-loan/

It usually takes between 5-10 days for the money to hit your account from the time the email has been sent. Please double check your bank statement after day 10 and if still not there, please contact us on 1300 627 628.

Any queries regarding the Trade Support Loan or updates needed can be emailed to [email protected]. To apply for a Trade Support Loan, we MUST receive the original and signed Application Form, either via mail or delivered in person to one of our offices.

For eligible apprentices, an email will be sent to you after you complete your first 12 months with information on how to claim. If you have completed and are inquiring about the final payment, this will be emailed out to you once we have been advised by the RTO that you are complete.

It’s the TFN Declaration that we require (which is different to your TFN) – AISS is regarded as ‘income’ with the Dept as your employer – all of the instructions are clearly written in the email that you receive at the same time as your claim form.

“Always check your junk/spam folder first, the claim will be coming from the address ‘[email protected]’ so often gets mistaken for junk mail. Ensure that you haven’t provided us with a different email address
If that hasn’t worked, contact us on 1300 627 628 and we will look into it for you”

Don’t panic! Once you get to the next page of the claim you should see a question asking if any of the details on the previous page need updating. You can enter as much info here as you need to ensure your record is up to date.

Once you have submitted a claim form you will not be able to make edits. If you think you have completed something incorrectly/have missed uploading documents/are not longer eligible, please contact our office on 1300 627 628 and we will assist.

Each year the ATO adjusts the Minimum Repayment Threshold in line with their legislation. For 2020-21 the threshold is $46,620. So once you earn more that that repayments are mandatory. The new HELP thresholds can be found at: https://www.studyassist.gov.au/paying-back-your-loan/loan-repayment

The yearly amounts and the lifetime limit are indexed annually on 1 July in line with increases in the CPI. What does this mean? It means each year the amount you can receive changes slightly. When these changes happen, you will be notified by us so that you know what you can expect and budget accordingly.

TSL debts are indexed annually. The ATO has advised that the debt indexation rate for 1 June 2020 is 1.8%. What does this mean? Each year any debt that is more than 11 months old will go up slightly – this is different from interest which banks etc charge on a regular basis.

It is most likely you failed to submit an Opt-In Form to continue to receive payments for a further 6 months, therefore payments have ceased. Contact our office on 1300 627 628 and we will walk you through what needs to happen.

“Before you leave your apprenticeship/traineeship, we recommend getting in touch with our mentoring team to see if there is anything we can do to assist you to stay with your current employer. Our services include mediation and counselling to name a few.

If you do still opt to leave your apprenticeship, any time you have already worked can be credited against your next apprenticeship training contract.

Example – If you have worked for 26 months with Employer A and then leave, when you sign back into a four year apprenticeship with Employer B, it will show that you have 22 months remaining. (NOTE: Large breaks in the apprenticeship will reduce the credit. Example – You do an apprenticeship for 6 months then return to it 2 years later, you will not get full 6 month credit.)”

Firstly, make sure this is the right thing for you. Our mentoring team can provide support and assistance to work through issues that may make leaving look like the best option.

If you are still certain that leaving is the best option, you will need to:
Advise your employer – this should be in writing and delivered in person where possible/appropriate/safe
Decide on an end date with your employer
Contact our office on 1300 627 628 to obtain the required paperwork to release you from your training.

Once you have secured a new employer, you will need to be signed up again. Please give our office a call on 1300 627 628 and we will take care of everything for you, free of charge.

When you commence trade school will depend on availability at your chosen TAFE/RTO. Regardless of start date, you should hear from your trade school within 6 weeks of signing your Training Contract to confirm they received your intent to train and to discuss enrolment. If you haven’t heard from them within 6 weeks, you should contact them yourself to get the ball rolling.

In order to find out more, you should contact your TAFE/RTO for further info.

Your first step should be to talk to your boss to see if they have received any info. If neither of you has been advised, please give the RTO/TAFE a call and ask when you can expect to be enrolled.

If you have made multiple attempts to get this info from the TAFE and are having no luck, please give our office a call on 1300 627 628 for further assistance.

Put simply – Yes.

Apprenticeships and traineeship are all about learning through work experience and course work, if you aren’t going to commit to the course work, there is no point doing the apprenticeship or traineeship. Take the time to learn as much as you can and gain as many skills as you can to set yourself up in the best way possible moving forward. Failure to attend training will result in the apprenticeship/traineeship being cancelled.

Who pays for your fees is determined by the award that you are paid under however the most common scenario is that you pay for them and are then reimbursed by your employer. The point where your employer should reimburse you (if that’s what your award states) differs between awards so we recommend going to FairWork to get the exact details for your situation. You should also be aware that if you aren’t progressing through satisfactorily, your reimbursement could be delayed!

This depends on a number of things such as award, course and attendance type (full time/part time/school based). As a general rule of thumb:
Full and Part time Apprentices – need to be paid for time spent at trade school
Trainees – For many trainees the course work is done at work so the rules are more about how many hours you get to complete the course work at work. This is determined by the award and state you are employed in, so we recommend going to FairWork for more info
School based – Receive an extra 25% on top of the hours they worked that week ie: if you earned $100 this week for time spent at work, you would be paid $25 for the time you spent at training.

If you are struggling with your training the first thing you should do is speak to your trainer and let them know what is going on. They might have some suggestions or be able to make some modifications for you. Some other good avenues to try are:
Student services at your RTO/TAFE – they often have additional services available to help students succeed Mas Mentoring Team – Our mentors can assist you with suggestions or any difficult conversations and are a completely free service. If you are struggling due to a medically diagnosed condition, you can speak to MAS about the possibility of receiving funding for Tutor/Mentor/Interpreter assistance at your RTO/TAFE.

This is created by your Training Organisation (RTO/TAFE) so you will need to get in touch with them to have this sent out to you.

We recommend visiting FairWork to find out exactly what you should be receiving. Make sure you ask for a case number when you contact them so that if you need to do a follow up call they can look back over previous notes.

If it turns out you have been underpaid, you will need to have a conversation with your employer about this. In many instances employers are unaware that this has occurred and will work out a plan to get your wages back on track.

If you are not comfortable about having this conversation or need help working out what to say, please contact our mentoring team on 1300 627 628 for advice.

No your pay is not linked to your birthday. For apprenticeships your pay will be linked to how far through your course work you are. For traineeships it will be based on the year level you completed at school and how long ago that was. For more information visit here.

We understand how difficult it can be if you feel you are being bullied in the workplace. While some people are happy to have a conversation with their employer about what is going on, many are not. We have a team of dedicated mentors that can assist you to understand what is going on and work through options towards a resolution.

We also have counsellors available to chat to you. If you would like to talk to either of these teams, please send an email to [email protected] or call 1300 627 628 and one of our team will be in touch.

You can still lodge the cancellation form with one signature however the State Training Authority will need to look into the cancellation and make a ruling on whether it is valid or not. This generally takes longer than when both parties sign the form. Until the cancellation is approved, you should not be entering into a Training Contract with another employer. There is the chance that your cancellation request can be denied and you can be told to return to your employer, so it is best to keep things professional.

If you are in agreeance, you can vary your Training Contract to show that you are working reduced hours and when business picks up again, you can revert the attendance type back to the normal hours. If you are going to do this, you will need to get in touch with us on 1300 627 628 to obtain the appropriate paperwork.

Encouraged AA to advise the Emp about the SUSP option to keep AA employed instead of cancelling, and the Emp may be eligible to receive Jobkeeper or SAT. Also informed AA if their RTO is still operating they may be able to do off-the-job training and to keep the Emp informed first as the Emp is still required to pay AA for the time spent studying. “

You might be able to reduce your hours back to part time while work is slow. This way you stay connected to your employer and continue learning your trade. If you wish to do this, you will need to contact our office on 1300 627 628 to obtain the appropriate paperwork.

Another option is to suspend your training. In this instance you are effectively ‘pausing’ your apprenticeship/traineeship but the link to your employer remains. Once work picks up again, you can simply pick up where you left off. If you choose this option, you will need to obtain paperwork from our office.

You might also like to talk to your employer about the option of doing additional TAFE days/blocks over this time so that you can get ahead in your course work and then won’t need to miss work once the workload picks up and your employer needs you onsite or in the workplace. If your employer agrees to this option, you will need to give your training organisation/RTO/TAFE a call to see what is available to you. However, if none of the above are an option for the employer ,then your apprenticeship will be cancelled, as they clearly don’t have the workload or financial capabilities to be able to continue your on-the-job training.

You will have 2 registration numbers. One for the federal governments database and one for the state governments database. Mas can advise you what your number are.

There is an ‘Actual Completion Date’ and an ‘Expected (or Nominal) Completion Date’. Whilst the apprenticeship is ‘active’ you will have an ‘Expected (or Nominal) Completion Date’. This is based on the set duration of the actual apprenticeship course you are doing. (eg. Plumbing is a 4 year apprenticeship, so the ‘Expected (or Nominal) Completion Date’ will be 4 years after you commenced.) Once you are deemed competent in all your modules by the RTO and your employer, you will be signed-off as having completed the apprenticeship. This will be your ‘Actual Completion Date’ and may be sooner thatn the ‘Expected (or Nominal) Completion Date’.

Yes.

Since 2011 all apprenticeships/traineeships became ‘competency based completion’. This means as soon as the RTO and Employer deem you competent in your modules, you are to be signed off. (NOTE: the exceptions are Plumbing and Electrical which both require a minimum time served in the ‘apprenticeship’ before you can qualify for a licence. If undertaking these trades, you should check with the relevant Plumbing/Electrical Commission in regards to their current requirements. Then ensure your Training Plan with the RTO/TAFE is structured to be delivered over that timeframe, and not earlier.)

The only ones who can advise on wages are FairWork. On their website you will find a whole section dedicated to calculating your pay rate. If you are unsure about the award you are paid under, you can ask your employer/check your payslips/check your training contract to find this out.

If you are still unsure what you should be getting paid, give FairWork a call on 13 13 94 and they will be able to assist.

For all things pay you should head to FairWork. It will probably help if you know which award you are being paid under so try and work this out first (although they do have tools to help you work this out if you can’t find the info yourself).

As apprenticeships are mostly progression based now, most trades give you the ability to finish earlier (electrical and plumbing should seek advice before completing early). Once you have completed all of your modules with yoru training provider, your employer will be asked to confirm whether they believe you are competent and ready to be signed off. If they think so, the completion process can commence.

All apprenticeships have a maximum time regardless of progression rate. You will receive a letter from the State Training Board when your Training Contract is approved that will state the ‘Expected (or Nominal) Completion Date’. Then if there are any periods of suspension, a new letter will be sent to you once you return from suspension with a newly calculated date.

Absolutely, we have a team of mentors available to talk to that can assist with everything from workplace issues to personal matters. We even have a dedicated Support Hub who are able to provide counselling if required.

Please contact [email protected] to request a chat