Skilling Australians Fund

This Fund aims to ensure that businesses that benefit from employing skilled migrants are also equipping Australians with the skills they need. It is an important part of the government’s commitment to the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, growing the number of apprenticeships and traineeships and working in partnership with colleagues in State and Territory governments (the States).

The Fund will boost the number of people who choose and succeed in an apprenticeship pathway and employers will gain the skilled workers they need to drive innovation and growth. Employers that sponsor migrants under the new temporary skill shortage visa and certain permanent skilled visas will be required to pay a levy which will provide revenue to the Fund. The visa types include:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa
- Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (subclass 186) visa
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (subclass 187) visa

The Fund is managed through a new project based NPA with states that commenced on 1 July 2018. Under this four-year Agreement, there is an emphasis on accountability, transparency and the delivery of clear outcomes.

An estimated $1.5 billion will be available from the Australian government in the first five years of the program, from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2022. Together with matched funding from the States, the Fund will seek to support a significant number of new apprenticeships and other employment-related training.

Please refer to the website for more information.

Eligible projects include those that support apprenticeships and traineeships in the following key areas:
- Occupations in demand
- Occupations with a reliance on skilled migration pathways
- Industries and sectors of future growth that include, but are not limited to, the following priorities:
a) Tourism
b) Hospitality
c) Health, ageing, and community and social services
d) Engineering
e) Manufacturing
f) Building and construction
g) Agriculture
h) Digital technologies
- Trade apprenticeships
- Rural and regional areas
- Targeted cohorts
- Industries and communities experiencing structural adjustment

Projects will need to demonstrate engagement with, and support from, industry and employers.