• Resources

Labour hire providers and hosts should be aware of their obligations when employing apprentices and trainees as labour hire workers – especially in industries where this is common, such as construction.

There are more than 74,000 apprentices and trainees in Victoria, across a broad range of industries, with many employed by labour hire providers.

Apprenticeships and traineeships combine:

• training with a registered training organisation, such as a TAFE or trade school
• practical work experience
• on the job training.

All labour hire providers must ensure a safe workplace, appropriate supervision and access to tools and equipment for their apprentices and trainees.

Protecting apprentices and trainees

The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) collaborates with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) and other regulators to protect apprentices and trainees employed through labour hire arrangements, working together and sharing information to prevent harm.

The VRQA is an independent statutory authority that registers all apprentices and trainees, approves their employers, and ensures all parties meet their contractual obligations.

All employers, including labour hire providers, must be approved by the VRQA before they can take on apprentices and trainees. All apprentices and trainees working for labour hire providers must also be registered with the VRQA.

This helps to ensure apprentices and trainees receive appropriate pay, conditions, training and support throughout their employment. Labour hire providers must keep detailed records of their apprentices and trainees, including their training plans and progress reports. This information must be made available to the VRQA upon request.

Failure to comply with these regulations may result in consequences for labour hire providers, including fines and even the revocation of their approval to hire apprentices and trainees by the VRQA.

Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic), labour hire providers must comply with all relevant workplace laws and may have their licence cancelled for non-compliance.

The VRQA and the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) recently launched the CONNECT:PROTECT campaign, which aims to protect apprentices and trainees in any industry by providing tools and information.

Apprentices or trainees employed by a labour hire provider can contact the VRQA to report issues on a dedicated hotline or by email. For resources and more information, visit the campaign website.

During the campaign, VRQA authorised officers will check-in and visit labour hire providers to make sure they are doing the right thing. Officers will request the details of host employers and the sites where apprentices and trainees are working.

For more information, visit:

• Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)
• Australian Apprenticeships.

Apprentice and trainee pay and entitlements in the construction industry

The construction industry is one of the largest employers of apprentices and trainees in Victoria.

Apprentices in construction are generally paid a percentage of the full-time rate of pay for an employee who is trade qualified in the field in which they are completing their apprenticeship.

The percentage is based on the current stage of their apprenticeship and increases as they progress through each stage.

A trainee’s pay is dependent on the type of traineeship they are undertaking.

Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) website for more information on:

• apprentice entitlements
• apprentice pay rates
• trainee pay rates
• trainee entitlements.

If an apprentice or trainee is covered by an enterprise agreement – as is often the case in the construction industry – employers must pay them in line with the rates outlined in the agreement.

Providers must pay an apprentice’s training, travel, tools and uniform costs.

Training contracts usually require off-the-job training or attendance at trade school, such as TAFE, and apprentices must be able to attend off-site training when necessary.

Time spent in off-the-job training and assessment counts as time worked. This means that an apprentice gets their normal pay and accrues their leave entitlements.

Apprentices are usually employed on a training contract. This makes them a fixed-term contract employee with their employment set for a length of time or ending on the completion of the apprenticeship.

If an apprentice’s employment is terminated by resignation or dismissal during their apprenticeship, the same rules apply as for any other employee.

For more information on legal obligations when employing apprentices and trainees, visit the FWO website for:

• general information for apprentices and trainees
• information on entitlements for apprentices working in the building and construction industry
• free, tailored written advice for small businesses about pay and conditions through the Employer Advisory Service.