Queensland

The Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) provides funding to eligible students in Queensland. The following table is an overview of all funding options available.

*Required for determining credit transfers prior to enrolment (Not required for eligibility)

**Parental consent must be provided/obtained from all students under the age of 18 unless they are an Independent Youth (emancipated). Students who identify as Independent Youth, must inform Strategix and supply evidence (official letter from Centrelink) prior to commencing the enrolment process. Those who are unable to meet these requirements will not be able to be enrolled with Strategix or commence the course. See Parent / Guardian Consent Form Procedure for details on how consent is obtained.

Note: All forms of eligibility evidence must be valid at the point of enrolment unless otherwise specified above. ‘Enrolment’ in this context refers to the date the student completed the Enrolment Form as part of the signup process. 

Eligibility Requirements

Skilling Queenslanders for Work

To be eligible for Skilling Queenslanders for Work Strategix must receive a document/letter of referral for the student from the funded organisation/community-based organisation (or from the department), under the applicable strategic initiative/project. This document/letter must identify the student by first name, surname and date of birth as eligible under the initiative/project. The letter must be presented on the funded organisation’s letterhead and be signed and dated by a representative of the organisation.

Certificate 3 Guarantee Plus (C3G Plus)

To be eligible for Certificate 3 Guarantee Plus, students provide Strategix with a document/letter of referral for the student from the Back to Work Officer. The student details on the letter must match that of the USI (their legal info). The letter will detail which courses are applicable to be enrolled in and funded under Certificate 3 Guarantee Plus.

It usually takes 5-10 business days for a BTW officer to get back to the applicant by email/phone. If they're eligible, a 30-minute phone interview will be scheduled with the applicant and they'll be notified about the outcome soon afterwards. Applications may be fast-tracked at the BTW officer's discretion if the applicant calls the BTW team after they've applied online. Some Course Coordinator's have had their student receive their approvals within a couple days, and others have taken 2+ weeks.

Once approval letter is received the student has 3 months from the issue date to have a unit placed in CA.

VETiS Funding

Other Required Documents

Higher Level Skills

User Choice

School-Based Traineeship

The eligibility requirements for School-Based Traineeships are the same as User Choice.

Supporting Evidence Requirements

Eligibility Requirements

VETiS Specific

VETiS Eligibility requirements are set out by the department as follows:

1. Retain evidence to support the student is currently enrolled in secondary school, in Years 10, 11 or 12, and,

2. Retain evidence to support each student’s eligibility for the program prior to enrolment.

As per the requirements outlined by DESBT, to meet the above two requirements Strategix obtains a School Letter with the following details:

• Student name, date of birth, and Australian or New Zealand citizenship

• School year currently enrolled

• Statement from the school concerning all VET qualifications previously attempted and outcomes (which includes obtaining copies of statements of attainment or qualifications issued etc.)

• If the previous qualification was completed, the letter from the school must include how it was funded

• Correspondence where the authorised signatory uses an official stamp, detailing their position and name of school or detention centre, next to their printed name and signature.

A single letter could be used to evidence a student cohort, however, it must list each student individually by name and a copy must be located in the respective student’s file.

The sales department and administrative assistants are to work with schools to obtain the school letter prior to enrolment, in order to determine eligibility.

No Prior Access to VETiS – AISS Check Results

Where an AISS check result displays current enrolment in or completion of a Cert II or above, the administrative assistant must determine if the AISS result could possibly affect the student’s eligibility. Prior to sending it off for confirmation to compliance (who will request confirmation by DESBT).

The administrative assistant must access the department's “Priority Skills List” and check to see if the qualification in question is funded under VETiS (a price be displayed in the VETiS Column), and either:

1. If the qualification is not funded through VETiS, continue with enrolment as it does not affect the student’s eligibility, or

2. If the qualification is funded through VETiS funded, submit the student's name, date of birth and qualification in question (along with other students assessed on that day) to compliance. Compliance will correspond with DESBT who will advise if the student’s current enrolment or previously completed qualification was completed through VETiS funding or not. The response from DESBT will advise of the required action to be completed by the administrative assistant. A copy of the response is to be retained as evidence.

User Choice Specific

A maximum of two government contributions will be funded per participant under the User Choice 2020-21 program. Qualifications that do not contribute to the government contribution count are:

• Qualifications funded outside of the User Choice 2010–16, 2016–17, 2017–20, and 2020-21 program

• User Choice funded qualifications that commenced but were not completed

• User Choice funded qualifications undertaken as part of the Skilling Queenslanders for Work – Work Skills Traineeships program.

For the purposes of determining multiple government contributions, SATs are treated in the same way as other apprentices and trainees. The second government contribution must meet the priority requirements below.

Priority Level Eligibility

A second government contribution is approved for participants who have previously commenced and completed one funded qualification under the User Choice 2010–16 program or User Choice 2016–17 program or User Choice 2017–20 program or User Choice 2020-21 program, and the second qualification is:

• A Priority One qualification

• A higher priority than the first qualification

• Undertaken subsequent to a student having completed a qualification under the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

Entered into a Training Contract

To be eligible to receive a government contribution, the apprentice or trainee must have entered into a Training Contract for a qualification that is funded by the department. The administrative assistant must ensure this happens prior to enrolment.

Registered on DELTA

To be eligible to receive a government contribution, the apprentice or trainee be registered on DELTA with a commencement date or recommencement date.

Concession or Free Apprenticeships for Under 25’s

The price of the qualification may be adjusted as required, the following areas of the document outline the requirements surrounding Concession rates and Free Apprenticeships.

Partial Exemption — Tuition Fees

Students must be charged 40 per cent of the student contribution fee where the participant falls into one or more of the following exemption categories:

• The participant was or will be under 17 years of age at the end of February in the year in which the SAS provides training, and the participant is not at school and has not completed year 12. Evidenced through one of the following:

  • Queensland Drivers Licence

  • Passport

  • Birth Certificate

  • Australian Citizen Certificate.

• The participant holds a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card issued under Commonwealth law or is the partner or a dependant of a person who holds a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and is named on the card

• The participant issues the SAS with an official form under Commonwealth law confirming that the participant, his or her partner or the person of whom the participant is a dependant, is entitled to concessions under a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card

• The participant is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. Acceptable evidence is as stated on the Training Contract and Enrolment Form.

The administrative assistant must upload the evidence of the above exemption to the student’s portfolio checklist.

Full Exemption — Tuition Fees

Strategix may apply a full exemption from the student contribution fee where the participant falls into one or more of the following exemption categories:

• Where payment of the student contribution fee would cause extreme financial hardship, then the SAS may waive these fees.

  • The fee waiver process should be in place at the time of the participant’s enrolment

  • The SAS must have a reasonable internal process to manage an appeal about the outcome of an application under financial hardship.

• Where the Queensland Government, as represented by the departmental officer responsible for the User Choice budget, advises in writing that fees are optional. On receipt of such advice, the SAS may choose not to collect the student contribution fee. In this circumstance, any decision by the SAS not to collect fees does not create a liability for the department. The SAS may not apply for reimbursement by the department of fee revenue foregone. Refer to the User Choice 2020-21 Qualification and Price List, as published on the department’s website, for information on where fee exemptions are applicable.

The SAS must apply a full exemption from the student contribution fee where the participant falls into one or more of the following exemption categories:

• Where credit transfer/national recognition has been applied to a unit of competency/module

• The participant is a school-based apprentice or trainee

• The participant is undertaking a qualification as part of the Skilling Queenslanders for Work – Work Skills Traineeship program.

The administrative assistant must upload the evidence of the above exemption to the student’s portfolio checklist.

Free Apprenticeships for Under 25’s

Strategix must not charge a student contribution fee to a student who:

• Meets the participant eligibility in 2.2.2, to receive a government contribution and is eligible for Free apprenticeships for under 25s

• Enrols in a high priority qualification identified by the department for Free apprenticeships on the current User Choice Price List.

The student contribution fee for Free apprenticeships for under 25s will now be met by the department as outlined in the User Choice Program Policy 2020-21 Table 3 — payment codes (except for qualifications where the student contribution fee is met by Construction Skills Queensland for continuing students only with a unit of competency start date before 1 October 2015; refer to www.csq.org.au for list of qualifications). The SAS must retain evidence of students’ eligibility for Free apprenticeships.

School-Based Traineeship

Strategix must ensure it retains on file evidence for the following for a School-based apprenticeship or traineeship:

• Current school enrolment

• Parent consent*: Students are automatically sent the Parent Consent Form as part of the enrolment process - See Parent / Guardian Consent Form Procedure.

Both of the above requirements are identified and evidenced through the Education, Training and Employment Schedule (ETES) for school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SATs) form.

*Unless they are an Independent Youth (emancipated): Students who identify as Independent Youth, must inform Strategix and supply evidence prior to commencing the enrolment process. Those who are unable to meet these requirements will not be able to be enrolled with Strategix or commence the course.

Strategix Programs

The Department for Innovation and Skills provides funding to eligible students who live or work in SA. The following table is an overview of all funding options available.

Eligibility Requirements

VETiS Plus