Important funding update for QLD employers

24 August, 2017

The new financial year is here which means new funding announcements from the QLD Government.


Up to $35,000 funding now available for employers in SE QLD

Effective 1 July 2017, the Queensland Government Back to Work scheme will be extended to employers in South-East Queensland.

The Scheme offers financial support to enable employers to provide real employment opportunities - including apprenticeships and traineeships - for Queensland jobseekers.


The following payments will be available for employers who hire an eligible jobseeker between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018.*


Eligibility checklist

All employers in SE QLD are eligible for Back to Work funding except Local, State and Commonwealth Governments and entities (including Government owned corporations and statutory bodies).

The following criteria also apply:

  • Title
    Eligible jobs

    To be eligible for Back to Work funding, jobs must be:

    • Mainly located in SE QLD
    • Ongoing paid full-time employment (minimum 35 hours per week) or
    • Ongoing paid part-time employment (minimum 20 hours per week) or
    • A registered and eligible QLD apprenticeship
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    Eligible employees

    Eligible employees must:

    • Be a QLD resident
    • Not have worked for the employer in the previous 12 months and
    • Have commenced work with the employer on or after 1 July 2017 and
    • Have been employed for at least 4 weeks
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    Additional criteria

    In addition, an eligible employee for the Employer Support Payment must:

    • Have been unemployed for 52 weeks or more

    An eligible employee for a Youth Boost Payment must:

    • Be aged between 15-24 years on the date they commenced employment with you (but can turn 25 during the period of their employment)

Save on your WorkCover premium when you hire apprentices

Queensland WorkCover recently announced that from 1 July 2017, businesses employing apprentices will be able to claim a discount on their premium when they renew their policy this year. The apprentice discount offers savings by removing apprentice wages from your premium calculation.

While you will be saving money, the level of cover offered to apprentices is not changing - all workers, including apprentices will continue to receive the same level of cover from Queensland WorkCover if they sustain an injury in the course of their employment.


How to apply

Employers will be able to take advantage of this discount when declaring wages during the renewal of your WorkCover accident insurance policy.

When declaring wages, you will need to specify the amount of wages you estimate to pay apprentices in the 2017–18 financial year. WorkCover will then deduct these wages from your premium calculation.


Important note

To be eligible for the discount, you must renew your WorkCover accident insurance policy online or over the phone.


The best bit?

When you sign up an apprentice or trainee, you may also be eligible for further Government financial incentives. Find out more here.


*Further eligibility criteria apply. To find out more, click here for QLD Back to Work and here for WorkCover apprentice discount.