“That ICPA (Aust) advocates to the Federal Government and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to establish a relocation allowance for rural and remote Australian Apprentices who have to relocate from their place of residence to undertake their apprenticeship.”
At present, no relocation assistance exists for apprentices who reside in rural and remote locations and must relocate to access their chosen pathway.
The Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA) is a rent assistance payment and can only be accessed once rental status has been proven. Furthermore, the very few apprentices who qualify for Youth Allowance as a dependent are excluded from the Relocation Scholarship, which is an adjunct payment to Youth Allowance available for higher education study.
There is also no provision for apprentices to receive the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) which provides assistance for relocation costs to access higher education.
The costs of relocation, often hundreds of kilometres away from the family home, are significant and include setting up a home, including rental bond, furniture, linen, kitchen utensils and much more, all on a first year apprentice wage which is extremely low. This is all before even considering the actual cost of living, which continues to increase at an exponential rate.
Whilst our branch is appreciative of the various incentives currently provided for apprentices in trade shortage areas included on the Priority List, we believe a relocation allowance should be provided for all rural and remote apprentices who need to relocate, regardless of their trade, as this is an access issue.
Rural and remote apprentices are highly sought after and valued due to their hands on skills and strong work ethic. Without assistance for relocation, many young people simply cannot access an apprenticeship placement, thereby thwarting the potentially life changing career opportunities and increasing the skills and talent of the Australian workforce.
