Conditions and entitlements for trainees vary from award to award. Some awards set out rules and entitlements for training contracts and the payment of training fees.

Check the award to see what applies in each industry.

If the award doesn’t provide for the reimbursement of a trainee’s training costs and fees, it will depend on what was agreed to by all parties in the training contract.

Trainees and employers with questions about their training contracts should seek independent advice that takes into account their circumstances.

Payment of training cost and fees – reimbursement

Some awards say that employers are required to pay for training fees.  These fees are charged by the trainee’s Registered Training Organisation.  They can include:

• course fees
• the cost of course required textbooks
• the cost of assessment materials.

Exceptions - where the employer is not required to pay training costs and fees

An employer who is required to pay training fees under an award will not have to in some circumstances.  There are different reasons for this including, a trainee:

• has not made satisfactory progress
• fails to pass 80% of the classes for a year of study
• fails to complete the course
• takes longer to complete the course than the RTO set out, or
• changes employers during the training course, meaning the employer only pays for the period they employed the trainee.

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