Queensland funded aeroskills fees and pathways

The following are separate bases for charging 40% of the standard apprenticeship or traineeship co-contribution, subject to current DTET policy and acceptable evidence:

Under-17 partial fee exemption

The learner was or will be under 17 years of age at the end of February in the year training is provided, is not at school and has not completed Year 12.

Concessional or eligible status

• the learner holds an eligible Health Care, Veteran or Pensioner Concession Card;
• the learner is the partner or dependant of an eligible cardholder and is named on the card;
• the learner holds an official Commonwealth document confirming equivalent concession entitlement; or
• the learner identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

This page covers apprenticeship and traineeship pathways. Sigma applies the fee-exemption categories specified for those pathways and retains the evidence required by DTET.

• School-Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship: the student co-contribution is fully exempt for an approved Certificate II or III SAT. At Sigma, this currently applies only to MEA20518 Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance.
• Free Apprenticeships for Under 25s: no student fee is charged where both the individual and qualification meet the current initiative.
• Other policy-based exemptions: an eligible Skilling Queenslanders for Work — Work Skills Traineeship, another specific Queensland Government fee-free initiative, or applicable foundation-skills training.
• Extreme financial hardship: Sigma may approve a fee waiver under its documented process where the current policy permits it.

Where a school-based apprentice or trainee converts to a full-time or part-time training contract, the co-contribution applies to units not yet commenced unless another full exemption is confirmed.

• No co-contribution fee is charged for approved credit transfer or DTET-defined transitional gap training.
• Recognition of Prior Learning is assessed and costed at unit level under the applicable program rules.
• The written fee information issued before enrolment identifies the payable units, total fee and timing of charges. Sigma updates it where an approved change alters the payable units.

• A full refund of the applicable co-contribution applies where training for the relevant unit has not commenced at cancellation.
• A proportionate refund applies where a learner withdraws from a Unit of Competency after commencement, in accordance with Sigma’s Fees and Refunds Procedure.
• Applicable amounts paid by an employer or industry beyond the student co-contribution and government subsidy are refunded in accordance with the agreed terms and procedure.
• Withdrawal, cancellation, transfer or suspension may affect the training contract, government funding and future entitlement.

Read the Fees and Refunds Procedure or submit a Student Refund Request Form.

Program Eligibility

Under Career Start, an eligible individual may access up to two subsidised training places through one of the following options:

• a qualification typically at the certificate III level under a general training pathway and an apprenticeship/traineeship – noting that if the apprenticeship/traineeship is done first, the individual is no longer eligible to access a general training pathway qualification under Career Start; OR
• two apprenticeships/traineeships at either certificate II or III, including School-Based Apprenticeships or Traineeships (SATs).

In addition, under Career Start, eligible individuals may access one subsidised introductory-level (‘induction’) skill set, subject to any listed student eligibility restrictions, regardless of whether they have already used their qualification entitlement or the training pathways they have undertaken.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathway Eligibility

To be eligible to receive government subsidised training, the apprentice or trainee must:

• not be a school student;
• be currently employed as a Queensland apprentice or trainee (under a registered training contract) in an eligible apprenticeship or traineeship qualification funded through this program (this eligibility requirement does not apply to individuals seeking to enrol in a skill set);
• not be enrolled in another DTET-funded qualification, even if it is on hold or deferred (foundation skills qualifications and self-funded/fee-for-service qualifications do not impact eligibility); and
• not have already completed two government-funded apprenticeship/traineeship qualifications, including SATs, within the last 10 years immediately preceding the individual’s enrolment.

Note: A school student cannot use the non-school Career Start apprenticeship or traineeship pathway. An eligible school student must enter a registered SAT for an approved Certificate II or III qualification.

Program Exceptions

• An eligible individual can complete up to two government-funded apprenticeships/traineeships within a 10-year period. This cap applies across VET in Schools SATs, Career Start and Career Boost and includes qualifications funded under previous program iterations, such as User Choice. An SAT uses one of the two entitlements.
• Career Start is the only current program that allows an eligible individual to undertake two apprenticeships/traineeships.
• An individual cannot do two general pathway qualifications under Career Start.

QTIS Minimum Entry Requirements

In addition to the eligibility requirements above, please review the QTIS minimum entry requirements below to confirm you meet the requirements for your chosen training product.

Program Eligibility

Under Career Boost, an eligible individual may access either:

• one subsidised training place in either a certificate IV, diploma, or advanced diploma qualification under a general training pathway; OR
• a higher-level apprenticeship/traineeship at certificate IV or above.

In addition, under Career Boost, eligible individuals may access two subsidised skill sets in priority industries or sectors.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathway Eligibility

To be eligible to receive government subsidised training, the apprentice or trainee must:

• not be a school student;
• be currently employed as a Queensland apprentice or trainee (under a registered training contract) in an eligible apprenticeship or traineeship qualification funded through this program (this eligibility requirement does not apply to individuals seeking to enrol in a skill set);
• not be enrolled in another DTET-funded qualification, even if it is on hold or deferred (foundation skills qualifications and self-funded/fee-for-service qualifications do not impact eligibility); and
• not have already completed two government-funded apprenticeship/traineeship qualifications, including SATs, within the last 10 years immediately preceding the individual’s enrolment.

Note: Career Boost is not available to school students. Government-funded SAT arrangements are limited to approved Certificate II or III qualifications and do not apply to Sigma’s Certificate IV or Diploma offerings.

Program Exceptions

• If the individual has already accessed two government-funded apprenticeships/traineeships through SAT, Career Start, Career Boost or an earlier DTET-funded program within the last 10 years, they are not eligible to undertake an apprenticeship/traineeship under Career Boost.
• The two-qualification cap applies across VET in Schools SATs, Career Start and Career Boost. An SAT uses one of the two entitlements.
• An individual cannot complete two qualifications under Career Boost.

QTIS Minimum Entry Requirements

In addition to the eligibility requirements above, please review the QTIS minimum entry requirements below to confirm you meet the requirements for your chosen training product.

Approved Sigma SAT offering

DTET has confirmed Sigma is approved under Program Schedule 2 to deliver SATs for approved qualifications at Certificate II or III level. Sigma’s current SAT offering is MEA20518 Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance. No Sigma Certificate IV or Diploma qualification is available under a government-funded SAT arrangement.

Pathway Eligibility

To be eligible for the funded SAT pathway, the learner must:

• be enrolled in Year 10, 11 or 12 at a Queensland school;
• have entered into an eligible school-based training contract for MEA20518 and be registered on DTET’s training database;
• not be concurrently enrolled in another qualification funded by DTET;
• not have already completed or be enrolled in another SAT; and
• meet the current QSTL, QTIS, work-rights, employer, workplace and school-arrangement requirements.

Student co-contribution: $0 for an approved SAT enrolment.

Entitlement Limit

A learner can undertake no more than two government-funded apprenticeship or traineeship qualifications across VET in Schools SATs, Career Start and Career Boost within a 10-year period. A SAT uses one of those two entitlements.

If a SAT training contract later converts to a full-time or part-time apprenticeship or traineeship, the student co-contribution applies to units not yet commenced unless another full exemption is confirmed.

QTIS Minimum Entry Requirements

In addition to the requirements above, review the QTIS minimum entry requirements below. Sigma confirms the learner’s school year, education standard, registered training contract, paid employment, work rights and workplace arrangements before enrolment.

The QTIS minimum age is a legal entry baseline, not a guarantee of suitability, training-contract registration, funding, employment, workplace access or safe participation. Australian and New Zealand citizens generally have unrestricted work rights; a visa holder must have work rights that permit the apprenticeship or traineeship. Sigma verifies this before enrolment.

• MEA20518 has a QTIS nominal term of 24 months for both the non-school traineeship and approved SAT pathway.
• The listed Certificate IV and Diploma qualifications have a QTIS nominal term of 48 months.
• The nominal term is the training-contract timeframe. The signed Training Plan records the agreed training sequence, workplace tasks, support, assessment and review arrangements.
• Competency-based training does not create an automatic entitlement to early completion. Any proposed early completion or change to the training-contract term is considered individually and must be supported by sufficient evidence, completed competency outcomes, employer and learner agreement, and any required DTET process or approval.
• Training may take longer where suitable work, qualified supervision, assessment opportunities or learner participation are not continuously available. Suspension, cancellation, transfer, change of employer or loss of approved workplace access may pause or end funded delivery.
• Credit transfer, RPL, qualification transition, leave, support needs and prerequisite sequencing may affect the Training Plan, but do not by themselves guarantee an earlier completion date.
• No completion date, qualification, CASA licensing outcome or employment outcome is guaranteed. A change to the planned schedule does not by itself create an additional mandatory student fee.