Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the Government's Key Apprenticeship Program, which provides $10,000 incentive payments to new tradies, has already attracted 30,000 apprentices in the first 12 months;

(2) notes that:

(a) carpentry, plumbing and electrical trades are the most popular occupations for apprentices under the program; and

(b) the program is calibrated to offer incentive payments at milestones across the course of an apprenticeship, ensuring that apprentices are supported to reach the finish line of their apprenticeship, with data showing stronger retention rates;

(3) acknowledges that the program forms a key part of the Government's work to deliver targeted support for apprenticeships in industries where we need them most, particularly housing construction;

(4) affirms the Government's ongoing support for the program, with the budget locking in incentive settings for both apprentices and employers until 2029; and

(5) expresses concern that despite multiple opportunities to clarify their position, neither the Opposition nor the One Nation party have made clear their support for the program, with the Shadow Minister for Skills and Training calling the program 'wrong' and 'throwing good money, after bad money'.

I rise to move this motion because the Key Apprenticeship Program gets a basic part of the apprenticeship policy right. If we want more qualified tradies, we need to help apprentices stay in the trade long enough to finish, and we need to make it easier for businesses, especially small businesses, to take them on in the first place. I started my electrical apprenticeship at 25. The wages were not great. I know some people might laugh at the idea of an electrician ever being poorly paid, but every electrician starts somewhere, and most of us started on pretty modest wages. That is one of the reasons these payments are pretty useful. I received a similar apprenticeship incentive myself. It did not suddenly make the apprentice wages generous, but it helped with the costs that come with staying in the trade—tools, fuel, getting to work.

Did I spend every dollar wisely at 25? Probably not. A trip to Bali may have entered the equation. But take Aaron, a first-year electrical apprentice from Connolly in my electorate of Moore. He wanted to do a trade, and his family encouraged him to do electrical—clearly, the superior trade, with all due respect to the member for Hunter! Aaron says he plans to put his payment towards tools. Clearly, he has shown better judgement than I did. The current program gives apprentices support at key points through their apprenticeship, with help for things like tools, transport and the everyday cost of getting to work. That support can make a real difference. There will be times when money is tight, and there will be days when the work is hard. There will be times when someone looks at what their mates are earning elsewhere and wonders whether it is worth sticking out their apprenticeship. And that pressure can build really quickly. It can affect stress, confidence and mental health.

Getting someone into an apprenticeship is only the start. The real success is getting them through the qualification. The early signs of this program are encouraging, with the overwhelming majority of supported apprentices still in training.

But apprentices are only one side of this. There is no apprenticeship without an employer willing to give someone a start. And, for small business, that is a real commitment. A first-year apprentice needs supervision. A qualified tradie has to stop what they are doing, explain the job, show them how to do it, watch them do it and then check the work. Sometimes you can spend half an hour explaining a 10-minute job, and then 10 minutes fixing it. Every tradie has been there. That is how apprentices learn. But, for a small contractor, that time costs money, and a business can spend years training someone who either does not finish or moves on soon after they qualify.

That is why the employer payments in this program are also small business incentives. They help remove some of the cost and risk of taking on an apprentice. The government is focusing more of that support on small and medium businesses and group training organisations, where those incentives can have the biggest effect on hiring decisions.

The same principle applies to TAFE. The cost of formal training sits with the employer. So, when government makes apprentice TAFE free, that is an employer incentive. It removes another cost from taking on someone and training them.

I saw how quickly those costs can grow. When I started my apprenticeship, TAFE and private college in WA were around a thousand dollars. By the time I finished they had more than tripled, under the former Liberal government in Western Australia. For a large company, that increase might be easier to absorb, but, for a small contractor taking on one or two apprentices, it is another cost that has to be weighed up, and removing that cost makes the decision easier.

We need more businesses making that decision, because we cannot build more homes and major infrastructure, and deliver the energy transition, without more tradies. This program has already backed tens of thousands of apprentices in housing construction, including thousands in Western Australia.

The opposition is free to criticise it, but its own shadow minister has called the program wrong and accused the government of throwing good money after bad. If that is their position, then they should explain what they would do instead. At the moment, it is all sauce, no sausage roll, because the choice is pretty simple: we can make it harder for businesses to train the next generation, or we can remove the barriers that stand in their way. We can leave apprentices to carry the financial pressure on their own, or we can give them the support they need to help them finish.

I know what it means—what finishing an apprenticeship can give someone: a trade, a career and opportunities you probably cannot see when you're standing there as a first-year apprentice.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore. Is there a seconder for this motion?

Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank every Australian currently doing an apprenticeship. They are learning the skills that build our houses, run the mines, feed us and keep the lights on in this country.

But this motion does not ask the House to congratulate apprentices; it asks the House to congratulate the government. Does anyone really think this government deserves being congratulated on this matter? Labor talks a big game on apprenticeships and training, but, when you peek behind their points and look at the data, it tells a very different story. When the coalition left office in 2022, there were 426,000 Australians in apprenticeships and traineeships. The number today is 282,000. That's not a pipeline; that is a drain. Trade occupants alone are down 30,000 since Labor came to government. In data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, training and apprenticeship commencements are down in 18 out of 19 industries under Labor: construction—down; manufacturing—down; healthcare—down; mining—down; agriculture, forestry and fishing—down; and the list goes on.

But, in what must be a proud moment for those opposite, there is one industry where commencements are growing: public administration. That's because, when they can't grow the economy, the only solution they have is to grow the public sector.

Labor's record on skills and training is worth remembering, and it is worth comparing. Apprentice and trainee numbers almost doubled under the Howard government; when Rudd and Gillard came to government, those numbers went into freefall. Before those opposite came to government, they were doing everything they could to spin a story and misrepresent the facts on apprenticeships and traineeships—so much that even the ABC fact checkers took a look. This is what they had to say about Labor's record:

The fall in traineeships was, in fact, larger under one year of Labor than under the first seven years of Coalition government.

After six years of chaos under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, the coalition inherited trainee and apprenticeship numbers in freefall. What did the coalition government do? Well, we delivered—$2.4 billion in upskilled apprenticeships, $3.7 billion for skills training, 800,000 supported trainee places under the National Skills Agreement. That's why, when we left office, the number of Australians in apprenticeships and traineeships had reached 426,000. Under Labor, it has declined year after year after year, and here they are, trying to congratulate themselves.

The record is clear. Labor spin the truth—they spin the narrative—while the coalition delivers for Australians. The Labor government has put more than $1.5 billion into fee-free TAFE and have somehow managed to get fewer Australians into apprenticeships and traineeships. Go figure.

And, disappointingly, like in most things this government does, regional, rural and remote Australians get bugger all. Take Coober Pedy, the opal city of the world—a town with a proud history that has been forgotten by the Canberra-bubble bureaucrats. They might have a TAFE building, but they have no pathway into the industry that built the town and sustains the town. Coober Pedy is half the size it was 30 years ago, and, sadly, this isn't a unique case in regional, rural and remote South Australia. Regional, rural and remote Australians have been forgotten for too long under this government. This government needs to start backing the engine room of our nation, and it needs to start now.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore for his excellent motion. As someone who was an employer for 20 years before coming into this place, I know how important it is to get a job and to give a person a job. It really makes a huge difference. It changes their whole life; it changes their lifestyle and their livelihood and provides financial security for them and their family.

Now, like everyone on this side of the chamber, the member for Moore understands just how critical it is that we pull the full range of levers to ensure that more homes are built for Australia. In June this year, the Minister for Skills and Training and I visited a building site in Ipswich, in my fast-growing electorate, to meet with some first-year apprentices—including several female apprentices from the local group training organisation Apprenticeships Queensland, who are this year celebrating 40 years of supporting skills and training in the Ipswich region. These young people are completing their apprenticeships in carpentry and roof plumbing, and they're renovating one of the beautiful old Queenslander-style homes for which Ipswich is famous, as it is the heritage capital of Queensland. They provide a lot of work, these Queenslanders, I might add, for tradespeople.

I saw the minister was out this morning, meeting with a local builder and his carpentry apprentice here in Canberra. When he visited my electorate of Blair a couple of months ago, he dropped into a house at Karalee to meet with Moses, the owner of solar panel business Alpha Bright Solar, and his electrical apprentice, Makbol, who was undertaking a training course in solar panel installation and maintenance. They were working at that house at Karalee. All of these apprentices are benefiting from the Albanese government's Key Apprenticeship Program, which provides $10,000 bonuses for apprentices, paid in instalments, backing apprentices like Makbol to start and, more importantly, to finish their apprenticeships. Moses benefits too, as an employer, because he's among the thousands of small-business owners backed by an employer incentive scheme. The Albanese government inherited a skills shortage from the former Liberal and National Party government. It was the worst in 50 years, and no protestations over the other side can deny the reality. Together with Australians across the country, our government is working to turn that around.

New data shows the Albanese government's commitment to building the workforce for Australia's future is on track, with thousands of apprentices signed up to the Housing Construction Apprenticeship stream of the Key Apprenticeships Program. We now have 32,000 new housing construction apprentices who've signed up to the program in just the first year, with more than 7,400 in my home state of Queensland. That's 32,000 Australian apprentices who are backing to build more homes in every corner of the country, including 11,600 more carpentry apprentices, 6,700 more plumbing apprentices and almost 6,300 more electrical apprentices like Makbol. Indeed, apprentices in areas of carpentry, joining and electrical trades workers have been the top three housing construction occupations for commencement under the program in Queensland, alongside occupations like glaziers, tilers, plasterers, bricklayers and concreters, with more signing up every week. We're targeting support through this program to businesses like Moses' to take on apprentices and apprenticeships for people like Makbol to become qualified tradespeople.

On this side of the chamber, we're helping people to be trained and to build homes—to build homes in my home city of Ipswich. Under the former government's untargeted schemes, the former government also ripped billions of dollars in skills and training from TAFE. There was a 60 per cent drop-out rate under their former schemes, and the Leader of the Opposition can't even mention the word TAFE. I noticed that the previous speaker was pouring scorn on TAFE as he was speaking. We know the LNP doesn't support free TAFE, which has seen more than 814,000 people enrol in the last three years. In Queensland alone, we've seen 134,000 enrolments in free TAFE courses ranging from construction trades to high-priority areas like nursing, cybersecurity and disability support. Before the last election, the LNP opposition even threatened to abolish free TAFE. If you listen to the previous speaker, that remains their policy. They need to come clean: do they support free TAFE and the Key Apprenticeships Program that's delivering to Australian workers, businesses and apprentices, or do they support what they've said previously, where we were allegedly throwing good money after bad? It really makes no sense at all not to back small business and apprenticeships all the way.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

For the member for Blair's information, I support technical and further education. TAFE is a great pathway for young people in particular, and people of many ages besides, to get into employment. Just for the record, I hold a number of TAFE certificates—I'm very proud of that. I do believe that a TAFE certificate is worth every bit as much as a tertiary degree, and we should be applauding it as such.

This Wednesday is the first anniversary of the Economic Reform Roundtable, otherwise known as the productivity roundtable, which was held in Canberra   —in the national capital—from 19 to 21 August last year. Yet since then we've actually had a productivity decline. When we come to this motion brought to the parliament by the member for Moore, the stark reality is the actual data, the actual numbers. Nationally, 429,000 apprentices and trainees were in training in June 2022. That's just after Labor was elected to office. Labor closed the funding, and numbers have fallen every year since. This data is from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. Total apprentices and trainees in training fell 11.3 per cent across the country in the 12 months to June 2025. Trade apprenticeship commencements were down 15.3 per cent nationally in the 12 months to June 2025. Non-trade commencements fell 13.9 per cent in the year to December 2024, and the centre directly attributed this to the closure of Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements. That scheme was making some sort of difference.

In September 2024, trade commencements fell 17.4 per cent nationally. Construction was down 18.6 per cent. Automotive and engineering were down 18 per cent. They're not my numbers. These are the numbers from this centre, which also stated that apprenticeship job postings nationally fell 27 per cent in 2024, now tracking below pre-pandemic 2019 levels. That is a real worry, and it's a real worry when Labor is talking up building a million homes. That number has changed and has varied.

But, when Labor talks about building the houses for the future, for the migrants, for young people, for first home buyers or whatever the case might be and we have Housing Industry Australia estimating that an additional 83,000 tradies would be required to meet Labor's housing target, then those two figures simply don't match. What we've also seen is the construction industry in freefall. The building industry is one of the hardest hit sectors at the moment. Another one is the transport sector, but in the building industry there were almost 3,500 insolvencies in 2025-26. This has to stop.

Labor talks about fee-free TAFE all the time. It's almost job-free TAFE at the moment because we've got the transport sector in freefall. We've got the construction sector hit like never before. We've got Labor members talking about the need to build a million new homes whilst at the same time absolutely smashing our real estate market, absolutely smashing the property market, and then taking pride in that—taking pride in the fact that our housing market is slumping, that the prices are coming down. They suggest and proclaim that there's never been a better time for a first home buyer.

Well, I tell you what, there have been much better times for our TAFE apprentices. For those people—whether they're in carpentry, an electrical trade or whatever the case—it must be a worry. They're going to TAFE. They might be learning on the job at the same time. But what future do they have when we see the number of bankruptcies and insolvencies in the construction sector? They might tune into question time. They might tune into parliament, and they hear Labor members talking about the property market and talking up what are fudged figures. They are. This disaster is Labor's own making. This disaster, this productivity freefall, is on Labor's watch.

There is a better way; it's the coalition way.

Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Tradies are who keep our country moving. I'm so proud to represent my community in the western suburbs, where hi-vis is a normal sight out at the shops. My family is full of tradies. I'm even married to one, a sparky from Melbourne's west.

That's why I'm so proud of the Albanese Labor government's focus on supporting tradies while they build the homes that our country needs, and we're doing this in a number of ways. I'm so glad that the member for Riverina raised the very important issue of TAFE. First and foremost, it is a Labor government who has invested in free TAFE, and now we've made it permanent. That's right; free TAFE is here to stay, helping more Aussies get better jobs with higher wages. We're doing that for at least 100,000 free TAFE and VET students per year from 2027, underpinned by the Free TAFE Act 2025. My family is the way it is because of free TAFE.

My husband, Chris, was able to make a career change later in life because of Labor's free TAFE. He's now a mature-age electrical apprentice in his third year studying at Victoria University TAFE in Sunshine. He loves what he does with the team at Rizzo Electrical in Airport West, a third-generation business in the north-west of Melbourne. In Victoria, free TAFE has had close to 150,000 enrolments since the start of the program. This has real impacts, putting thousands of Victorians on a pathway to jobs in nursing, construction, aged care, tech and early childhood education. It's real savings. For a Victorian training in a diploma for building and construction, free TAFE means savings of about $15,000.

We've also increased the living-away-from-home allowance for tradies. My cousin Nash grew up in the western suburbs. He's a qualified plumber and, currently, has moved to live up in Yarrawonga for work. He's living in a share house with other workers and apprentices who are working with agricultural sorting machinery. Moving away for work can create a real financial burden that you otherwise wouldn't have to bear. If you have to move away from home or your parents' or guardians' home to start or continue training as an Australian apprentice, you may be eligible to receive the living-away-from-home allowance to help you with the cost of living and being away. Our government is committed to supporting tradies like Nash, which is why we've upped this payment for all Australians.

We've also wiped 20 per cent off all student debt, and this isn't just university debt like HECS but all debt. That includes apprenticeship support and VET student loans as well. Our 20 per cent cut to student debt has meant more than $500 million saved from VET student loan and Australian apprenticeship support loan balances, and it's there to give VET students and apprentices a leg-up when they enter the workforce, with no applications or forms needed—just real cost-of-living relief.

Then there's the Key Apprenticeship Program, which is already making a real difference in attracting new apprentices to housing construction, driving Aussies towards the jobs we need to be building more homes for our growing communities and setting up our apprentices for success. We know this is working. In the first year since its launch on 1 July 2025, more than 32,000 apprentices commenced in housing construction trades under the program.

Unfortunately, not all sides of this chamber have seen the success of the program for what it is. The Liberals neglected our apprenticeship system for almost a decade. Labor inherited the worst skills shortage Australia has seen in 50 years after almost a decade of Liberal neglect. They ripped billions from TAFE and training and blew $7 million on untargeted schemes like 'hamburger university', which saw dropout rates as high as 60 per cent, while critical trades were ignored. The shadow minister for skills and training called our Key Apprenticeship Program 'inflationary', 'wrong' and 'not the answer'. Tell that to the tradies in my community in Melbourne's western suburbs. Tell that to the tradies around the country who are receiving $10,000 cash payments to help apprentices become the carpenters, the plumbers and the sparkies we'll need in the future and who are staying in trades and seeing their futures change thanks to Labor's free TAFE, because that's what building Australia's future looks like—delivering real change, helping young people get ahead and skilling up our workforce into the future.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I represent an electorate that has quite a broad tradie population, and they contribute immensely to our community on the Gold Coast. I represent an area that is experiencing one of the fastest periods of growth across the country, and we see it daily. People who are in the trade sector are the ones who enable us to grow and to develop, and that is something that's noteworthy.

What I will say, though, is that I will mention a figure: $1.5 billion. One point five billion dollars is no small amount of money, but that is the amount that the current Albanese government has spent on fee-free TAFE. Ordinarily, I'd say we encourage that sort of investment. We encourage investment in the next generation of people who are going to build our homes, especially in the midst of what is quite a concerning housing crisis across our country. But the point of me speaking on this motion today is that we're seeing a situation where, despite that investment of $1.5 billion, the skills shortage has only worsened. It's right in that instance, instead of the government coming in here and moving a motion commending their investment, for them to come here and say: 'Well, is it actually working? Is it an effective use of taxpayer funds, and, if not, how can we make it better?' I think it does call for a moment of self-reflection for those on the other side of this place.

We've seen apprenticeship completion rates fall unacceptably low. Over four years, we've seen completion rates go down from 50 per cent to 47.9 per cent. This is at a point where more than one in three occupations, about 36 per cent, are assessed as being in national shortage. I know that those opposite have made comparisons to when the coalition were in office. Well, if we look at the comparison, when we left office in June of 2022, there were 426,830 apprentices and trainees in training across the country. But today, that number has plummeted to just 282,430 as of December last year. This means we're seeing fewer skills at a time when this government is putting us through a housing crisis. We saw in the last budget overall funding for VET activities has dropped since we were in government, and that's been driven overwhelmingly by the government slashing employer incentives to take on those apprentices from just over $4 billion to $1.54 billion.

In my electorate, I have the Industry School in Robina. I've had the privilege of visiting the Industry School multiple times, spending time with those younger generations of tradies, the people who will be building our homes in the future. I'm very proud of that school because it is actually translating education into outcomes. The last I checked, about 96 per cent of people were walking straight into a job upon graduation and that's great for our community, it's great for our country and it's great for them. But what we're seeing with fee-free TAFE more broadly are others not adopting a similar model and not going down that path of employment.

I think the contribution from the member for Grey earlier was noteworthy because he mentioned that there's only one area where we're actually seeing the growth and that is in public administration. Now, that's not the area where we need to see the growth right now, and it's a testament to the government's priorities that, in reality, that is in fact what's happening. That $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds being spent by the government could be used more effectively and should be used more effectively. We need a system that ensures that the skills that are required in this country are supported through our education system, and not just through our education system but also through our broader policy base. I note that, since the government came to office, only 2.5 per cent of the people in our net overseas migration intake are in the construction sector. So on all accounts, when it comes to making sure we have the skills needed to face the next generation of Australia, the government are failing, and I'm surprised that they're moving this forward.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Homes, homes and more homes—that is what Australians elected our government to deliver: more homes and more Australians being able to achieve the dream of owning their own home. But if we are serious about building more homes, we need the people to build them. We need more tradies. That is why I am proud to be a part of Labor government that is investing in TAFE, apprenticeships and vocational education.

I know first-hand just how important TAFE can be. Before coming to this place, I studied at TAFE. I know what it's like to walk through those doors, learn practical skills and build a pathway into the workforce. TAFE is not a second-best option; it is a pathway to a good career, a secure job, a better future for thousands of Australians. That is why, through our five-year National Skills Agreement, our government is investing more than $12.6 billion in Australia's vocational education and training sector. We are rebuilding TAFE after a decade of neglect under the former Liberal-National government. Through free TAFE, we have backed more than 814,000 enrolments in courses critical to Australia's future, including training for tradies, nurses, early childhood educators. These are not just numbers. These are people changing careers, young Australians learning a trade, people gaining new skills and pursuing new opportunities.

But we know that getting people into training is only the beginning. We also need to support people to complete their apprenticeships and enter the workforce. That is why Labor took to the election our Key Apprenticeship Program, providing a $10,000 incentive for new apprentices in housing construction. We listened to apprentices and employers, who told us that the cost of starting an apprenticeship can be a real barrier—the tools, the transportation, the expenses that are not always considered when someone decides to take up a trade. Under our program, eligible apprentices receive five $2,000 payments over the course of their apprenticeship. It is practical support at the times when apprentices need it the most. We are backing employers too, with an additional $5,000 incentive for eligible apprenticeships that commence in 2026.

In Victoria, this program is already making a real difference. It has supported 2,790 carpentry apprentices, 2,330 electrical apprentices, 2,447 plumbing apprentices and more. That is a total of 9,286 students contributing to our state. These are the people who will help build the homes our communities need. Their skills will be needed at every stage of construction. They will turn plans on a page into homes where Australian families can build their lives. According to Master Builders Australia, just one of these construction tradies will contribute the equivalent of 22 standalone houses over a 30-year career. And yet the opposition has described Labor's investment in TAFE and the trades as wasteful spending. Their shadow minister has called the Key Apprenticeship Program 'wrong' and said it is 'throwing good money after bad money'. I could not disagree more, because I know what TAFE has given me, and I know what a trade can give someone—practical skills, a career, independence and the opportunity to build a good life. If we want to build more homes, we need more tradies. If we want more tradies, we need to invest in TAFE. And, if we want apprentices to complete their training, we need to support them along the way. That is what the Albanese Labor government is doing. We are investing in our future workforce so that they can build the homes Australia needs. That is something I'm proud to support. I commend the Key Apprenticeship Program to this House, and I want—

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Holt. The question is that the motion be agreed to. I give the call to the member for Cowper.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

This private member's bill on the Key Apprenticeship Program is just another example of the spin and the tactical play of the Labor Party—divert, deflect and deny. They can sit over there and pat themselves on the back and talk about their policies and the supposed 30,000 apprentices that the Key Apprenticeship Program has attracted in its first 12 months. Of course, we need those apprenticeships. When Labor came into government in 2022, there were 429,000 apprenticeships, and, today, we see that that's down to 282,000. And we're wondering and scratching our heads why we're not building any houses! I know why those opposite are not talking about the data or putting it into a percentage. I'll tell you why: the latest data on the Australian apprenticeship system, released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, paints a very concerning picture for future skills needed to deliver the priorities in our country. In the 12 months to September 2025, trade apprenticeship commencements were down almost 10 per cent, while non-trade commitments were down over 18 per cent. New data shows that the completion of construction apprenticeships has fallen to a five year low. Coincidentally, five years is how long this government has been in power! The industry is telling us that Labor is slashing $266 million from apprenticeship incentives for employers. That will only compound the issue.

I recall, when we were in government in my first term, that our policy was that an employer was paid 50 per cent of the apprenticeship wage in the first year, 10 per cent in the second year and five per cent in the third year. That recognised that apprenticeship tradies are basically unskilled going into their first year, and it gave confidence to the employer that they would be able to pay that young apprentice's wage.

I note that the policy of the Labor government is a $5,000 payment to young apprentices. That's great; it's good. I can speak from experience. My two sons are 17 and 19. One's doing electrical trade, and the other one's doing construction building. They've both received the payments and they were both very welcoming of that money. But it doesn't stop the fact that I see many of their mates who have been through either Newman Senior Technical College up in Port Macquarie or TAFE unable to find jobs. My sons were very lucky that they found their jobs. They appreciate them and love them. But the fact is this government's policies are not giving employers confidence. It does not want them to bring people on. We've seen a record number of construction and building companies go into insolvency over the last 18 months to two years. That is reflective of this government's policies. It's reflective of what this government is failing to do.

The other side talk about building homes. But what I can say is that Labor is failing to provide investment into the basic infrastructure that is needed in regional and rural areas—such as Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour—the sewer and water. There has been no new investment, and, if you don't have that new investment, then you cannot build. You can create as many tradies as you like, but, without that infrastructure investment, nothing will happen. And, unless you live in a Labor seat, nothing gets done. So I call on Labor to make sure that they treat all Australians equally and leave no-one behind, as promised.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of her speech for incorporation into Hansard, in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025.

Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): The incorporated speech read as follows—

I would like to support this motion recognising the Albanese Labor government's Key Apprenticeship Program and its important contribution to building Australia's skilled workforce. The program is already delivering results. In its first 12 months, it has attracted more than 30,000 apprentices into training, giving young Australians the opportunity to begin a career in the trades while receiving practical financial support along the way. This is exactly the kind of targeted investment Australia needs.

Across Pearce and communities around the country, families want their children to have secure and rewarding careers. Local businesses want access to skilled workers. And Australia needs more people trained in the occupations that will help us build more homes, deliver the clean energy transition and strengthen our economy. The Key Apprenticeship Program helps meet all three of those needs.

Under the program, eligible full-time apprentices can receive up to $10,000 over the course of their apprenticeship. The payments are made at important milestones—at six, 12, 24 and 36 months and on completion. Part-time apprentices can receive up to $5,000.

That structure matters. Starting an apprenticeship is a significant commitment. An apprentice needs to purchase tools, travel to work and training, manage living expenses and often accept a lower income while developing their skills. The costs can be particularly challenging during the first year. Providing support at regular stages helps apprentices manage those costs. Just as importantly, it provides an incentive to stay the course. An apprenticeship is not completed on the day someone signs up. It requires persistence, practical learning and the support of employers, trainers, colleagues and families. By providing payments throughout the apprenticeship journey, the program is designed to support apprentices not only to begin but to reach the finish line.

The most popular occupations under the program include carpentry, plumbing and electrical trades. These are precisely the skills Australia needs as we work to increase housing supply and make sure new homes can be built more quickly. Every new home requires skilled workers. Carpenters, plumbers and electricians are essential to the construction process. Without enough qualified tradespeople, housing projects face delays, costs increase and communities wait longer for the homes they need. That is why the housing construction stream of the Key Apprenticeship Program is so important. It is targeted support, directed towards industries where the need is greatest. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is a considered response to the national shortage of skilled workers and the urgent need to build more housing.

The program also supports employers. Eligible employers can receive incentives of up to $5,000 for taking on apprentices in priority occupations, helping offset some of the costs associated with recruitment, supervision and training. Small businesses play a critical role in training the next generation of tradies. Many apprentices learn their skills in small construction firms, plumbing businesses, electrical contractors and family owned enterprises. Supporting those employers makes it easier for them to offer opportunities to new apprentices. This is an investment in people, but it is also an investment in local businesses and local communities.

The Albanese Labor government has backed this program for the long term, with the budget locking in incentive settings for both apprentices and employers until 2029. That certainty matters. Apprentices need confidence that support will be available throughout their training. Employers need certainty when planning their workforce and taking on new trainees.

It is disappointing that, despite having multiple opportunities to clarify their position, neither the opposition nor One Nation has made clear whether they support this program. The shadow minister for skills and training has described the program as 'wrong' and as 'throwing good money after bad money'. But what is wrong about helping Australians gain valuable skills? What is wrong about supporting employers to train new workers? And what is wrong about investing in the trades that will help build the homes Australians need?

The alternative is not cost-free. Fewer apprentices means fewer qualified workers. That means greater pressure on existing tradespeople, more delays in construction and less capacity to deliver housing. The Albanese Labor government is choosing to invest in apprentices, employers and Australia's future.

For young Australians considering a career in carpentry, plumbing or electrical work, this program provides more than a payment; it provides encouragement, stability and a genuine pathway to a skilled and secure career. For employers, it provides practical assistance to take on the workers they need. And, for the broader community, it helps build the skilled workforce required to construct more homes and support a growing economy. The Key Apprenticeship Program is targeted, practical and already delivering results. I commend the government for backing it and I commend the motion to the House.

Emma Comer (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in strong support of this motion, and I thank the fantastic member for Moore for moving it. At its heart, this is about something pretty simple: Australia needs more tradies. We need more carpenters, more plumbers and more electricians, and we need to make sure that Australians who choose those careers know that their government backs them. For too long, there's been the idea that, when you finish school, the pathway to a good career has to mean going to university. University is a fantastic option for many people, but it is not the only option, and it's not the option that suits everyone. You can go to TAFE. You can start an apprenticeship. You can earn while you learn, build a great career, start your own business and one day employ and train the next generation.

In my electorate of Petrie, we are fortunate to have TAFE campuses at both Redcliffe and Bracken Ridge. I want young people across our community to know that walking through the doors of TAFE and learning a trade can open the door to a secure, rewarding and well-paid career. That is why our government established the Key Apprenticeship Program. New apprentices in housing construction can now receive up to $10,000, paid across their apprenticeship, to help with the real costs of getting started—buying tools, transport and other equipment that they need to complete their job.

Importantly, that support continues as they progress through their apprenticeships, helping more people reach that finish line. Early data shows that around 89 per cent of apprentices supported through the program are still in training. In this first year, more than 30,000 apprentices have been backed into the housing construction sector. In Queensland alone, that program has supported more than 7,400 commencements, including more than 3,000 carpentry apprentices.

This is more than just training; it is about housing. We can invest billions into housing. We can release land. We can support first home buyers and build more social and affordable homes. But someone still has to pour the slab, someone has to frame the house, somebody has to install the plumbing and someone has to wire it. We cannot build more homes without more tradies—more tradies means more homes. That is why backing apprentices is so important. We are backing young Australians into good careers, backing the small businesses that train them and building the skilled workforce that Australia needs. This is something every member of the House should be able to support.

When Labor came into government, Australia was facing skills shortages at a 50-year high. We've been working to turn that around, and the Jobs and Skills Australia data shows the proportion of occupations in shortage fell from 36 per cent in 2023 to 29 per cent in 2025. There is more work to do, and we are heading in the right direction. Free TAFE is part of that work too. There have now been more than 814,000 free TAFE enrolments in courses supporting the skills Australia needs, from tradies to nurses and early childhood educators.

The Key Apprenticeship Program makes sure that we are targeting support where Australia most needs workers. The 2026 budget has locked the program in until 2029, including the $10,000 incentive for apprentices and targeted incentives for small and medium-sized employers and group training organisations, because apprentices do not train themselves—behind so many apprentices is a small-business owner giving someone their first opportunity, teaching them the trade and investing their own time in the next generation of skilled workers.

That is why I was so disappointed to see the shadow minister for skills and training describe the program as 'wrong' and accuse the government of 'throwing good money after bad money'. Backing an apprentice is not throwing money away. Helping a young electrician afford their tools is not throwing money away. Supporting a small plumbing business to take on an apprentice is not throwing money away.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.