Smart and Skilled Funding

Smart and Skilled provides eligible students with access to Government subsidised training in NSW. This includes an entitlement for all NSW citizens to undertake Apprenticeship and Traineeship training.

The NSW Skills List provides the nationally accredited qualifications and courses that eligible students may undertake. Eligible students may also undertake a short course (either a nationally accredited skills set or a bespoke skills set made up of nationally accredited units of competency and/or modules) through the Targeted Priorities Prevocational and Part Qualifications Program.

Under Smart and Skilled, a student contributes towards the cost of training through the payment of a student fee.

There are different categories of student fees, based on the program, the qualification and the characteristics of the student. The schedule of fees for each qualification on the NSW Skills List can be accessed at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/vocational/funding/smart-skilled-fees

Some students may be eligible for fee-free training or a concession fee.

The Smart and Skilled Fee Administration Policy provides detailed guidance on fee arrangements and eligibility requirements for fee-free training or fee concessions.

Eligibility criteria for all Smart and Skilled Programs

A person who is eligible to receive subsidised training in all Smart and Skilled Programs (except Smart and Skilled Entitlement Apprenticeships and Traineeships Program) is a person who, at the time of enrolment in a qualification or course on the NSW Skills List or a “short course” with a Smart and Skilled provider:

• lives or works in NSW (determined by postcode of the usual place of residence or place of work); or

• an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student who does not live or work in NSW but lives in specific defined interstate NSW border areas (see Appendix 2: Defined interstate NSW border areas) is eligible for government-subsidised training under Smart and Skilled; and

• is:

  • an Australian citizen; or
  • a permanent Australian resident; or
  • a New Zealand citizen; or
  • a humanitarian visa holder or a partner visa holder whose sponsor is a humanitarian visa holder and

• is aged 75 years or older; and

• is no longer in secondary education – except for registered home school students (See relevant sections below for further information).

A student must declare that the information they provide with regards to eligibility is true, accurate, complete and not misleading.

Exceptions

The following exceptions apply to sections 2.2 of this Policy:

• if a person is approved or registered as an Existing Worker Trainee, they will not be eligible to receive Subsidised Training in a Smart and Skilled Qualification that is associated with the Training Contract for their existing worker traineeship, in relation to any Smart and Skilled Program.

• the Department may allow a Smart and Skilled Provider to treat a person, who does not fit any of the above eligibility criteria, as being eligible to receive Subsidised Training under Smart and Skilled.

Acceptable evidence

The following table outlines the proof of eligibility requirements to access Smart and Skilled. The Smart and Skilled Fee Administration Policy outlines the proof of eligibility requirements for fee-free training or fee concessions.

All evidence must be able to be verified by the Provider. At the Department’s discretion, the Department may request that the Provider produce records for verification (i.e. either a copy of the evidence or proof that the evidence has been sighted).

Requirement	Evidence	Evidence Requirement
Proof of identity	USI The Provider must ensure validity of the USI. The Department will also check validity with the USI Registry.	Valid USI
Living or working in NSW	Living in NSW any Commonwealth or NSW Government issued document providing evidence of living location, or Working in NSW (if the student does not live in NSW): employer-issued document confirming employment in NSW.	Evidence sighted or collected by Provider
Citizenship- Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen and permanent Australian resident	Australian Citizen Australian birth certificate; or Australian Passport; or Certificate of Australian Citizenship (Naturalisation Certificate); or Green Medicare Card. New Zealand Citizen New Zealand birth certificate; or New Zealand Passport; or Green Medicare Card. Permanent Australian resident: a Certificate of Evidence of Resident Status (CERS). which confirms status as an Australian permanent resident; or use the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) facility to confirm status as Australian permanent resident and check passport; or Green Medicare Card.	Evidence sighted or collected by Provider
Humanitarian visa holder and Partner visa holder (Refugee or asylum seeker)	Relevant visa documentation; or lmmiCard (where appropriate) If the student holds a Bridging Visa, the student must provide a document from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection acknowledging that the bridging visa is linked to an application for a humanitarian visa.	Evidence sighted or collected by Provider
Home schools students	Copy of current certificate of home schooling registration, which clearly indicates the period of time for which the student will be home	Evidence sighted or collected by Provider
Date of Birth	USI Data	Valid USI
Registration as NSW apprentice or new entrant trainee	Training Contract identifier (TCID) number	Department system check against details of approved or registered Training Contract stored in the Department’s database
Year 10 Completion or Equivalent (If under 17)	Evidence that student has met school leaving age requirements	Student Declaration /Signature at enrolment
Post code for an aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Person who lives in specific defined interstate NSW border areas	Any Commonwealth or NSW Government or local council issued document providing evidence of living location	Student Declaration /Signature at enrolment

Note: Where the evidence provided by the student is a copy of the originaI, the copy must be certified by a person who is on the list of approved witnesses who can verify documents. A list of which is available at the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department website at:www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Pages/Statutorvdeclarationsignatorylist.aspx

To know more about Smart and Skilled Fee administration policy click here

To know more about the “2023-2024 Smart and Skilled provider information webinars” click here

Our team is here to help you with any questions you have, call us on 1800 22 52 83