Fact sheet 156: Citizenship information, residency status and visa information
Version 15
18 June 2008
[PDF 51kb]
From time to time, the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts receives enquiries about the eligibility of persons who are not Australian citizens to become apprentices or trainees in Queensland. The department's policy is that the following persons are eligible to participate in apprenticeships or traineeships:
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Australian citizens
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New Zealand citizens
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persons with permanent residency visas
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persons with temporary protection visas
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persons who hold temporary or partner visas for subclass 309, 310, 820, or 826.
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dependents of persons who are holders of a business Long Stay visa under subclass 457
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dependents of persons who are holders of a Skilled Independent Regional visa under subclass 495 (Not applicable to Brisbane or Gold Coast Regions)
- persons and their spouse and/or dependents who are holders of Provisional Visa Subclass 163 - State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner
- persons holding a 461 visa is evidence that the holder is the dependent (family member) of a NZ Citizen. Immigration has advised to check the expiry date to ensure the person can complete the training in the period remaining on the visa
Employers have a legal responsibility relating to the employment of foreign nationals. Employers should contact the Australian Government's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) Work Rights checking line on 1800 040 070 for further information on their responsibilities in this regard. As a general rule, only Australian citizens, and New Zealand citizens who have entered Australia on a valid passport, have unrestricted rights to employment. Any other person who wants to work in Australia must have a visa allowing employment.
The right to legal employment in Australia does not guarantee eligibility to participate in apprenticeships or traineeships, eg Holders of a Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) are not eligible. Where employers, prospective apprentices and trainees, or staff of Australian Apprenticeships Centres are not certain as to whether the eligibility criterion for participation in apprenticeships and traineeships has been met, they should contact their nearest office of the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts for clarification.
Australian Apprenticeships Centres will generally be aware of a person's residential status, as this information is required in the application for Australian Government incentives for the employment of apprentices and trainees. Accordingly, Australian Apprenticeships Centres advise their clients of the eligibility criteria for entry into an apprenticeship or traineeship in Queensland. They must also advise the department when the residency status of the apprentice or trainee may affect the department's decision to approve the training contract.
If the department discovers after the training contract has been registered, that the apprentice or trainee did not meet the eligibility criteria for residency status at the time of approval, registration of the training contract will be cancelled. This could have financial implications in terms of the recovery of incentives and/or payments made to various parties.
Contact Apprenticeships info 1800 210 210 or Training Queensland 1300 369 935
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