User Choice (NT)
Check Your Eligibility
What is User Choice?
Australian Apprentices can receive assistance from User Choice, a national government funding program, to cover the cost of training and assessment services.
The Australian Government and NT Government collaborate on the User Choice funding program to offer incentives for getting qualified through on-the-job training. This funding policy seeks to align the vocational education and training sector with the needs of industry, and fill skills shortages in the labour force.
In Darwin and the Northern Territory, the government pays the training provider the subsidy after enrolment through User Choice. This lowers employers’ out-of-pocket expenses.
Sorry! We don't have any Government Funded & Loan Scheme Courses in Northern Territory at the moment
What courses does User Choice funding subsidise?
Qualifications on the NT apprenticeships and traineeships database are eligible for User Choice funding. Courses must be taken through approved RTOs (Registered Training Organisations).
These include all levels of nationally recognised vocational qualifications, such as:
• Certificate II (pre-traineeship qualification)
• Certificate III
• Certificate IV
• Diploma
• Advanced Diploma
Apprenticeships and traineeships can receive subsidised training in a variety of fields, from traditional trades to the health care, real estate, and other sectors.
On the NT apprenticeships and traineeships database, popular qualifications include:
• Certificate III in Beauty Services
• Certificate III in Business
• Certificate IV in Information Technology
• Certificate IV in Health Administration
• Diploma of Mental Health
Am I eligible for User Choice funding?
To access subsidised training through User Choice in the NT, you must meet the following eligibility criteria
Either:
• An Australian citizen
• A permanent resident of Australia
• A New Zealand citizen
• An eligible visa holder
• 15+ years of age
• In paid work
• Enrolled in a qualification that is listed on the NT Qualifications Register through an Australian Apprenticeship with an approved RTO.
• Your employer is capable of providing the required supervision at work.
• You put in more than 15 hours of work or training each week (if your training contract is not through a school, average out your hours over 4 weeks)
You are not eligible for User Choice Funding if you are an existing worker. This means that you’ve been employed for longer than:
• 3 months full-time
• 12 months part-time
Existing employees can only enrol in apprenticeships rather than traineeships with user choice funded training. Some situations are an exception to this, including:
• If you have previously worked while attending school and are switching to a traineeship with the same employer,
• If you’re undertaking a traineeship in a field where there is a skills shortage, as indicated on the NT Skilled Occupation Priority List,
• You are completing a higher level qualification in the same training package, such as a Certificate II to a Certificate III or a Certificate IV to Diploma, less than a year after finishing a previous apprenticeship or traineeship.
If you are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin
Others Government Funding Schemes in Northern Territory
Skills Checkpoint
Skills Checkpoint is a government program that supports Australians over 40 to upskill or retrain so they can advance or change their careers.
Learn MoreFAQ
What is an Australian Apprenticeship?
The official name for apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia is “Australian Apprenticeship.”
Get a job first, then decide on a qualification and an RTO to study with if you want to become an Australian Apprentice. After that, you can sign a training contract overseen by an Apprenticeship Network Provider.
What is the benefit of having User Choice?
User Choice gives students the freedom to choose the terms of their apprenticeship or traineeship. Apprentices are free to select their occupation, employer, training program, and training provider.
