The government has a stated goal to build 1.2 million new homes by 2030. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The Federal Government will pay apprentices who choose to work in the residential construction industry a bonus of $10,000 under a new election policy incentive scheme to boost Australian housing stocks.
The scheme was announced on Friday (24 January) by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a nationally televised address to the National Press Club. In it, he said the incentive will help build the “next generation of tradies” to boost the workforce needed to build the government’s promised 1.2 million new homes in the next five years.
“In occupations essential for residential construction, jobs like bricklayers, electricians, plumbers and carpenters, we will be providing eligible apprentices up to $10,000 through our new Housing Construction Apprenticeship Program,” he said.
“Right now, a first-year carpentry apprentice earns about two-thirds of the minimum wage. As a number have said, they could earn a lot more stacking shelves in their local supermarket.
“Too many leave training, because they can’t afford to stay,” he added. “Our government wants to encourage more Australians to get on the tools — and stay in construction.
“This means that apprentices in residential construction will now get the same training incentives as those in the energy sector.
“More new homes, more new energy – and more support for the tradies who will build both.”
The $10,000 bonuses will be available to 60,000 apprentices, will be paid in five $2000 instalments over the period of their apprenticeship from 1 July 2025, and will be additional to the pay they receive from their employers.
The Prime Minister anticipates the total cost will be $629 million over five years, and says funding was allocated to the program in last month’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).
Housing policy is expected to feature prominently in the upcoming election, with Labor believed to be falling behind the planned 1.2 million homes they had hoped to build by 2030. The apprenticeship bonuses alone are unlikely to significantly alter the trajectory of that goal, but are but one of a number of arrows in Labor’s quiver which also include reforms to planning laws and social housing grants.
The Prime Minister also announced an extension of training support and hiring incentive payments, an increase in the Living Away From Home Allowance, and a boost to wage subsidies for hiring more apprentices with a disability.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said 60,000 apprentices would be eligible for the $10,000 bonus. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
These build on an expansion of Free TAFE and the slashing of HECS debt for students announced in 2024.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said that, although the bonus program will go some way towards helping the housing crisis, the crisis was of the government’s making because of its immigration policies.
“80,000 apprentices have dropped out since the government’s been elected,” he told Channel 9’s Today Show this morning. “They’ve brought in a million people over two years – the biggest number of migration in our country’s history. We’re at an 11-year low in terms of building approval. So, they’ve created this crisis.
“So, we support a program that’s going to get more apprentices into the system, but we’ve got a housing crisis that Labor’s created.”
The Australian Council of trade Unions (ACTU) welcomed the announcement, saying it was a welcome response to the release of the Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System, which revealed that low wages were a key barrier to entry and completion of apprenticeships.
ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brien said unions hear from apprentices across Australia that the biggest barrier holding them back are low wages.
“You can’t address cost-of-living without a plan for wages, and that’s why today’s announcement of a $10,000 wage bonus is so important,” he said.
“Thousands of young Australians, especially in our outer suburbs and regions, make huge sacrifices to pursue an apprenticeship so they can get ahead. The $10,000 wage bonus will go a long way in easing their cost-of-living so they can build Australia’s future.
“The Albanese Government’s expansion of Free TAFE and their boosting of apprentice wages will help repair Australia’s skills and training sector after a decade of cuts and closures from Peter Dutton’s Coalition,” he added.
“Tradies finally have a government that is on their side and actually cares about investing in their future.”
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