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The Elsa Dixon Aboriginal Employment Grant (EDAEG) adopts a number of strategies to develop and support Aboriginal people through the creation of training and employment opportunities. Promoting diversity, innovation and service responsiveness in the NSW workforce, the Elsa Dixon Aboriginal Employment Grant subsidises the salary, development and support costs of Aboriginal employees in public service agencies and local government authorities.

Grant elements

• School-based Apprenticeships and Traineeships – $10,000 one off payment to support school-based apprenticeships and traineeships.
• Post School Element – up to $30,000 (Part-time or Full-time Employment Status) to support the continuation of employment for a learner who successfully completed a High School Certificate (HSC, Year 12) requirements from the year 2022 to the present day.
• Aboriginal Adult Apprenticeships and Traineeships (AAAT) – up to $40,000 to support the creation of employment of an apprenticeship or traineeship. Learners must be a minimum 21 years of age to be eligible.
• Permanent Ongoing Employment – up to $40,000 to support the creation of permanent employment.

Apprenticeships are a proven pathway to well-paid jobs in a diverse range of careers. In NSW, apprenticeships are also fee free – meaning no more upfront training costs for students or employers.

There’s never been a better time to start an apprenticeship in NSW. The NSW Government is paying the course cost for 100,000 new apprenticeships – meaning apprentices undertaking a government funded apprenticeship no longer face a student fee of up to $2000.

Apprenticeships are a great career pathway. They combine on-the-job training with classroom study to give you the skills and experience employers are looking for. Apprenticeships generally take around 3-4 years to complete, and apprentices earn a salary while they learn.

There are more than 120 different apprenticeship courses available in NSW, in a range of industries including construction, cooking, aviation and automotive. Search all NSW apprenticeships funded under Smart and Skilled.

Traineeships are a proven pathway to well-paid jobs in a diverse range of careers. In NSW, traineeships are also fee free.

There are more than 390 traineeship courses funded in NSW, in a range of industries including early childhood, health and allied services, business, IT, hospitality and warehouse operations.

Fee free traineeships are available to NSW trainees – including school-based trainees whose training:

• is funded under the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled Program
• commenced on or after 1 January 2020.

If you have previously commenced your Smart and Skilled traineeship training before 1 January 2020 and are returning to a traineeship after 1 January 2020, you will be eligible for fee free for the remainder of your training if your traineeship course or your employer has changed.

Each student is limited to a maximum of commencing three fee free traineeships under this initiative.

The Start Strong for Community Preschools program provides funding to deliver affordable quality preschool education for 3 to 5 year old children enroled in eligible community and mobile preschools in NSW.

From 2023, fee relief for families announced as “Affordable Preschool” in the context of the NSW Government's Early Years Commitment will be integrated into Start Strong and provide community and mobile preschools with sustainable long-term funding to deliver at least 600 hours of low, or no cost preschool to eligible children.

Start Strong for Community Preschools funding is provided for children in the two years before school and supports enrolment of at least 600 hours per year or 15 hours per week. Evidence shows that this level of participation in a quality early childhood education program in the two years before school is associated with better outcomes for children.

Start Strong, including the now integrated Affordable Preschool initiative, promotes universal access and priority of access by providing:

• higher program funding rates for preschools which operate within the lower range of Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) score of relative socio-economic disadvantage
• additional funding for children aged 3 years and above from low income families, children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, and children with disability or additional needs
• loadings for preschools that operate in outer regional, remote and very remote areas
• further loadings and subsidies as outlined in Section 3.2
• up to $4,220 per year in fee relief for 3 to 5 year old children in community and mobile preschools.

The Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment are both calculated based on the data entered in the Annual Preschool Census, including the number and hours of enrolment, and the number and characteristics of children enroled.