About Funding
Smart and Skilled Funding
Are you interested in exploring partnership opportunities with IHNA?
We welcome expressions of interest from healthcare organisations, hospitals, and clinical bodies looking to collaborate and leverage mutual strengths for impactful initiatives in healthcare education. If you believe there’s potential for synergy between our organisations, we invite you to reach out and express your interest in partnering with us. To discuss more and partner with IHNA please click the ‘Expression of Interest’ button below to connect with us and discuss potential collaboration further.
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:
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lives or works in NSW (determined by postcode of the usual place of residence or place of work); or
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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
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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
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is aged 75 years or older; and
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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:
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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.
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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
| Evidence sighted or collected by Provider |
Humanitarian visa holder and Partner visa holder (Refugee or asylum seeker) |
| 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