Funds are available for:
- equipment (see Section 3.3.1 of the Program Guidelines);
- equipment and/or minor upgrade of facilities (such as rewiring or enhancement of safety) (see Section 3.3.2 of the Program Guidelines); and
- major capital works (see Section 3.3.3 of the Program Guidelines).
Schools (in consultation with their government or non-government school system) can determine which form of investment will be in line with their long term capital investment strategies, and will best meet the needs of their students and local employers.
Funds can be used to enhance existing infrastructure and may be combined with other funding sources including contributions from State and Territory grants, school communities, Registered Training Organisations and/or employers.
Program funds cannot be used for procurement of services (such as human resource or personnel services), overhead costs incurred in distributing funds and recurrent costs associated with the ongoing operation of Trade Training Centre facilities. An exception is that Program funds can be used for building project management fees associated with major capital works (see Section 3.3.3 of the Program Guidelines)
All the above costs are the responsibility of the funding recipient.
No. The purchase or lease of buses is not funded under the Program.
Yes, it is possible to lease equipment where the school can show in the application that this would be more cost effective than purchasing over a given period. Proposals to lease equipment must present a business case identifying the number of years the school intends to lease equipment and a comparison of lease costs against purchasing price. Funding from the Commonwealth Government would only cover the initial lease period in the business case, not ongoing lease, and residual or renewal costs.
Yes, however you application will need to demonstrate that the school has the owner’s permission to underake the upgrades and a commitment to use the premises for a Trade Training Centre for 20 years.
Yes, DEEWR will consider funding applications that involve the purchase of land and/or a building to establish a Trade Training Centre. Through the application process, applicants will need to:
- provide the reasons for taking this approach;
- demonstrate that this approach represents an effective and efficient use of Commonwealth funding; and
- show that the proposal is a highly sustainable and viable approach to delivering high quality trade training and will meet the needs of the school/s and students.