Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination (No. 2) 2025

The instrument pivots around a small set of statutory and classification concepts. The central statutory concept is the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, which the instrument specifies for the purposes of paragraph 105(1)(a) of the Act (Part 2, s6 and s7). The instrument defines two internal terms directly: Act (meaning the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Act 2014) and OSCA (the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia released 6 December 2024) (s4). The instrument further relies on definitions contained in section 5 of the Act; it notes explicitly that a number of expressions, including Australian Apprenticeships Priority List and Australian apprenticeship support loan, are defined in that section of the Act (s4 Note).

Operationally the instrument’s main substantive content is a table that pairs an occupational title with a numerical OSCA code for each listed occupation (Part 2, s7). The instrument employs the OSCA as the canonical occupation classification, and therefore the mapping between occupational names and OSCA codes is decisive for identifying the specified occupations (s4; s7). The instrument also invokes the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 as the source of qualifying criteria that matter for transitional treatment of pre-commencement apprentices (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii), and the Note in s9 referring to section 29 of the Rules).

The transition concept is consequential. Section 9 creates a statutory deeming rule for particular individuals who were undertaking apprenticeships immediately before commencement and who, by operation of the new list, find that the occupation or qualification they were undertaking is not specified in the new section 7 list (s9(1)(b); s9(2)). The deeming requires that the apprenticeship immediately prior to commencement satisfy three conditions drawn from the Rules 2023: the qualification level must be one prescribed by the Rules, the apprenticeship must lead to an occupation or qualification specified in the 2025 Determination, and it must meet any other requirements prescribed by the Rules (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii)). If those conditions are met, the apprenticeship is taken to be one that leads to an occupation specified in section 7, thereby preserving the designation for that apprentice (s9(2)).

Schedule and repeal mechanics form another concept. Section 5 explains that instruments specified in a Schedule are amended or repealed as set out, and Schedule 1 expressly repeals the whole of the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025 (Schedule 1, item 1). Thus the Determination both establishes a new list and removes the predecessor instrument in full.

Finally, the Determination is explicitly made for the statutory purposes set out in the Act. Part 2 is made for the purposes of subsection 105(1) of the Act and Part 3 for the purposes of subsection 105(4) (s6 and s8). The reference to those subsections anchors the instrument’s legal function within the Act, namely to operationalise the mechanism in s105 by specifying occupations for the Priority List and providing transitional treatment. To understand obligations, entitlements, and financial mechanics, the instrument must be read with the Act and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023, which the instrument references for substantive qualification and transitional criteria (s4 Note; s9).

The Determination affects several distinct groups by naming occupations and setting transitional rules. First, apprentices and prospective apprentices are directly affected because the instrument specifies which occupations are included on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List for the purposes of the Act (Part 2, s7). Whether a particular apprenticeship is treated as leading to a specified occupation under the Act is determined by checking the occupation name and OSCA code in the table. A person who wants to know whether the occupation they are undertaking or proposing to undertake is specified must consult section 7 and match the occupational title and OSCA code (s7).

Second, employers, training organisations, registered training providers and group training organisations that take on apprentices will need to know whether the occupation to which an apprenticeship relates is specified in the Determination. The inclusion or exclusion of a trade or occupation in the list will determine whether the apprenticeship is categorised under the instrument for the relevant statutory purposes in the Act (s6 and s7). Where a listed occupation is identified by an OSCA code, organisations that manage records, reporting or enrolments will need to align their classification and documentation to the OSCA codes recorded in the Determination (s4 and s7).

Third, administrators and decision makers in Commonwealth agencies responsible for the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans regime are affected because the Determination defines the priority list they must use for decisions made under paragraph 105(1)(a) of the Act (s6 and s7). The instrument was made by the Minister under s105 of the Act (s3), and Part 2 is made for the purposes of subsection 105(1) of the Act (s6). Therefore, the instrument prescribes the list those administrators must apply.

Fourth, individuals who were apprentices immediately before commencement and whose apprenticeship would, after commencement, lead to an occupation or qualification that is not specified in section 7 are affected by the transitional mechanism in section 9 (s9(1)-(2)). The deeming in s9(2) applies only if the apprenticeship immediately before commencement satisfied the qualification level prescribed by the Rules 2023, led to an occupation or qualification specified in the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025, and met any other requirements prescribed by the Rules 2023 (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii) and s9(1)(b)). Those individuals must rely on the Rules 2023 to demonstrate eligibility for the deeming.

Lastly, the instrument affects legal and compliance advisers who counsel apprentices, employers and training providers about entitlement and reporting under the Act. The instrument does not itself set loan criteria or amounts but operates by specifying occupations for the statutory mechanism in the Act; therefore advisors must combine this Determination with the Act and the Rules when advising on eligibility for Australian Apprenticeship support loans (s3; s4 Note; s9).

The instrument’s Schedule repeals the earlier 2025 Determination in whole (Schedule 1, item 1). Parties who previously relied on the prior Determination need to check whether occupations they relied upon remain specified in the new table, and whether the transitional deeming in s9 applies to protect affected apprentices (s5; Schedule 1; s9).

The Determination itself does not create broad new procedural duties or rights beyond specifying occupations and a limited transitional deeming rule. It performs a statutory specification function under s105 of the Act: Part 2 is expressly made for the purposes of subsection 105(1) and prescribes the occupations to be taken to be on the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List for the purposes of paragraph 105(1)(a) of the Act (s6; s7). That specification is the instrument’s central legal operation rather than the conferral of standalone rights or duties.

The primary practical consequence is that the specified occupations in section 7 are the operative list decision makers must apply for the statutory purposes identified in the Act. The Determination therefore creates an entitlement-structure only insofar as the Act and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 tie rights, obligations or financial assistance to occupations being on the Priority List. The Determination references the Act and the Rules (s3; s4 Note; s9) and so the specific duties and rights that flow to apprentices, employers, training providers and administrators will generally be set out in those instruments rather than in this Determination.

The Determination creates one specific statutory protection for a defined group of apprentices. Section 9 sets out a transitional deeming rule. If an individual was undertaking an apprenticeship immediately before commencement that satisfied the qualification level prescribed by the Rules 2023, led to an occupation or qualification specified in the 2025 Determination, and met any other requirements in the Rules 2023, then if immediately after commencement their occupation is not specified in the new section 7 list, the apprenticeship is to be taken to be one that leads to an occupation or qualification specified in section 7 (s9(1)-(2)). That deeming is a statutory right in the sense that it preserves the listed designation for the specified group of pre-commencement apprentices.

Duties of decision makers are implicit. The Minister made the Determination under s105 of the Act (s3). Administrators exercising functions under the Act and applying paragraph 105(1)(a) must use the occupations specified in section 7 when taking actions that depend on the Priority List. The Determination requires administrators to consult the OSCA codes provided in the table to ensure correct identification of occupations (s4 and s7).

There are no express obligations in the Determination for employers or training organisations to perform reporting, nor are there procedural notice obligations in the text concerning communicating changes to apprentices. Any such duties must be found in the Act or the Rules 2023. The Rules are already invoked in the Determination with respect to qualification levels, transitional eligibility and other prerequisites (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii)). Practitioners should therefore look to the Act and the Rules 2023 to find concrete duties and rights such as loan application procedures, repayment terms or reporting requirements that may be linked to a listed occupation.

Finally, the Schedule effect in section 5 is a duty on administrators to treat the prior Determination as repealed where Schedule 1 so provides; it is a procedural legislative change that requires updating records and reliance on the new specified list (s5; Schedule 1).

The Determination contains no express penalty or enforcement provisions. It operates as a legislative specification under the Act by listing occupations and setting a narrow transitional deeming rule; it does not itself create criminal offences, civil penalties, or detailed enforcement mechanisms (see Part 2, s6-s7; Part 3, s8-s9; Schedule 1). The instrument must be applied by administrators and decision makers exercising powers under the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Act 2014 and any enforcement or penalty regimes relevant to apprenticeships, loans or program compliance are located in the Act or in subordinate instruments such as the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023, not in this Determination (s3; s4 Note; s9).

Because the Determination is made under section 105 of the Act (s3), any administrative action that follows from application of the Priority List, including decisions to approve, vary or refuse loan support where the Act makes eligibility contingent on being on the Priority List, will be enforceable or reviewable under the Act’s statutory framework. The Determination does not itself prescribe the outcome of those decisions beyond defining which occupations are specified. Practitioners must therefore consult the Act and the Rules for penalty structures, procedural fairness obligations and appeal or review pathways related to decisions that depend on the Priority List.

Enforcement in the operational sense therefore falls to the agencies and officers implementing the Act. The Determination requires them to use the occupations and OSCA codes in section 7 when applying paragraph 105(1)(a) of the Act (s6 and s7). Any contravention of duties imposed by the Act or the Rules in administering loans, or breaches of loan conditions by borrowers, would be subject to the enforcement provisions that the Act and the Rules provide. Those enforcement mechanisms are not reproduced or amended in this Determination; Schedule 1 instead repeals the earlier Determination and replaces it with this instrument (Schedule 1, item 1), so administrative processes must apply the new list from commencement (s2; Schedule 1).

The transitional deeming in section 9 is framed as a protective statutory rule and does not itself attach penalties. It changes the legal character of particular apprenticeships for the statutory purposes of the Act; where that character affects entitlement to support or compliance obligations under the Act, the practical enforcement consequences will flow from the Act. No prosecutorial or administrative sanction powers are specified in this instrument.

If parties are concerned about enforcement or penalty exposure arising from application of the Priority List, they must refer to the Act and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 to identify the relevant penalty clauses, compliance requirements and administrative review processes. The Determination instructs which occupations are relevant, but does not set or change the enforcement architecture.

The Determination is a subordinate legislative instrument made under section 105 of the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Act 2014 (s3). Its operative effect is to feed into the statutory architecture of the Act by specifying those occupations that are to be treated as the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List for the purposes of paragraph 105(1)(a) of the Act (s6 and s7). Therefore the Determination must be read and applied together with the Act and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 to understand legal consequences, such as eligibility for any loan support, qualification levels, and transitional arrangements (s4 Note; s9).

The instrument explicitly invokes the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 in its transitional provision (s9). Section 9(1)(a)(i)-(iii) requires that a pre-commencement apprenticeship satisfy the qualification level prescribed by the Rules 2023, lead to an occupation or qualification specified in the earlier 2025 Determination, and meet any other requirements prescribed by the Rules 2023, in order for the deeming in s9(2) to apply. The Note in s9 refers to section 29 of the Rules 2023 for transitional arrangements relating to occupations or qualifications specified in legislative instruments that preceded this Determination. Therefore, the legal interaction with the Rules is direct and necessary; the Rules determine eligibility criteria and other prerequisites that interact with the deeming in s9.

The instrument also incorporates the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) as the classification tool for occupations referenced in the Priority List (s4). The OSCA codes in the table serve to disambiguate occupational titles; therefore the Determination interacts with administrative systems and reporting obligations that rely on occupational classification. Any external regulatory scheme or data reporting requirement that uses OSCA classifications will find these codes relevant for mapping apprenticeship occupations to the statutory list.

Schedule 1 repeals the previous Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025 in whole (Schedule 1, item 1). The repeal is an express legal interaction: the old instrument has no continuing force after the repeal provided in Schedule 1, and the new Determination is to be applied from its commencement date (s2; Schedule 1). Transitional arrangements in s9 are designed to bridge changes in specification between predecessor instruments and the new list, but those arrangements depend on the Rules 2023 for detailed conditions (s9).

The Determination does not modify other Commonwealth statutes directly. Its legal footprint is confined to the purpose of specifying the Priority List under the Act, and to making transitional provision for pre-commencement apprentices under subsection 105(4) of the Act (s6, s8). Any interaction with employment, industrial relations, immigration, state vocational regulation or education law will be indirect and contingent on where those regimes reference the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List or rely on apprenticeship classification in funding, migration settings or industrial instruments. Because the Determination is a specification instrument, the primary statutory relationship to review, rights and obligations will be through the Act and the Rules that implement the financial and administrative mechanics.

Practitioners should consult section 5 of the Act for definitions and cross-references referenced in the Determination (s4 Note), the Rules 2023 for qualification levels and other requirements invoked in s9, and any relevant administrative instructions issued by the Department or agencies charged with administering the Act to understand operational interactions with other laws and policies.

The instrument contains its own limited amendment history within Schedule 1. Schedule 1 expressly repeals the whole of the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025 (Schedule 1, item 1). Section 5 establishes the mechanism by which items in Schedules take effect: each instrument specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the items, and any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms (s5). No other amendments to other instruments are recorded in the Schedule.

Within the instrument text, Part 2 is designated as being made for the purposes of subsection 105(1) of the Act (s6), and Part 3 for the purposes of subsection 105(4) of the Act (s8), which signals that the Determination replaces the earlier 2025 Determination with the new specification and transitional scheme. The instrument was signed and dated 15 December 2025 by the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles (instrument header).

The instrument also documents that the OSCA referred to was released on 6 December 2024 and notes where it could be accessed in 2025 (s4). That reference embeds the particular OSCA version in use for mapping occupations, which is an intrinsic part of how the Determination amends the legal occupational landscape.

No further historical amendments, incremental changes or prior versions beyond the immediate predecessor repealed in Schedule 1 are recorded within this instrument. The instrument itself will become the operative Determination from the commencement date at the start of 1 January 2026 (s2). Any future changes to the Priority List under section 105 of the Act would require a further legislative instrument made under the Act; this Determination does not include standing amendment powers or delegations to alter the listed occupations beyond what the instrument sets out.

Practitioners looking for a change log, or for prior listings, should consult archival copies of the repealed Determination (Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025) and the Department’s records. The instrument’s Schedule 1 is the explicit vehicle by which the prior instrument is removed from force and replaced by the current Determination on commencement (s5; Schedule 1).

The Determination contains no references to judicial decisions, court proceedings, or administrative law challenges within its text. It is a statutory instrument that records the Minister's specification of occupations and a transitional rule; the instrument does not annex or cite any litigation or appeals. The document itself therefore has no litigation history recorded in its own provisions.

Because the Determination is made under section 105 of the Act (s3), any legal disputes, challenges or administrative review that might arise from its operation would be procedural outcomes of actions taken under the Act using the Priority List specified in this instrument. The instrument does not identify any previous cases, nor does it cite authorities or precedents. It also does not record any judicially determined contests over the content of the Priority List. The only cross-reference to other instruments is to the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023, including a note pointing to section 29 of those Rules for transitional arrangements (s9 Note). No litigation or judicial construction of those Rules or the Act is mentioned.

Practitioners seeking to assess litigation risk or precedent must therefore look beyond the Determination to the Act, the Rules 2023, administrative decisions, and any case law that interprets the Act or the Rules. The Determination itself is an instrument that will be applied administratively; its content is a factual specification (a table of occupations and OSCA codes) and a transitional deeming rule. Any potential legal challenges would likely engage administrative law principles or statutory interpretation of the Act and the Rules, but the instrument contains no historical litigation record to cite.

In short, there is no litigation history embedded in or referenced by this Determination. If litigation were to follow from its application, that litigation would have to be traced in court and tribunal records outside the instrument, and would turn on the interplay between the Act, the Rules 2023 and the specific administrative decisions that apply the Priority List.

Several points in the Determination present practical traps or pitfalls for practitioners, employers and apprentices. First, the Determination identifies occupations by both name and OSCA code (s4 and s7). Effective compliance requires exact matching to the OSCA codes supplied. Relying on the occupational name alone may introduce errors if administrative systems or training records use different titles or older classification systems. The OSCA version referenced is the 2024 release dated 6 December 2024, and the Determination records that OSCA as the classification standard (s4). Users must ensure that their occupational coding aligns with that OSCA release, otherwise they risk misclassifying an apprenticeship for the statutory purposes of the Act.

Second, the instrument repeals the earlier 2025 Determination in whole (Schedule 1, item 1). Occupations that were previously specified in the repealed instrument might not appear in the new list. Where an apprenticeship changes status because its occupation is no longer specified, eligibility or administrative consequences under the Act could follow unless transitional protection applies (Schedule 1; s9). Practitioners should therefore check whether an occupation that was relied on under the prior Determination continues to appear in section 7.

Third, transitional protection under section 9 is narrowly drafted and requires satisfying specific conditions sourced from the Rules 2023 (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii)). The three conditions are that immediately before commencement the person was undertaking an apprenticeship at a qualification level prescribed by the Rules 2023, leading to an occupation or qualification specified in the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans (Australian Apprenticeships Priority List) Determination 2025, and which met any other requirements prescribed by the Rules 2023 (s9(1)). If an apprentice does not meet each of these prerequisites, the deeming in s9(2) will not apply and they may lose any statutory treatment that flowed from their apprenticeship being on the Priority List under earlier instruments. Practitioners must therefore obtain documentary evidence that the apprenticeship satisfied the Rules 2023 criteria immediately before commencement.

Fourth, the Determination itself does not set out how the listing interacts with loan eligibility, amounts, repayment or other administrative rules. Those matters are the province of the Act and the Rules 2023 (s3; s4 Note). A common pitfall is treating inclusion on the Priority List as a self-contained entitlement. The Determination merely specifies occupations for the statutory mechanism; it does not itself contain the financial or administrative terms of Australian Apprenticeship support loans.

Fifth, the instrument’s commencement date is fixed at the start of 1 January 2026 (s2). Any actions, submissions or enrolments that rely on the prior Determination must account for the date of change. Where apprenticeships begin close to the commencement date, careful attention is required to determine whether an individual qualifies for the transitional deeming in s9, which depends on the state of the apprenticeship “immediately before the commencement” (s9(1)).

Sixth, the Determination references the Rules 2023 and the Act for definitions and qualification levels (s4 Note; s9). Practitioners should be wary of assuming the Rules or the Act use identical terminology or qualification level designations. The transitional deeming depends on matching the Rules’ qualification levels and any other prescribed requirements exactly as at the relevant times. Failure to verify these details against the Rules could lead to incorrect advice or lost protection for apprentices.

Finally, Schedule mechanics under section 5 indicate that instruments specified in Schedules are to be amended or repealed as set out (s5). Users should not assume the Schedule is exhaustive of all related changes. Cross-checking departmental guidance and archived instruments is necessary to identify any ancillary instruments, guidance or administrative policy that might have been altered concurrently with this Determination.

To comply with the legal effect of this Determination, practitioners and affected parties should take the following concrete steps grounded in the instrument’s text.

1. Confirm commencement timing and retrospective coverage. The Determination commences at the start of 1 January 2026 (s2). For apprentices who were undertaking an apprenticeship immediately before that commencement, determine whether transitional protection under s9 applies by checking the apprenticeship status as at immediately before commencement (s9(1)).

2. Match occupations to the table using OSCA codes. The instrument specifies occupations together with OSCA code numbers in section 7, and defines OSCA as the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia released 6 December 2024 (s4 and s7). Compliance requires that administrators, employers and training providers ensure that the occupational classification used in records and applications corresponds to the OSCA code in the Determination.

3. For pre-commencement apprentices, verify Rules 2023 criteria. Section 9 conditions the transitional deeming on meeting three specific requirements that are prescribed by the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023: the qualification level, the fact that the apprenticeship led to an occupation or qualification specified in the 2025 Determination, and any other prescribed requirements (s9(1)(a)(i)-(iii) and s9(1)(b)). Compile documentary evidence demonstrating compliance with each of those three requirements as at immediately before commencement to rely on the deeming in s9(2).

4. Update administrative and training records to reflect the new list. Schedule 1 repeals the prior Determination in whole (Schedule 1, item 1), and section 5 directs that instruments in Schedules are amended or repealed according to the items (s5; Schedule 1). Administrators should update databases, enrolment forms and reporting templates to reflect the occupations and OSCA codes in section 7 effective from the commencement date.

5. Cross-reference the Act and the Rules 2023 for entitlement and process. The Determination is made under section 105 of the Act (s3) and relies on definitions and qualification-level rules contained in the Act and Rules (s4 Note). For any advice on financial eligibility, loan application process, repayment terms, or sanction and enforcement regimes, consult the Act and the Rules 2023 in conjunction with this Determination.

6. Ensure exactness in occupational mapping. Because the Determination enumerates occupations with OSCA codes, avoid informal or approximate mapping of job titles. Where an apprenticeship’s title differs from the table wording, use the OSCA code to determine whether the occupation is listed (s4 and s7).

7. Preserve evidence of apprenticeship status at the critical date. The transitional protection uses the phrase “immediately before the commencement of this section” (s9(1)). Preserve signed training contracts, enrolment records, qualification-level designations, and any correspondence or registrations that establish the apprenticeship’s status at that specific time.

8. Review prior determinations and related legislative instruments. Schedule 1 repeals the prior Determination (Schedule 1, item 1). Practitioners should verify whether occupations of interest were included in the repealed instrument and whether any apprentices previously relying on that specification meet s9 conditions to preserve their status (s5; Schedule 1; s9).

9. Coordinate with departmental guidance. The Determination sets classification and transitional mechanics but not administrative procedures. Expect departmental guidance or forms to operationalise the list in processes under the Act; align internal compliance procedures to any such guidance while retaining documentary proof that matches the statutory terms of this Determination.

10. Seek clarity when occupation titles appear ambiguous. If an occupation used in training contracts cannot be matched clearly to an item in section 7, consult the OSCA classification used and, if necessary, seek a formal determination or guidance from the administering agency to avoid misapplication.

Following these steps will align record-keeping and decision-making with the Determination’s requirements: use the OSCA codes in s7, respect the commencement date in s2, apply the transitional deeming in s9 only where the Rules 2023 conditions are met, and treat the prior Determination as repealed per Schedule 1 (s2; s4; s7; s9; Schedule 1).