Subsidised Traineeships South Australia
Government subsidised training in early childhood education and care
KKTC Education is a contracted Skills SA training provider. Under our funding contract we deliver government subsidised training for South Australian trainees in:
- CHC30125 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
- CHC50125 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
If you work in a South Australian early childhood service and your employer signs you up to a traineeship, the South Australian Government pays a subsidy directly to KKTC and you pay only a student contribution fee. School-based traineeships are also available — see below for details.
What is a South Australian traineeship?
A traineeship combines paid work in an early childhood service with formal training towards a nationally recognised qualification. You’re employed by an early childhood service and paid award wages, and you study with KKTC at the same time as part of your job.
Your traineeship is governed by a Training Contract that’s signed by you and your employer and lodged through an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP). Once the Training Contract is approved by the South Australian Skills Commission, KKTC is nominated as your Nominated Training Organisation (NTO) and develops your Training Plan with you and your employer.
Your employment must be full-time or part-time. Traineeships cannot be undertaken on a casual basis. Part-time trainees must work a minimum of 15 hours per week, which may be averaged over a four-week cycle.
School-based traineeships (SBATs)
If you’re still at school, you can start your training in early childhood education and care while completing your SACE through a school-based traineeship.
To start a school-based traineeship with KKTC, you need to:
- Be in Year 10 or above at a South Australian school
- Be employed as a trainee under an approved Training Contract
- Have your parent or guardian’s consent if you’re under 18
- Have an early childhood service willing to employ you as a school-based trainee
As a school-based trainee, your combined hours of employment and training may be averaged over three-month intervals, and your Training Plan records the pattern of employment and training through to the end of each calendar year. The averaging of hours should not interfere with your school work.
Part-time school-based trainees must work a minimum of 7.5 hours per week.
If you commence your traineeship while at school, or you’re under 18, you are entitled to direct supervision at work unless a risk assessment determines otherwise.
When you finish school, you and your employer apply to the Commission to convert your Training Contract to full-time or part-time so your traineeship continues.
Are you eligible for subsidised training?
To enrol in subsidised training with KKTC, you need to:
- Be employed by a registered employer under an approved Training Contract for CHC30125 or CHC50125, lodged through an ACAP and approved by the South Australian Skills Commission
- Live or work in South Australia
- Be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, New Zealand citizen, hold a State sponsored visa on a pathway to permanent residency, or hold an eligible humanitarian temporary visa
- Be 16 years or older and no longer at school — or, if you are still at school, be in Year 10 or above and employed as a trainee under an approved Training Contract
- Hold a current Working with Children Check
- Hold, or be applying for, a Unique Student Identifier (USI)
Your previous qualifications do not affect your eligibility
Under the current South Australian funding arrangements, eligible participants can access subsidised training regardless of the qualifications and training they have already completed. If you have studied before, that does not rule you out.
Eligibility rules are set by the South Australian Government and can change. KKTC will confirm your eligibility with you in writing before you enrol. For the current rules, see skills.sa.gov.au
What you'll pay
Student contribution fees are set by the South Australian Government. KKTC cannot vary them. As a trainee, you pay only the student contribution fee shown below.
Qualification | Nominal hours | Rate | Total student contribution |
CHC30125 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care | 1,198 | $0.50 per nominal hour | $599.00 |
CHC50125 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care | 1,388 | $0.50 per nominal hour | $694.00 |
There are no hidden costs beyond your student contribution fee. Your fee covers all training, assessment, learning resources, and issuing your qualification or statement of attainment. It does not cover your Working with Children Check, personal items, or travel costs. Any optional resources will be disclosed before you pay anything.
Your employer may pay this fee
Some providers, in South Australia may pay or contribute to this fee on your behalf. Consider discussing this with your employer before enrolling.
You may pay less, or nothing at all
| Your situation | What you pay |
| You hold a current Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Concession Card when your training starts | A concession applies, reducing your student contribution fee. Give us a copy of your card before you begin so we can apply it. Your card must still be valid on the day your training starts. |
| You are 16 or over and are, or have been, under a Guardianship order of a Government Minister in Australia | You may access this training fee-free. An application for exemption is required — call us on 1300 048 133 and we will help you apply. |
If you are not sure whether you hold an eligible card, call us on 1300 048 133 and we will check with you. If paying the student contribution fee would cause you financial hardship, talk to us before you enrol and we will discuss the options available to you.
Credit and Recognition of Prior Learning reduce your fee
You must not be required to repeat any unit you have already been assessed as competent in, unless a licensing or regulatory condition requires it.
Credit Transfer applies where you have already completed a matching unit with another provider. Provide your transcript or USI record and we will apply credit.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assesses skills and knowledge you have gained through work or life experience against the units in your qualification. As your Nominated Training Organisation, we will offer you an RPL assessment.
Both are negotiated between you, your employer and KKTC when your Training Plan is developed. Credit and RPL reduce the units you need to complete, which reduces your nominal hours and your fee, and may reduce the term of your Training Contract.
If you have partly completed the same qualification under a previous Training Contract, request credit when you sign your new Training Contract — credit is granted automatically in that situation.
We will confirm your final unit list and your exact fee in writing before you enrol.
How to start your traineeship
Here are the steps from getting a job in childcare to starting your subsidised training with KKTC:
- Find an employer. Get a job at a South Australian early childhood service that’s willing to take on a trainee, or talk to your current employer about converting your role to a traineeship. Your employer needs to be registered with the South Australian Skills Commission.
- Contact an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP). The ACAP handles the Training Contract paperwork. You can nominate KKTC as your Nominated Training Organisation. KKTC can organise this for you, speak to us for further details.
- Sign your Training Contract. The ACAP lodges it with the South Australian Skills Commission for approval. KKTC has 30 days to accept nomination as your NTO.
- Complete your Upfront Assessment of Need with KKTC. This is required for everyone accessing subsidised training in South Australia. It confirms the course is the right fit for you at the right time, and identifies any language, literacy, numeracy or digital skills support you may need so we can put it in place before you start. It is not a test you can fail. If we find we cannot provide the support you need, we will not simply turn you away — we will refer you to the Department for help finding a training provider who can.
- Complete your enrolment with KKTC. You provide proof of identity, proof of address, proof of citizenship or visa, your Working with Children Check, your USI, and transcripts for any Credit Transfer. You also sign the Participant Agreement, which is your consent to the South Australian Government collecting and using your information.
- Develop your Training Plan. Within 28 days of accepting nomination, KKTC prepares your Training Plan with you and your employer. It sets out your units, delivery mode, assessment, any credit or RPL, and the responsibilities of all three parties. All three must agree before it is endorsed.
- Start training. You train at your workplace and through KKTC’s delivery, with a KKTC trainer assigned to you. We review your Training Plan with you every six months.
- Complete. When you are assessed as competent and have finished the qualification, an Application to Complete is submitted to the Commission. You will receive a completion notice.
KKTC will give you a written schedule of fees and charges, and the KKTC Student Handbook with all the relevant policies, before you commence.
If you are starting a school-based traineeship, the same sequence applies, with two additions: your school needs to know how you’ll balance training with your timetable, and your parent or guardian must consent if you’re under 18.
Reasonable adjustments and student support
KKTC supports all students to succeed and applies a generalised approach to support — you don’t need to disclose a specific status to access help. Where you do have specific needs, we’ll work with you on what’s possible.
Available support includes:
- Language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills support, identified through your Upfront Assessment of Need
- Reasonable adjustments to training and assessment for students with disability, in line with the Disability Standards for Education 2005
- Cultural support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Support for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including interpreter access on request
- Help with workplace and Training Plan adjustments where needed
- Mentoring and assistance balancing training with work and family
KKTC welcomes students from any background. We pay particular attention to the needs of:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- People with disability and their dependants
- People who are or have been long-term unemployed
- Students living outside metropolitan areas, including regional and remote South Australia
- Students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Young people who are or have been in out-of-home care
- Students experiencing or affected by domestic and family violence
- Disengaged youth re-entering training
If you’d like to discuss your support needs before enrolling, contact us on 1300 048 133.
Your supervision at work
Your employer is responsible for supervising your on-job training. Supervision must be by someone skilled or qualified in the competencies in your Training Plan.
If you are under 18, or you started your traineeship while at school, you are entitled to direct supervision unless a risk assessment determines otherwise.
If you are placed with a host employer, your registered employer must provide you with documented pastoral and monitoring support at least every eight weeks, and must give you a confidential way to raise concerns.
If you are not receiving appropriate supervision or support, contact us on 1300 048 133 or the South Australian Skills Commission on 1800 673 097.
Working with Children Check
You’ll need a current Working with Children Check to work as a trainee in a South Australian early childhood service. Your employer cannot place you in child-related work, and KKTC cannot assess workplace tasks, until you hold a valid check.
Apply through the South Australian Government screening unit at screening.sa.gov.au
Taking a break, withdrawing, or changing employer
Things change. Here’s what happens if you can’t continue as planned:
- Taking leave. You can apply to take leave from your enrolment for up to six months. Your enrolment stays open while you’re on leave and you pick up where you left off when you return. This is often the better option if your Training Contract is suspended, if you’re unwell or injured, or if something changes at home or at work. Talk to us about leave before you decide to withdraw.
- Changing employer. If you change employer mid-traineeship, KKTC will support the transition. Your Training Contract can be transferred to a substitute employer through an application to the Commission, and KKTC will continue your training where you left off.
- Suspension or termination of your Training Contract. Your Training Contract is the governing document. Only the South Australian Skills Commission or the South Australian Employment Tribunal can suspend or terminate it after your probationary period. Talk to your employer and contact us as soon as this happens so we can advise you what it means for your enrolment and your fees.
- Withdrawing. If you decide to withdraw, you must tell us. Don’t simply stop attending — we’re required to close your enrolment record within 20 business days of you withdrawing, and we can’t do that if we don’t know. We will issue you a Statement of Attainment for every unit you have completed.
- Refunds. Any refund of your student contribution fee is calculated on the training delivered to that point. Full details are in the KKTC Fees and Refunds Policy.
Full details are in your enrolment pack, the KKTC Fees and Refunds Policy, and the KKTC Student Handbook.
Consumer protection and complaints
You have rights as a subsidised student. If you have a question, concern, or complaint:
Step 1. Contact KKTC
- Phone: 1300 048 133
- Email: info@kktc.com.au
Step 2. If we can’t resolve it, contact the South Australian Skills Commission
The Commission provides free, confidential and impartial complaint handling, mediation and advocacy for apprentices and trainees, employers and training providers.
- Phone: 1800 673 097
- Email: education.skills@sa.gov.au
- Web: skills.sa.gov.au
Step 3. External avenues
You may also contact:
- Consumer and Business Services South Australia — 131 882, especially for refund disputes
- Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) — for training quality matters
- National Training Complaints Hotline — 1800 000 674
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) — for privacy matters
- Australian Human Rights Commission — for discrimination matters
- Fair Work Ombudsman — 13 13 94, for workplace and traineeship pay disputes
KKTC’s full Complaints and Appeals Policy is available on our website.
Useful links
- Skills SA — official site: skills.sa.gov.au
- South Australian Skills Commission: skillscommission.sa.gov.au
- ATLAS — view and manage your Training Contract online: atlas.skills.sa.gov.au
- Apprentice Connect Australia Providers — find your nearest ACAP: australianapprenticeships.gov.au/search-aasn
- South Australian Working with Children Check: screening.sa.gov.au
- Unique Student Identifier (USI): usi.gov.au
We recognise the Ongoing Custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and learn. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines, and stories. KKTC is committed to supporting every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner to achieve their potential through education.
This training is subsidised by the Government of South Australia.
CHC30125 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and CHC50125 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care are nationally recognised qualifications delivered and issued by KKTC Education Pty Ltd, RTO 40636.
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