The South Australian Government has announced that it will form a new apprentice and trainee safety committee in 2024, as part of its commitment to prioritise apprenticeship safety. The new Apprentice and Trainee Training and Safety Committee will be chaired by SA Skills Commissioner Cameron Baker, and will comprise organisations that have responsibilities for oversight of apprentice and trainee training, safety and wellbeing, including SafeWork SA.

The new Apprentice and Trainee Training and Safety Committee will begin work in March to ensure additional on-job training and safe workplace initiatives for the state’s apprentices and trainees. It will also include representatives of those who will be impacted by the work — providing an avenue for direct guidance from apprentices and trainees, with the Apprentice of the Year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year and Trainee of the Year all on the committee.

The South Australian Government previously took action in 2023 to improve apprenticeship education and safety. This was achieved by conducting proactive outreach to over 1700 employers to educate them on their responsibilities in relation to their apprentices and trainees. The state government also investigated 36 employers for non-compliance with their obligations and imposed 18 sanctions upon non-compliant employers.

The main types of non-compliance investigated in 2023 include failures to provide adequate and/or appropriate supervision (this would include issues associated with bullying and harassment); failures to release apprentices for training or to adequately progress them in their training (including not letting them attend off-job training); and failure to provide the full scope of work to enable apprentices to achieve competency across all aspects of the trade or vocation.

The most common regulatory response is applying conditions to an employer’s registration. Common conditions include requirements for the employer to provide evidence of appropriate supervision or training, to limit employers from taking on new apprentices or hosting apprentices without a risk assessment by the Department first, and ensuring the apprentice understands their rights and obligations and where to seek assistance if required.

Further sanctions include prohibiting an employer from employing apprentices and cancelling their registration, suspending an employer’s registration and issuing compliance notices requiring employers to take specific actions to correct non-compliances. SA Skills Commissioner Cameron Baker said the South Australian Skills Commission is committed to supporting safe workplace initiatives.

“Helping apprentices navigate workplaces for the first time and ensuring they are provided with the on-job training they signed up for, and their safety, both physical and psychological, are key priorities for me and the team at the Skills Commission. The formation of the Apprentice and Trainee Training and Safety Committee is an important step in protecting some of the state’s most vulnerable workers,” Baker said.

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