We're taking job creation seriously, and the results speak for themselves. We created the most jobs in our first two years of any government in the last 50 years. And we've delivered the fastest wage growth in a decade.
From 30 June 2023, about 250,000 aged care workers received an historic 15% increase to award wages.
And from 1 July 2024, 2.9 million minimum wage workers and workers on awards are getting a pay rise of 3.75%.
From 1 December 2024, workers in early childhood education and care will be getting a 10% pay rise, and a further 5% the year after.
These wage increases have helped to reduce the gender pay gap, which is now at an historic low.
Check your pay rate and find out what changes apply to your pay this financial year.
And we're reviving our ability to make world-class products and, in the process, create secure well-paid jobs for Australians. The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund will support projects that create secure well-paid jobs, drive regional development, and boost our national manufacturing capability, broadening and diversifying Australia's economy.
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We're partnering with states and territories to deliver 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE and vocational education and training (VET) places across Australia to 2026.
- the initial 180,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places made available from January 2023, and
- 300,000 TAFE and VET places that were made fee-free from January 2024.
We've also committed to work with states and territories to deliver a further 20,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places in construction.
And we're upgrading TAFEs so students have access to the latest facilities that'll help them learn best. Find out more about which TAFE courses are fee-free and enrol now.
Eligible clean energy apprentices can now receive financial support of up to $10,000 through the New Energy Apprenticeships Program. You can learn how to install solar panels, work on large-scale renewable projects and more. Find out more about how to apply for assistance through the New Energy Apprenticeships Program.
We're also extending support for apprentices and employers in priority industries through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System. From 1 July, apprentices training in priority areas will be eligible for an additional $2,000 ($5,000 total) to help them complete their training. Employers taking on apprentices in priority areas will also be eligible for an additional $1,000 ($5,000 total) to help subsidise costs associated with employing an apprentice.
We've also made significant reforms in response to the Australian Universities Accord – the biggest and broadest review of the higher education sector in 15 years.
We're setting a national target of 80% of the workforce having a tertiary qualification by 2050, we're making the HELP system fairer by changing the way indexation is calculated, we're strengthening pathways into higher education through Fee-Free Uni Ready courses, and we're making structural reforms to our tertiary education system.
We're helping more people in the regions go to university with 20 additional Regional University Study Hubs and setting up 14 new study hubs in the outer suburbs, where more people are missing out on university. It's an investment in our greatest resource: our people.
And to make sure we're providing training in the areas employers need now and, in the future, we've set up Jobs and Skills Australia.
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