Building and construction training policy

The following changes to the Policy take effect from 1 July 2022:

• civil construction projects equal to or in excess of $5 million in value are now subject to the Policy
• the core requirement for civil construction projects is that 10 per cent of total labour hours is to be undertaken by apprentices and/or trainees and employees engaged in other workplace training. This will be expressed as the number of training hours required
• the role and responsibilities of parties has been clarified.

An updated compliance plan for building and construction projects and a new plan for civil construction projects has been created to provide efficiencies to the process. The updated Policy and the new compliance plan are available under the Policy Guide and Templates.

The Policy applies to:

• government-funded building and construction works, equal to or in excess of $250,000 in value;
• government-funded civil construction works, equal to or in excess of $5 million in value.

Design work and consultancies relating to the development stages of projects are not within the scope of the Policy.

For building and construction works the number of training hours is calculated using the following conversion formula:

a. Calculate the total labour dollar value of the contract, using the material:labour ratio of 70:30.
b. Calculate labour hours by dividing the total labour dollar value (a) by a notional $35 per hour conversion factor.
c. Calculate the estimated hours for a contract by multiplying labour hours (b) by 20%.

For civil construction works the number of training hours is calculated using the following conversion formula:

1. Calculate the total labour dollar value of the contract, using the material:labour ratio of 85:15
2. Calculate labour hours by dividing the total labour dollar value (a) by the notional $35 per hour conversation factor.
3. Calculated the estimated hours for a contract by multiplying labour hours (b) by 10%.

The value of the following may be deducted from the total contract value:

• company operating costs of any temporary site offices
• containers
• supervision and management fees
• health and safety/clothing fees
• professional fees for services such as approvals, architecture, legal, and specialist design services or similar.
• sub-contracts valued at less than $20 000.

Applications for variations will be assessed on a case by case basis, and must not contradict the purpose of the Policy.

Applications will only be approved where evidence can be presented that the circumstances of the project or works do not enable the contractor to meet the required number of training hours calculated under the conversion formula. For example, where there are significant differences in the labour costs and/or material c

All applications for variations should be made in writing and must be submitted to the relevant agency for approval in the first instance.

Subject to agency approval, the variation should then be sent to: compliance.construction@skills.tas.gov.au.

Contact (03) 6165 6020 for enquiries.

Compliance with the Policy will be managed in partnership between the contracting agency and the head contractor on in-scope projects.

The contracting agency is responsible for:

• managing compliance with the requirements of the Policy
• procuring, administering, and managing its eligible projects
• assessing and approving variation applications
• verifying compliance plans and reports
• facilitating head contractor compliance with the Policy
• providing relevant reporting and documentation on the project.

This includes:

• ensuring that the head contractor submits compliance plans, reports and statutory declarations
• verifying the information and calculations provided in applications for variations, and providing written confirmation of approval of variations to contractors, and
• enforcing the relevant contractual obligations where the head contractor may be in breach and/or failing to comply with the requirements of the Policy.

The head contractor is responsible for:

• complying with the requirements of the Policy in accordance with the contract
• completing any applications for variations in a timely manner with detailed explanations on the provided templates, and
• reporting compliance with the Policy to the contracting agency.

All compliance / reporting forms are found here

Enquiries: compliance.construction@skills.tas.gov.au

Other workplace training is training outside of a formal traineeship or apprenticeship to upskill new or existing employees. This training can be undertaken either onsite and/or offsite and must be directly related to the project and delivered to an existing employee where upskilling is a requirement for them to be able to perform their role on the project and to effectively deliver the project.

‘Other workplace training’ may include:

• upskilling new or existing workers through training that may not lead to full qualifications but is required to comply with the licensing, regulatory and safety requirements of the industry, for example high risk crane licensing, OHS, WHS, CPR, First Aid; and/or
• upskilling new or existing workers through nationally recognised training delivered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which may not lead to a full qualification but is required by the industry or contractor to complete the project, for example contract management and project management, business administration, engineering, automotive or mechanical