Payroll incentive to create thousands of jobs for young people, trainees and apprentices

20 May 2017

Peter Gutwein, Treasurer

Creating jobs is the Hodgman Government’s top priority.  Since we were elected 6,400 jobs have been created and the unemployment rate is now the second lowest of any state in the country.

But there is still more to do and that’s why this week’s budget will contain a package of measures to help young people get a job.

In Tasmania, around 2,500 businesses pay payroll tax and employ around half of all Tasmanians.

From 1 July this year, if a business that pays payroll tax employs a new apprentice or trainee, payroll tax relief will be available on that new position for two years.  And if a business employs a young Tasmanian aged between 15 and 24 who isn’t a trainee or an apprentice, the employer will be eligible for payroll tax relief for up to 12 months as well.

This is a great incentive for Tasmanian businesses to hire new apprentices, trainees and young people in general.  We expect that it will support around 6,500 jobs.

The Hodgman Government is working with businesses to create jobs and we are determined to make sure that young Tasmanians have every opportunity to get a job and build a future for themselves here.

We need to leverage the economic recovery that we are seeing to benefit more Tasmanians and especially young Tasmanians.  We need to capitalise on the fact that business confidence is high and the economy growing.

This policy has the potential in an already growing economy to be an absolute game changer and deliver massive benefits right around the State.

It follows an announcement earlier this week that the Hodgman Government will commit $2 million to a pilot program to support small businesses to employ apprentices and trainees, with incentive payments of up to $4,000 for each job created.  This incentive is targeted at those businesses that don’t pay payroll tax and will support around 500 jobs.

These two programs will support up to 7,000 jobs alone and are a major component of our Plan to build Tasmania’s future.