A provider, or employment services provider, is an organisation that delivers the Australian Government’s employment programs. They can help you find the right young person to meet your business needs.
The different providers that can manage your internship are:

• jobactive providers–contracted by the Department of Employment and connect people of all ages looking for employment with employers. There are jobactive providers in over 1700 locations across Australia.
• Transition to Work providers–contracted by the Department of Employment to support young people aged 15–21 who are early school leavers or who have had difficulty entering employment after school.
• Disability Employment Service providers–contracted by the Department of Social Services to help people with disability enter and stay in employment.

To be eligible to host an internship, your business must have a reasonable prospect of employment for the intern following the internship.
This means you either have a vacancy that needs filling, you will likely have a vacancy following
the internship, or you have a regular pattern of recruitment. Your business cannot displace existing workers or reduce an employee’s hours of work to make way for an intern.

You can host a young person as an intern in your business by taking part in a PaTH internship placement. Internships are supervised work experience placements. Hosting an intern is an opportunity to find out if they are a good fit for your team and suitable for ongoing employment.
Internships run for between 4 and 12 weeks and must offer 30 to 50 hours of work experience per fortnight. This can include weekend or shift work (excluding public holidays) if that’s a normal part of your business.

Interns are unpaid by your business and their insurance is paid for by the Australian Government. Employers who take part will receive a payment of $1000 (GST inclusive) to help cover the costs of hosting an intern.
The intern receives a fortnightly incentive paid by the Australian Government, on top of their income support payment.
If you decide to employ your intern, or another young job seeker, you may be eligible for a wage subsidy of up to $6500 or $10,000 (GST inclusive).

The Australian Government purchases personal accident insurance and combined public and/or product liability insurance that covers the intern while in your business. The provider will explain the details of the insurance coverage with you before the start of the internship.

The type of activities of an internship would be what your business would usually carry out as part of normal processes. If you need an intern with particular skills, training or certification, your local provider can help you find someone suitable.

The internship can be undertaken for between 30 and 50 hours per fortnight. Interns can attend the business for a maximum of eight hours per day. The intern should be offered appropriate breaks which includes at a minimum, one 30 minute break every five hours. The internship cannot be undertaken on a public holiday.

Your business must have a reasonable prospect of a job for each intern and provide the intern with an appropriate supervisor. The number of interns a business could take on would depend on the number of potential vacancies available. Talk to a provider about your requirements.

Your business must have a reasonable prospect of employment to host an internship. This means you have a current vacancy, will likely have a vacancy following the internship or you have a regular pattern of recruitment for a position that is aligned with the participant’s interests, experience and qualifications. At the end of the internship, you can decide if the intern is the right fit for employment with your business.
Employers who regularly offer internships but not employment will be encouraged to more fully describe their needs so a more suitable person can be matched to the business. Employers may be excluded from taking on further interns if this pattern continues.

Information on the financial incentives available to you when you employ an eligible young person can be found at: jobsearch.gov.au/employer-info/wage-subsidies
You can access a wage subsidy if:

• you have an Australian Business Number
• you have not previously received a wage subsidy for the same person
• you are not an Australian, state or territory government agency
• the position you offer is ongoing and for an average of 20 hours per week over the six months of the agreement
• the work complies with employment standards for the position (for example, is suitable work and pays the national award wage as a minimum).

Businesses who choose to take on a candidate as an apprentice may be eligible for a wage subsidy and up to an additional $4,000 through the Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program. Visit australianapprenticeships.gov.au for more information.

For more information or to get involved, employers should visit www.jobactive.gov.au/path