So your boss is doing your head in, or the job’s dried up, or you’ve found a better shop down the road — and now you’re panicking that leaving means starting your apprenticeship all over again. Take a breath. It doesn’t work like that.
An apprenticeship isn’t just a job. It’s a training contract registered with your state training authority, and that contract is what tracks your progress — not which boss you’re working for this month. Change employers the right way, and everything you’ve already ticked off sticks with you.
This guide covers how a training contract transfer works, who to call first, what happens to your training record, and why being employed through a Group Training Organisation (GTO) can make the whole thing a non-event. It’s general info only — your exact process depends on your state and trade, so we’ve linked the official pages at the bottom.
The short version (TL;DR)
- An apprenticeship runs on a training contract, not just a job — changing boss means formally transferring or varying that contract through your state training authority, not just handing in notice.
- Your first call is your Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) provider — a free, government-funded service whose job is to help with exactly this.
- Apprenticeships usually have a probation period near the start where things can end more simply — check your actual training contract and award rather than guessing the timeframe.
- Units and competencies already completed don’t disappear — they carry over under credit transfer / recognition of prior learning (RPL).
- If employed by a Group Training Organisation (GTO), moving to a new host employer can sometimes happen without your training contract or employment ending at all.
- Payments and incentives depend on the contract staying continuous and being transferred properly — cancelling and starting fresh can affect eligibility.
Your apprenticeship is a contract, not just a job
When you signed up as an apprentice, you and your employer entered into a formal training contract registered with your state or territory training authority — for example Training Services NSW, Apprenticeships Victoria, or the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) in Queensland. That contract is the legal record of your apprenticeship: your trade, your Registered Training Organisation (RTO), your employer, and your progress through the qualification. So you can’t just quit one job and start a new one the way you would in an ordinary role and call it done — the contract has to be formally transferred, or in some cases varied, through your state training authority.
NSW, for instance, describes a process where a transfer form is signed by the apprentice, the outgoing employer and the incoming employer, then submitted to Training Services for approval — after which “all the terms, conditions, rights and obligations” of the old employer pass to the new one. Other states run similar processes, generally requiring the new employer to show they can provide the training your trade needs. Skipping this step and just walking into a new job without transferring the contract can leave your apprenticeship in limbo administratively, even while you’re doing the work day to day.
Who to contact first
Your AASN provider — Australian Apprenticeship Support Network — is the free, government-funded service that exists to support apprentices and employers through the whole apprenticeship, including changes like this. They’re usually the first point of contact, and can help find a new employer, prepare paperwork, and liaise with your state training authority. If you’re not sure who yours is, the Australian Apprenticeships website has a provider search, plus a national inquiry line.
Your state training authority actually processes and approves the transfer or variation, since training contracts are administered at state level, not federally — Training Services NSW, Apprenticeships Victoria, DESBT in Queensland, and equivalents elsewhere. Your RTO (the TAFE or registered training provider delivering your qualification) also needs to be kept in the loop, since a new employer sometimes means updating your training plan.
Because forms, timeframes and contact points differ by state and trade, start the conversation with your AASN provider or state training authority rather than guessing the process yourself.
Probation, notice and “can I just leave?”
Apprenticeships commonly include a probation period near the start — a window where either side can end the arrangement more simply than later on. Queensland’s guidance notes probation generally applies at the start of full-time and part-time apprenticeships and traineeships, and does not apply when a contract is being transferred to a new employer partway through. Outside probation, ending or changing a training contract typically involves more formal steps and sign-off from the training authority.
You’re also an employee under an award, agreement or the National Employment Standards, with its own separate notice and termination rules. Because probation length, notice periods and what counts as “cause” vary by state, trade and industrial instrument, check the actual numbers against your training contract, your award or agreement, and the Fair Work Ombudsman, rather than relying on a generic figure.
Your training record doesn’t reset
This is the bit that stresses people out most, and it’s good news: units and competencies you’ve already been assessed as competent in don’t vanish because you change employer. This is handled through credit transfer and recognition of prior learning (RPL) — standard mechanisms in the VET system, regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), that exist so students don’t repeat training or assessment they’ve already completed.
In practice, your RTO updates your training plan for the new employer and carries forward what’s already signed off in your training record. Where a transfer happens after a gap in employment, states also generally provide credit toward time already served, so a break doesn’t mean starting from scratch either.
Group Training Organisations: a way to change host without changing contract
A Group Training Organisation (GTO) works a bit differently to a normal employer. The GTO is your actual legal employer and holds your training contract, but places you with a separate host employer — the business where you turn up and do the work — under a hosting arrangement between the GTO and that host.
Because your employment and training contract sit with the GTO rather than the host, a practical advantage is that if things aren’t working out with a particular host, or that host’s work dries up, the GTO can potentially “rehost” you to a different host employer without your underlying employment or training contract ending at all. That’s a smoother path than the standard employer-to-employer transfer, since your continuity of employment and training record is less disrupted. If you’re apprenticed through a GTO and thinking about a change, your GTO is the first place to raise it, alongside your AASN provider.
Keeping payments and incentives on track
Various Australian Apprenticeship payments and incentives, for apprentices and employers, are tied to the apprenticeship being registered, active and progressing. Continuity matters: a properly approved transfer keeps your training contract, and the record behind any linked payments, intact, whereas cancelling a contract altogether can affect eligibility. Incentive settings change over time, so rather than relying on any specific dollar figure, check eligibility with your AASN provider or the Australian Apprenticeships incentives information once you know your new employer and start date.
Frequently asked questions
Do I lose my hours and units if I change employers?
No — completed units and competencies are recorded against your training record and generally carry across via credit transfer/RPL when your contract is properly transferred. Your RTO updates your training plan rather than starting again.
Can I just start a new job without telling the training authority?
The training contract needs to be formally transferred or varied through your state training authority — informally moving jobs without updating it can leave your apprenticeship’s official status unresolved.
What if my new employer doesn’t do the same kind of work?
State training authorities generally check a new employer can provide appropriate training for your trade before approving a transfer.
Is a GTO apprenticeship better if I might need to change employer?
Being employed by a GTO means your employment and training contract sit with the GTO rather than an individual host business, which is what can allow a host-to-host move (rehosting) without ending the underlying contract — worth discussing with your GTO or AASN provider if it applies to you.
This guide is general information only — not financial or legal advice. Amounts and rules change and vary by state and trade. Always confirm with the official sources linked above before making decisions. Information correct as at July 2026.
Official sources: Find an AASN provider — Australian Apprenticeships, Australian Apprenticeship Support Network — DESBT Queensland, I have changed employers — NSW Department of Education, Alter, cancel, transfer or suspend a Training Contract — NSW Government, How Group Training Organisations can help — NSW Government, Transfer of a registered training contract — DESBT Queensland, Probation — Queensland Government, Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning (RPL) — ASQA, Apprenticeship Support — Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.