Building independence through DAAWS

TAFE Queensland uses DAAWS funding to build apprentice independence over time

About the DAAWS program

Disability Australian Apprentice Wage Support (DAAWS) is a Commonwealth-funded initiative under the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System. It provides funding for employers and training providers to help apprentices and trainees with disability take part in both on-the-job and off-the-job training. Alongside a weekly wage support payment to the employer, DAAWS can fund training support such as tutoring, mentoring, note-taking and Auslan interpreting for the apprentice. The funding is available where an apprentice is assessed as requiring support, and it can also be accessed where a person acquires a disability during their apprenticeship.

The practice

Mitchell is an apprentice working towards MEM31922 Certificate III in Engineering – Fabrication Trade through TAFE Queensland, employed by JJ Richards. He has been supported through DAAWS funding across his apprenticeship, which typically runs three to four years.

Some of the text-heavy units, such as Complete Geometric Development, were a real concern early on, and both the registered training organisation (RTO) and the employer recognised that the traditional way of providing training and instructions would need to be reconsidered to meet Mitchell’s language, literacy and numeracy needs. What follows is how the off-the-job support at TAFE and the on-the-job changes at the workplace came together to address that.

The DAAWS funding allowed the RTO to provide in-class support, tutoring and mentoring while Mitchell completed the off-the-job components of his training. What makes this a good-practice example is not the funding alone, but how the accessibility team chose to use it. Rather than providing a fixed level of support throughout, the team set out from the start to taper support over the life of the apprenticeship, with the deliberate goal of building Mitchell’s own self-management, awareness and ability to advocate for himself.

Our goal is always, when we have support for students provided through the DAAWS funding, that we gradually reduce that support over time for the duration of the apprenticeship. By the end of it the student has so much more confidence and understanding, and they’re aware of the relevance of the off-the-job learning and how it applies in the workplace.

– Meredith Jackson, accessibility advisor, TAFE Queensland

The accessibility team reports that this is exactly what has happened with Mitchell. Support that was heavier in the initial stages has reduced as he has progressed, because he is now managing his own learning with more independence and confidence.

A model built on relationships

A notable feature of this case is how the workplace connection is maintained. The accessibility team does not deal directly with the employer. Instead, the TAFE teacher, Justin, carries the relationship with the workplace, sharing teaching strategies and approaches with the immediate supervisor while remaining careful about privacy and disclosure. The conversation between teacher and supervisor stays focused on good practice in the trade and on what helps learning, rather than on any individual’s personal circumstances.

It’s just conversation about good teaching practices in general, what they can be doing within the job in that trade area to improve the support and the learning for the student at work.

– Meredith Jackson, accessibility advisor, TAFE Queensland

Justin’s account confirms this picture from the other direction. He describes the host employer as someone with an open line of communication who is willing to adjust delivery and provide training for the benefit of the apprentice. On campus, a disability support coach worked alongside Justin so that Mitchell could be supported to understand tasks, which in turn freed him to assist other students in the classroom.

Adjustments that became universal practice

One of the strongest threads in this case is how an adjustment made for one learner became better practice for everyone. Mitchell’s teacher, Justin, who is completing a master’s through the University of Tasmania, began connecting what he was learning about teaching to what he was doing in the classroom. Adjustments introduced with Mitchell in mind – such as offering more than one way to explain a concept, providing visual prompts and checklists, integrating note-taking that suits the learner, and using AI tools to support clarity in written tasks – were found to benefit the whole class.

The teacher has come back and made adjustments within the classroom that have also been more universal, in that they’re supporting everyone within the classroom. They are valuing and learning more about the power of universal design – it’s about making changes and improving everything for everyone.

– Meredith Jackson, accessibility advisor, TAFE Queensland

The same pattern played out in the workplace. JJ Richards rethought how training and instructions were delivered, replacing text-heavy manuals and rapid verbal instructions with more detailed, photo-heavy procedures. They also installed “smart” doorbells (featuring cameras and microphones) on the workshop floor as a direct communication line to section leaders and supervisors, so an apprentice can get an answer to a question straight away rather than having to guess. The change was introduced to support Mitchell, but it turned out to benefit the whole workshop.

Rolling out the doorbells across the entire workshop ended up being a massive saving in productivity.

– Employer, JJ Richards

This is the workplace mirror of what happened in the classroom: an adjustment made with one apprentice in mind became a better way of working for everyone.

What changed for Mitchell

The clearest sign that the tapering-support approach worked is in how Mitchell and his employer describe the change. Mitchell talks about growing confidence, both in doing the work and in asking for help when he needs it.

More confident doing a job … more confident to ask for help.

– Mitchell, apprentice

Mitchell also found the on-campus disability support coach helpful precisely because tasks were explained in a different way, and he valued teachers who took extra time to help him understand. Opportunities to interact with other students during learning activities provided an opportunity to build peer learning and engagement and the same happened in the workplace.

During my time with Mitchell through JJ Richards, a peer from work at the same stage of their apprenticeship helped with aiding Mitchell in comprehension of written tasks.

– Justin, TAFE teacher, TAFE Queensland

The employer’s account points in the same direction, describing a noticeable shift over the apprenticeship.

We’ve seen a great shift in Mitch. He is now much more confident to back himself, take on new tasks and contribute his ideas to the team. He has demonstrated excellent self-management skills and consistently maintains his productivity when working unsupervised.

– Employer, JJ Richards

That growth in independence and self-management is exactly the outcome the accessibility team set out to achieve when they designed the support to taper over time.

Enablers and challenges

What enabled the practice to work

• DAAWS funding made it possible to provide one-on-one in-class support, tutoring and mentoring during the off-the-job training, which gave the team room to focus on building independence rather than simply propping up the learner.
• A clear philosophy of tapering support, set from the outset, meant support was reviewed and reduced as the learner grew in confidence, rather than continuing at a fixed level by default.
• Strong teacher–employer relationships carried good practice into the workplace without requiring the accessibility team to be directly involved with the employer.
• A teacher actively engaged in professional learning, connecting master’s-level study to classroom practice, which accelerated the shift towards Universal Design approaches.
• A disability support coach collaborated with the teacher in class, which supported the learner while freeing the teacher’s time for the rest of the group.
• Learning support for numeracy, literacy and digital literacy provided through the RTO’s own Learning Support team, sitting outside DAAWS, enabled core-skills development to be available to all students.
• Support was designed in from the start. TAFE Queensland SkillsTech raises support needs in conversations with students from pre-enrolment and apprenticeship sign-up, covering disability as well as literacy, numeracy and digital literacy, rather than waiting for students to struggle.
• Need was identified proactively. All students are invited on enrolment to complete a core-skills indicator Skills Check, with results shared with teachers. Students referred to the Learning Support team when extra help would be useful. Student and unit progress reports are used to flag learners who may be at risk, including through engagement and assessment data.
• Targeted tutorials are offered where they matter most. Learning Support teachers attend and run additional tutorials in apprenticeship blocks with high numeracy content, particularly in engineering, with Learning Support teams available on campus.
• A documented AccessAbility support procedure identifies student support needs, assesses what TAFE Queensland can provide, and delivers that support across the student’s enrolment, so good practice does not depend on any one individual.
• Disability inclusion and Universal Design for Learning are embedded in staff induction and ongoing professional development, rather than treated as a compliance checkbox.

Challenges and what would strengthen the model

The accessibility team was candid, sharing that the supports in this case worked well but that more could be done to help the wider vocational education and training (VET) sector get the same value from DAAWS. The points below are framed as opportunities for improvement.

• Awareness of DAAWS is uneven. Some learners arrive having completed earlier qualifications elsewhere without knowing the program exists, and some employment and support services are not familiar with it either. Better awareness-raising would help apprentices have the conversation about support at the point of sign-up.
• The application process can be a barrier for small businesses. In the trades, many employers are small businesses without the resources to initiate and lodge applications themselves. A model that does not rely on the employer to drive the initiation would suit traditional trade settings better.
• There is appetite for sector-wide professional development. The team sees value in coordinated professional development for RTOs, support services and employers to build shared understanding of DAAWS and how it can be used well.

Employers benefit from more contact with accessibility expertise. The team would welcome increased opportunity to talk with employers directly, while recognising that the teacher-led relationship is currently working well in this case.

Practical steps for adaptation and implementation

RTOs and employers looking to apply this practice in their own setting could consider the following steps.

1. Identify DAAWS eligibility early. Raise the possibility of DAAWS support at the point of sign-up so that apprentices with disability and their employers know what support is available from the start.
2. Plan support to taper, not to stay fixed. Decide at the outset that support will be reviewed and reduced over time as the learner builds independence, and make growing self-management and self-advocacy an explicit goal.
3. Invest in the teacher–employer relationship. Support teachers to maintain open communication with workplace supervisors, sharing general good-practice strategies while protecting the learner’s privacy.
4. Treat adjustments as a source of universal improvement. Encourage teachers to notice where an adjustment made for one learner could benefit the whole class, and to help them build those approaches into their standard practice.
5. Connect professional learning to the classroom. Support trainers to undertake professional development and to apply what they learn directly to delivery and assessment.
6. Look for workplace adjustments that lift everyone. Encourage employers to rethink text-heavy or rushed instructions, and to try practical changes such as photo-based procedures or a direct line to supervisors. As JJ Richards found, a change made for one apprentice can improve productivity across the whole workplace.
7. Keep core-skills support available to all. Provide numeracy, literacy and digital-literacy support through the RTO’s own learning support function, available to every learner, alongside the disability-specific support funded through DAAWS.

Final word from the employer

Asked what advice they would give other employers; JJ Richards put the case for inclusive practice in terms of workplace culture rather than compliance.

Give it a shot. By creating an environment where it is normal to learn differently, you aren’t just changing the trajectory of that person's career, you are creating a compassionate, skilled and resilient culture within the business.

– Employer, JJ Richards

Mapping: National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Outcome Standards for Registered Training Organisations) Instrument 2025