Resources for Employers

Planning your workforce can help you avoid the negative impacts of having too many or not enough staff available, or not having the right person for a role. Find out what you can do to best prepare for the future with this Queensland Government guide to workforce planning.

Watch Jobs Queensland's Workforce Planning Connect webinar to learn about the benefits of workforce planning for your business and the tools and resources available to help you plan your workforce.

The Queensland Government Industry Workforce Advisor program aims to provide workforce planning assistance to employers in small and medium sized businesses, enabling them to address workforce challenges, diversify their workforces, and support workforce growth. 

This collection of micro-credentials provides participants with information on effective workplace leadership, workplace resilience and wellbeing, recruitment for small businesses and becoming an employer of choice. This range of courses includes communicating effectively with people with disability, cultural responsiveness and inclusiveness, and flexible working arrangements. This collection includes strategies to futureproof your workforce, support mature and young people, and regional skill shortage support.

The Harrison tool for employee retention is an employee questionnaire that delivers individualised reports to give an employer insight into, for example:

• what motivates an employee
• the employee’s strengths
• how the employer can work with the employee to develop a successful and productive long-term working relationship.

Using the tool, employers can:

• engage and build a strong working relationship with their employee by starting meaningful conversations
• manage and understand their employee’s strengths to provide effective leadership
• develop their employee’s skillset, potentially securing a valued asset for their business
• retain the employee, reducing employee turnover and the need for additional recruitment.

Before hiring a new employee, you should make sure you know your rights and responsibilities. Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website for information on:

• Know the law
• Getting pay right
• Job ads
• Hours of work
• Right to disconnect
• Pay slips and record-keeping
• Get it right from the start
• Hiring an apprentice or trainee
• Employees with disability
• Tools and resources
• Related information.

Visit the Australian Tax Office website for information on tour tax and super obligations when hiring and paying workers and when you stop employing one or all of your workers.

Small Business Peak is a website designed to help your small business understand and implement new workplace legislation. The program is designed to improve the experience for small businesses seeking to learn about, understand and implement the new workplace requirements.

Wage subsidies of up to $10,000 may be available to businesses that hire eligible people into ongoing jobs. This can help with some of the initial costs of bringing on a new staff member and help ensure the success of their employment.

Inclusive Employment Australia providers help people with disability, an injury or a health condition prepare for, find and keep a job, and grow their career.

If you need advice and support to hire a person with a disability, an Inclusive Employment Australia provider is a great place to start.

Parent Pathways is a voluntary service that provides personalised and financial support to eligible parents and carers of young children. Parent Pathways providers can help connect you to people motivated to work.

Expand your candidate pool with the help of the WorkFoundations program.

WorkFoundations provides funding for social enterprises and businesses to deliver paid employment placements for up to 6 months.

These businesses are helping participants to:

• develop their workplace skills, confidence and job readiness
• prepare for work while addressing any obstacles
• secure an ongoing role, either with themselves or with another employer

You may also be eligible for post-placement support and financial incentives.

The Real Jobs, Real Wages program offers financial incentives and wage subsidies for employers to hire an eligible job seeker — someone who has been supported by Workforce Australia for over two years and is keen to secure a permanent job. To be eligible for the program, your business must have an ongoing vacancy. This can include an apprenticeship or traineeship.

If you give an Australian apprentice a job, you may be able to get financial assistance to help you hire, train and keep them.

If you need support to hire workers in a remote area, a Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES) provider can help. 

RAES providers understand the local labour market and the needs of businesses.

They can:

• connect you with people who are ready to work or looking for work experience
• arrange training, licences, equipment and clothing that participants may need to work for you
• provide ongoing support.

There’s no cost to your business to access these services.

Are you interested in hiring a veteran? Check out employer information for the Veteran Employment Program. 

There are more than 200 different roles across the ADF.  These give veterans an extensive range of skills, abilities and attributes that make them excellent civilian employees.

The skills veterans can bring to your organisation include:

• Risk management
• Adaptable and critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Communication
• Planning and evaluation
• Team work
• Leadership.

Veterans are also known for their integrity, loyalty, self-discipline, perseverance and a dedicated work ethic.

The Australian Apprenticeships website has everything you need to employ an apprentice in one place.

Understand the different ways you can find and hire an apprentice and how to make sure they’re the right fit for your business.

If you want to become an apprentice or hire one, Apprentice Connect Australia Providers are the first point of contact to get started. They connect apprentices and trainees with employers, and support you throughout your apprenticeship. If you're already an apprentice and don't know who your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider is, call the Skilling Australia hotline on 1800 020 108.

Use the Australian Government's Apprenticeship Preparation Checklist to make sure you're prepared to start an Australian Apprenticeship or employ an Australian Apprentice.

If you give an Australian apprentice a job, you may be able to get financial assistance to help you hire, train and keep them.

From the 1 July 2025, the Australian Government is providing extra support for apprentices and their employers to help with cost-of-living pressures and to strengthen Australia’s skilled workforce.

The Key Apprenticeship Program (KAP) is designed to encourage the growth of the workforce and expanding the pipeline of workers training towards critical occupations supporting priority sectors. From 1 July 2025, KAP will be available to commencing or recommencing Australian Apprentices.

Udner the Queensland Government's new Small Business Apprenticeship Pilot Program, small and family businesses can register to be reimbursed for construction industry apprentice wages during training, based on an average training period of 8 weeks each year and up to a total of 32 weeks.

Eligible small and family businesses can receive a wage subsidy during training periods, equivalent to 50% of the typical wage for first and second year construction apprentices and 25% in the third and fourth years.

Registrations for the wage subsidy will be open until the first 2,000 eligible apprentices are registered.

The Australian Government's Department of Home Affairs website has comprehensive information on nominating an overseas worker for a role, and different types of visas and sponsorship. 

The Department of Home Affairs has dedicated Business, Industry and Regional Outreach (BIRO) officers to provide information on migration to:

• business
• industry, including professional and industry associations and unions
• government agencies at all levels
• regional Australia stakeholders.

Employ an international student studying on the Gold Coast by posting a job on the Gold Coast Student Jobs website.