The threshold at which the Construction Training Fund levy becomes payable in Western Australia rose from $20,000 to $100,000 on 1 July 2026. The rate did not change. It remains 0.2 per cent of the estimated value of construction work, calculated to include materials, labour, services, fees, overheads, profit and GST.
It is the first movement in the threshold since 1999.
Two things follow, and they run in opposite directions. Fewer projects now attract the levy. What the same fund pays toward training the people doing the work is untouched.
Current-guidance boundary: The threshold, rate and commencement date below are confirmed against the Construction Training Fund and the State Government announcement. The scope question, whether a particular trade installation counts as construction work for levy purposes, is not settled by either source and should be put to CTF directly.
The threshold moved and the rate did not
CTF administers the levy under the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990. Construction work valued above $100,000 attracts the levy. Work valued below that figure does not.
The State Government announced the change on 27 May 2026 and presented it as a reduction in administrative load on small and medium businesses. The Minister for Skills and Training, Amber-Jade Sanderson, described the intent as keeping "more tradies on the tools". CTF reported investing more than $70 million in workforce training in the past financial year.
The test is each project, not the average job
The most common misreading of this change treats the threshold as a business-level test, as though a company whose typical job sits below $100,000 stops dealing with the levy altogether while a company above it pays on everything.
That is not how it works. The levy is assessed per project, on the estimated value of that project, and it falls due before construction commences whether or not a building permit is involved. Turnover does not enter the calculation. Neither does an average job value. A business can run a hundred jobs below the threshold and owe nothing on any of them, then take one project above it and owe 0.2 per cent of that project alone.
Residential retrofits sit below the threshold and commercial work does not
Applying that per-project test to the shape of the group's work gives three distinct positions, on the assumption that a rooftop installation is levy-liable construction work in the first place, which is the open question below.
Residential solar and battery retrofits. These sit in the range of a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of dollars. Under the old $20,000 threshold a meaningful share of solar-plus-battery jobs crossed it. Above $100,000 essentially none do, so this category has moved out of scope on value alone.
Commercial rooftop installations. Mid-scale commercial systems run well past $100,000 and remain squarely in scope. This is the category where the levy still has to be assessed, and assessed before work starts rather than at invoice.
Solar supplied as a trade package on a new build. The levy event is the builder's project, and a residential build clears $100,000 many times over. The obligation sits with the party holding the building permit, and a trade contractor engaged on that site does not pick it up separately. This category is unaffected by the change in either direction.
The obligation follows the project owner, and a head contractor can be it
CTF places the levy on the project owner: the party holding the building permit or, where no building permit is required, the party carrying out the construction work. On a project that does need a permit, that is the permit holder.
The position differs on standalone work that needs no building permit, which describes most retrofit installation. There the party carrying out the work holds the obligation, and that can be the head contractor rather than the client. A trade business acting as head contractor on its own installations should not assume the obligation always sits with the customer.
The definition of construction work decides whether a job is captured
CTF applies the definition of construction work used in the Construction Industry Portable Paid Long Service Leave Act 1985, which reaches construction, erection, installation, alteration, maintenance and repair. Published exclusions cover work below the threshold, agricultural work that needs no building permit, government work performed by government employees, resources operational work, foreign missions, soft landscaping, and lifts and escalators.
Electrical, rooftop solar and battery installation appear neither as named inclusions nor as exclusions. The definition reaches installation work in general terms and no solar-specific carve-out is published, so the likely reading is that such work is captured, but CTF has not said so in terms and this record does not assert it.
A project value below $100,000 removes the question in most cases. Where a project sits above it, scope is a matter to put to CTF levy compliance rather than infer from the value alone.
The training rebate did not move with the threshold
CTF upskilling and short-course funding continues to rebate up to 70 per cent of course costs, capped at $1,300 per course in the metropolitan area and $1,700 per course regionally. Eligibility extends to apprentices, trainees, long-term workers and business owners with substantial and direct involvement in construction work in Western Australia. Claims must reach CTF within twelve months of course completion.
Apprentices and workers claim from the fund regardless of what an employer pays in
This is the part most easily lost in a discussion about thresholds. Eligibility for CTF support is not tied to levy contributions. A worker does not qualify because their employer paid levy on a particular project, and does not lose access because a project fell below the threshold. The test is involvement in construction work in Western Australia.
CTF publishes the following support for apprentices:
- $1,000 apprentice support bonus for each year of continuing training
- Up to $1,000 reimbursement for work-related tools and safety equipment at commencement, and up to $1,000 again at completion
- $500 on completing a recognised Certificate II pre-apprenticeship qualification
- A travel and accommodation allowance for training away from home
- Upskilling and short-course rebates on the terms above
For an apprentice, the practical effect of the 1 July change is nil. Every entitlement listed above survives it intact.
Funded height and elevating work platform dates run through September
ECA WA advised members on 10 August 2026 that further funded dates are open for the Orange Card Combo delivered by Equip-Safe, RTO 2394. The two-day course covers three units of competency, and all three must be completed for the funded rate to apply:
- RIIHAN301E Operate elevating work platform
- CPCCCM3001 Operate elevated work platforms up to 11 metres
- RIIWHS204E Work safely at heights
Equip-Safe lists the standard course fee at $710 and the CTF-subsidised fee at $214. For apprentices employed by current ECA WA business members, ECA WA covers the remaining 30 per cent and the course is delivered at no cost. A current training contract number is required as evidence of CTF eligibility, and an enrolment stays provisional until Equip-Safe confirms it.
August dates are 13–14, 20–21, 24–25 and 26–27 August, and 31 August to 1 September. September dates are 2–3, 9–10, 14–15, 17–18 and 22–23 September. Workers who are not apprentices are directed instead to the AF301 Construction Industry Preparation Skill Set, covering the White Card, scissor lift, elevating work platforms to 11 metres and working safely at heights.
The long service leave levy is a separate scheme and is unaffected
Portable long service leave contributions are frequently confused with the training levy, and the 1 July change does not touch them. They are two schemes with two administrators under two Acts.
The training levy sits under the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990 and is collected by CTF on projects. Portable long service leave sits under the Construction Industry Portable Paid Long Service Leave Act 1985 and is administered by MyLeave, with employers registering and contributing in respect of their construction employees. The overlap that causes the confusion is that CTF borrows the 1985 Act's definition of construction work to decide what its own levy captures.
Employer obligations to MyLeave continue exactly as before.
Three questions worth putting to CTF levy compliance
CTF levy compliance can be reached at levycompliance@ctf.wa.gov.au or (08) 9244 0100. Three questions decide how this change applies to a solar and battery business:
- Is a standalone rooftop solar or battery installation levy-liable construction work.
- On such an installation, where no building permit is issued, is the installer the party carrying out the work and therefore the project owner for levy purposes.
- For work performed between the $20,000 and $100,000 values before 1 July 2026, what assessment obligation applied at the time.
The third question is the one that repays asking early. It is a historical matter rather than a forward-looking one, and it is answered more cheaply now than later.
Sources: Construction Training Fund, "An Introduction to the CTF Levy" (opens in a new tab); Construction Training Fund, "Construction Industry Levy for Employers" (opens in a new tab); Construction Training Fund, "Upskilling and Short Course Funding" (opens in a new tab); Construction Training Fund, "We support apprentices" (opens in a new tab); Government of Western Australia, "Construction Training Fund Levy changes support small businesses", 27 May 2026 (opens in a new tab).
