Apprenticeship Levy Transfers: The 50% Rule for Employers and Providers

Last reviewed: 15 July 2026 against the current transfer guidance and 2026 to 2027 funding rules.

How the 50% transfer allowance works

A levy-paying employer can use the apprenticeship service to transfer up to 50% of the relevant previous tax year's levy funds to another employer. The sending employer chooses the receiving employer and approves the proposed training.

A transfer is a commitment to pay eligible training and assessment as funds are drawn down. It is not a cash grant paid into the receiving employer's bank account and it cannot be used for wages, recruitment, equipment or provider administration fees.

What a transfer can fund

Current rules allow transfers for:

• an approved full apprenticeship standard and version; and
• an approved apprenticeship unit.

The learner, employer, provider and exact product must meet their applicable rules. A Skills Bootcamp, commercial short course or proposed unit does not become transfer-eligible just because it teaches a priority skill.

The employer and provider workflow

1. Receiving employer identifies the need: choose the job, learner, approved product, provider, planned start and negotiated price.
2. Sending employer checks allowance: use the live apprenticeship-service figure and its internal transfer policy.
3. Both employers connect: complete the transfer workflow in the apprenticeship service.
4. Sending employer approves the details: approval must cover the relevant new start before training begins.
5. Provider checks alignment: employer, learner, product/version or unit code, dates and price must agree across provider records and the service.
6. Delivery and monthly payments begin: eligible funds are drawn from the sending employer's transfer commitment under the applicable payment rules.

The receiving employer remains the learner's employer and owns the employment, release and workplace-support obligations. The sending employer is the funding employer, not the employer of record.

What the transfer pays—and what it does not

A valid transfer covers 100% of eligible training and assessment costs up to the full apprenticeship's funding band maximum or the approved unit's maximum. The receiving employer pays every agreed amount above that limit in full.

Keep three values separate in the contract and approval trail:

• the negotiated total price;
• the eligible amount covered by transfer funding; and
• the above-maximum amount paid directly by the receiving employer.

Subsidy-control and other public-funding rules can also affect a proposed transfer. Both employers should retain the declarations and approvals required for the specific case.

If transfer funding is unavailable

Do not default every learner to a generic 5% employer contribution. Determine the replacement funding route using the rules attached to the learner's actual start date.

For a full-apprenticeship start from 1 August 2026:

• a levy payer with insufficient account funds pays 25% of the eligible shortfall and government pays 75%;
• a non-levy employer with an apprentice aged 25 or over pays 5% and government pays 95%; and
• an eligible non-levy employer's 16–24 apprentice is government-funded up to the band.

The employer always pays above-band costs. Earlier starts normally retain their applicable start-date rules, subject to published exceptions. Unit funding has its own rule set and must be checked for the unit start date.

Provider control checklist

• Use the service's live 50% allowance rather than an estimated current balance
• Confirm the exact approved standard/version or unit code
• Verify that the provider is approved and funded for that product
• Obtain completed transfer approval before the relevant start
• Record the receiving employer as the learner's employer
• Match employer, learner, dates and negotiated price across service and provider records
• Separate above-maximum price from the transfer-funded amount
• Monitor service approvals and resolve mismatches before monthly funding validation
• If funding changes, apply the learner's start-date rules rather than today's headline rate

For month-by-month account planning, use the employer levy account management guide. For a replacement funding decision, use the August 2026 co-investment guide.