The Victorian Government has an initiative “Skills First” which currently funds free and subsidised courses. The ones that caught our eye are High-Risk Work Licenses (HRWL) required for Circus and Physical Theatre (CaPT) Rigging. 

Eligibility requirements:

You must be an Australian resident/citizen or a New Zealand citizen, you must be physically present in Victoria for the training and have a Victorian address. Also, you can do maximum two courses per calendar year.

It’s important to remember each individual course has specific entry requirements which, can differ between courses and training providers, read carefully before booking! You will most likely be required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), hard hat, safety boots and hi vis clothing, start early in the morning and do homework each night.

Also, work safe requires you must be over 18 years of age to hold a High-Risk Work License.

Important Information:

The specific details of skills first programs can be difficult to find online, here is a consolidated OVERVIEW OF COURSE PROVIDERS along with the below detailed information sheets for each separate license. These include relevant information on the level of funding/course cost, entry requirements, specific course providers, as well as links taking you directly to the course you want to book:

• Construction induction/white card
• Dogging
• Rigging – Basic
• Rigging – Intermediate
• Rigging – Advanced
• Forklift Truck
• Elevated Working Platform (EWP)
• Certificate III Rigging (Confirmed for 2024 but not currently taking bookings) 

These courses can fill up quickly so book in early to avoid missing out.

We also understand there may be different initiatives run by each state and territory, Christian will be looking into those outside of Victoria over the coming months.

Please feel free to reach out to program producer Christian if you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about the government funded training or about TNA’s rigging program: christian@tna.org.au