Tools cost money — and in most trades, you're expected to have your own. To help cover that, many modern awards include a tool allowance: a payment on top of your wage to help you buy, replace and maintain the hand tools you use to do the job. It's a genuine entitlement, but it's also one of the most commonly missed items on an apprentice's payslip, partly because it's a smaller amount that's easy to overlook.
This guide explains what a tool allowance is, who's entitled to one, how it usually works, and how to check you're actually being paid it. Because the exact rules and amounts depend on your specific award or enterprise agreement, use this as a map and confirm the detail through the official source.
What a tool allowance is
A tool allowance is money paid to you to cover the cost of providing and looking after your own tools. The logic is straightforward: if your employer requires you to supply your own hand tools rather than giving you theirs, you're carrying a cost of the job, so the award compensates you for it.
It's usually paid as a set amount per week, added to your ordinary pay, whether or not you bought a tool that week — it's meant to cover ongoing costs like replacements and maintenance over time, not just one-off purchases.
Who's entitled to a tool allowance
Whether you get a tool allowance depends on your award or agreement and on the arrangement with your employer. As a general pattern:
- If your award includes a tool allowance and you're required to supply your own tools, you're entitled to it — apprentices included.
- If your employer supplies all the tools you need, a tool allowance often doesn't apply, because you're not bearing the cost.
- Some awards pay apprentices a proportion of the full tradesperson tool allowance that scales with your year of training.
The two questions that decide it: does my award have a tool allowance, and am I required to provide my own tools? Find out which award covers you by asking your employer, your Group Training Organisation, or checking the Fair Work Ombudsman at fairwork.gov.au.
How much and how it's paid
Amounts vary by award and change over time, so rather than quote a figure that'll be out of date, check your award directly or use the in-app Wage Calculator as a starting point. In broad terms, a tool allowance is a modest weekly sum — small each week, but it adds up over a year, and missing it for your whole apprenticeship is real money.
It should appear as its own separate line on your payslip, not be rolled silently into your base rate. Knowing how to spot it is part of reading your pay properly — see How to Read Your Payslip and the broader picture in Allowances and Overtime Explained.
Tool allowance vs government tool help
Don't confuse the two. The tool allowance in your award is a weekly payment from your employer as part of your wages. Separately, there are government schemes — federal and state — that can help apprentices with the upfront cost of their first tool kit, often as a payment or subsidy at the start of your apprenticeship.
These are two different things and you may be eligible for both. For the government side, see Government Payments and Support for Apprentices and check apprenticeships.gov.au and your state training authority.
Buying your first tool kit
Even with an allowance, you'll need to lay out for a starter kit early on. A few tips to make that money go further:
- Ask your employer or trainer what you actually need before you spend — every trade's core kit is different, and you don't need everything on day one.
- Buy quality where it matters. Cheap tools that fail cost more in the long run, but you don't need top-tier everything as a first year.
- Mark your tools so they're identifiable — theft off site is real.
- Look after what you've got. Good storage and care means fewer replacements. See Basic Tool Care and Storage.
- Keep your receipts — tools you buy yourself may be tax-deductible. See Tax Basics for First-Year Apprentices.
Tax, allowances and receipts — how they fit together
This part trips people up, so keep it simple. If your employer pays you a tool allowance, that's income and is generally taxed like the rest of your pay. If you then spend your own money on tools for work and aren't reimbursed, you can often claim those purchases as a tax deduction — which is exactly why receipts matter.
If your employer supplies the tools or fully reimburses you for a specific purchase, you can't also claim that as your own deduction. The ATO has clear guidance at ato.gov.au, and a registered tax agent can sort it if you're unsure.
Checking and claiming your entitlement
- Step 1: Confirm which award or agreement covers you and whether it includes a tool allowance.
- Step 2: Confirm you're required to supply your own tools (the usual trigger for the allowance).
- Step 3: Check your payslip for a separate tool allowance line each pay.
- Step 4: If it's missing and you believe you're entitled, raise it politely with payroll or your supervisor, with your award reference.
- Step 5: If it's not fixed, escalate to your GTO, union, or the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Missing allowances are usually payroll oversights, not deliberate, so a calm question with evidence sorts most of them. If pay problems are widespread, read What to Do if You're Being Underpaid and get across your rights as an apprentice.
Key takeaways
- A tool allowance is extra pay to help cover supplying and maintaining your own tools, and applies to apprentices where the award includes it.
- It generally applies when you're required to provide your own tools, not when your employer supplies them.
- Amounts vary by award and change over time — check your award or the Wage Calculator rather than relying on old figures.
- It must appear as a separate line on your payslip.
- The award tool allowance is different from government tool subsidies — you may be eligible for both.
- Keep receipts for tools you buy yourself; they may be tax-deductible.
- If the allowance is missing, raise it with evidence, then escalate to your GTO, union or Fair Work if needed.