Self-Employment Assistance

Access professional mentorship and accredited training to set up your own small business.

Want to start or grow your own business?

Self-Employment Assistance by APM Employment Services helps people set up, develop and grow their own small business.

As part of Workforce Australia, Self-Employment Assistance provides more support to more people, more businesses in even more places across Australia.

Self-Employment Assistance can help you:

Workshop a business idea
Create a business plan and develop your business skills
Provide you with accredited training in small business*
Connect you with business coaching from experienced and local experts in a range of industries

Existing small business owners can also use Self-Employment Assistance to develop their business plan, access accredited training, undertake a business health check and access business advice sessions.

Small business coaching participants will have access to collaborative and personalised support from our Self-Employment mentors for 12 months.

All with the goal of giving you the best possible start in business.

Self-Employment Assistance is free and tailored with a range of training and coaching options to suit you.

Apply now

two people wearing aprons in front of a coffee van

Who can join Self-Employment Assistance?

You can register for Self-Employment Assistance if you:

are at least 15 years of age and eligible to work in Australia to access Exploring Self-Employment Workshops and Training Options
are at least 18 years of age and eligible to work in Australia to access Small Business Coaching
are not prohibited by law from working in Australia
are not an overseas visitor on a working holiday visa or an overseas student studying in Australia
are available to participate in Self-Employment Assistance training and work full time in the proposed business
are not an undischarged bankrupt
have not participated in the Self-Employment Assistance or Small Business Assistance with NEIS in the previous year

Join a free online program information session

Attend a live information session to ask questions and learn:

How Self-Employment Assistance works
What you can expect from the program
What business ideas are eligible
How we help get you started

The information sessions run for 30 minutes via Teams. Book in to an information session via the button below.

Eliza and her Self Employment Assistance business mentor sitting outside

How can Self-Employment Assistance help you?

Business eligibility criteria

man leaning on a counter with his arms folded

If you have an existing business, you now have support available to you.

Self-Employment Assistance includes support for those who have an existing micro-business.

You could be eligible, if your business:

Is not currently operating on a commercial basis, or is a micro-business at risk of not operating on a commercial basis
Has an independent business structure
Is lawful and capable of withstanding public scrutiny
Has been assessed as commercially viable by APM Employment Services
Will be established, located, and operated solely within Australia
Will be structured so that you maintain a controlling interest over the program business for the duration of your Self-Employment Assistance participant agreement

Woman buying an icecream from the icecream truck

Are you receiving income support payments?

If you're currently registered with a Workforce Australia or Disability Employment Services (DES) provider and in receipt of support payments you can continue to receive ongoing income support while participating in the program.

Participants currently on JobSeeker payment will receive the Self-Employment Allowance for up to 39 weeks (paid fortnightly) and may be eligible to receive Rental Assistance for up to 26 weeks.
Participants on SSP or DSP payments can choose to continue to receive their current Pension or choose to receive the Self-Employment Allowance for up to 39 weeks (paid fortnightly) instead.

Job seeker and not receiving income support payments?

You can still access the same training and mentoring support to help you grow your own business.

Provided you’re not currently studying full time, you can receive free accredited training in small business and 12 months of business coaching and mentoring.

However, you won’t be eligible to receive ongoing income support through the Self-Employment Allowance.

Self-Employment Business Hub

Self-Employment Assistance training is delivered through our online portal.

Training is delivered via online or face to face settings through a Registered
Training Organisation*. All your training materials are available to you at all times
via the portal.

Participants have access to all program resources through the Business Hub, including:

Business resource articles
Course overviews and curriculums
Lecture and tutorial content
Participant discussion forums

Self-Employment Assistance success stories

How Eliza developed her dream business

As she grew up, along with her experiences as a professional surfer, Eliza and her sister found there were significant discrepancies in the wetsuit sizing available for women.

“I really began to look around and see and hear women's complaints about how they felt excluded and how they could walk into a surf shop and not find something that would fit them.”

The wetsuits available didn’t cater to the same range of sizes, limiting the number of products available for different body shapes.

These became the driving force behind her label GRNSTR when she was 22 years old.

Eliza's story

Read a full transcript of this video.

Alexander's parkour passion

Success stories

Adele's a picture of better business

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Nathan's front and centre

Success stories