Student Travel and Accommodation

Karratha has its own student accommodation, which consists of seven fully furnished houses located behind the main site. All houses contain five single bedrooms, each with their own key, two bathrooms, communal laundry, kitchen and living room.

South Hedland also has student accommodation: 14 self-contained units located off-site at Somerset Drive. There are one and two bedroom units available including two AccessAbility units.

It is the apprentice’s responsibility to book their accommodation.

If you would like to book accommodation at our Student Residences, located in Karratha and South Hedland, please complete the online booking form at the bottom of this page. You will not need to pay any costs for your accommodation at Student Residences, we will claim your accommodation allowance on your behalf to cover these costs. Please refer to our Pilbara Student Accommodation Information Booklet for further information. (477 KB) (PDF document)

The University of Notre Dame Australia has accommodation for students travelling to Broome and you are encouraged to book in advance as soon as you receive your block dates for the following year.

Accommodation costs will need to be paid by the apprentice/trainee or employer when booking accommodation in Broome and the accommodation allowance claimed at the conclusion of the training.

Students under the age of 18 requiring accommodation at North Regional TAFE's student residences in Karratha or South Hedland will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to our NR TAFE team for further information.

Depending on the distance travelled, you may be eligible to claim a travel allowance when you drive  to your TAFE block. Please read the information under Claiming Travel and/or Accommodation Allowance to check your availability

Flights or bus travel must be booked by North Regional TAFE who claim the travel allowance to cover costs.

It is the Apprentice’s responsibility to request their flights or bus travel to be booked. Apprentices/Trainees who are eligible for airfare or bus travel must complete the online Apprentice/Trainee Travel request form no later than three weeks prior to the date of the requested travel. The completed travel form should be emailed to apprenticeships@nrtafe.wa.edu.au North Regional TAFE will then book and pay for the airfares or bus fares.

If you miss your booked flight without a valid reason and still want to attend your training, you will be responsible for paying for another airfare to travel to your training, and you will be unable to claim your travel allowance for this flight.

Failure to board your flight without notifying us at least one day prior to the date of travel that you are no longer able to attend the training and wish to cancel your flights will result in you being invoiced for the cost of the airfare.

You can find out more from the Student Accommodation Information booklet (477 KB) (PDF document - opens in a new tab) . 

We value your feedback which helps us to continue to improve the services we provide. You can complete the Accommodation Feedback Form (158 KB) (PDF document) and return to reception at your local campus.

An Apprentice is:

• eligible to claim travel allowance when they drive, or are driven by their parent, in a private vehicle to attend off the job training;
• eligible to claim travel allowance for one return trip per scheduled block release; 
• responsible for the travel cost if they choose to return to their usual residence on the weekend during a block but are eligible for the travel allowance if they are not claiming the accommodation allowance for the weekend;
• ineligible to claim travel allowance if they drive a company car to attend off the job training;
• ineligible to receive the respective night’s accommodation allowance if they take any unauthorised absence from the approved off the job training;
• eligible to claim the day either side of the attendance period to assist travelling to their scheduled block. Apprentices unable to obtain flights or buses within one day of the attendance period are permitted to claim accommodation for additional nights, subject to prior Departmental approval;
• ineligible to claim travel and/or accommodation allowance if they are paid a travel and/or accommodation allowance by their employer whilst attending off the job training;
• ineligible to claim travel and/or accommodation allowance if their employer incurs the total cost of the travel and/or accommodation.

When more than one Apprentice is travelling in the same private vehicle, only one Apprentice (who is usually the driver of the vehicle) is eligible to claim travel allowance. All apprentices travelling in the same vehicle can claim their accommodation allowance.

Travel allowance is not payable for travel between the temporary accommodation and the training venue.

An employer is eligible to claim TAA when:

• they have paid their apprentice’s travel and/or accommodation costs to attend off the job training as required;
• their apprentice meets the eligibility criteria stated under Apprentice Eligibility; and
• their apprentice has not received travel and/or accommodation allowance.

All TAA claims must be submitted online.

To submit the TAA claim online, the Apprentice or employer must be registered on the Western Australian Apprentice Management System (WAAMS) and have the Apprentice/Trainee off-the-job training verified by North Regional TAFE. To register, you will need to visit the WAAMS portal web page and request an account online and follow the login instructions.

Please refer to instructions on how to enter TAA claims under Further Information following.

All claims must be lodged online within 60 days of the completion of the apprentice/trainee’s training or attendance period for the claim to be eligible.