Major Projects Skills Guarantee: the 10% hours rule explained
On large Victorian Government construction projects, apprentices, trainees and cadets must work at least 10% of estimated hours. The figure is simple. Proving it means holding hours for every individual, across every trade partner (subcontractor).
What is the Major Projects Skills Guarantee?
The Major Projects Skills Guarantee is the part of Victoria's Local Jobs First law covering apprentices, trainees and cadets. On government construction projects of $20 million or more, and all Strategic construction projects, they must be engaged for at least 10% of total estimated hours. Suppliers report hours for each individual.
Construction Projects Of $20m Or More
The guarantee applies to construction projects with a budget of $20 million or more, for regional and metropolitan work alike. It applies to the total project value even when construction is only part of the budget.
All Strategic Construction Projects
A Strategic Project is one with a budget of $50 million or more, or one the Minister declares. Any Strategic Project that is a construction project carries the guarantee, even if it was declared below $50 million.
Everyone Under The Principal Contract
The target sits with the principal supplier but is measured across the project, including subcontracted work. Off-site hours by apprentices, trainees or cadets employed by subcontractors delivering project inputs can count, so trade partners need to report.
What the Major Projects Skills Guarantee asks for.
What you report, and when.
LIDP Hours And Commitment
To the agency and the Department
Six-Monthly Hours Report
To the agency through the VMC
Completion Report
To the Department
- Labour Hours Per Individual Apprentice, Trainee And Cadet
- Training Contract Or Enrolment Records
- LIDP Estimated Labour Hours
- Subcontractor Hours Records
- Six-Monthly VMC Reports
- Completion Report
Reporting A Total Without The People
Hours must be held for each individual apprentice, trainee and cadet, not as one project figure. A trade partner sending a single monthly total leaves the head contractor unable to report what is asked.
Counting Hours That Do Not Qualify
Professional traineeships are excluded, and only time connected to the project counts. Taking every apprentice's whole week from payroll will overstate the figure and fail when someone tests it.
Losing Track Of The Base
The 10% is measured against estimated hours in the plan, so actual hours running above or below that estimate change how the result reads. If the scope moves, raise a plan variation with the agency rather than quietly changing the denominator.
How Catchment manages the Major Projects Skills Guarantee.
A 10% Target Across Three Groups
SocialProThe MPSG framework creates one ATC Hours - Apprentices + Trainees + Cadets target at 10, matching the combined figure in the Act. A worker's apprentice, trainee or cadet attribute decides whether their monthly hours count towards it.
Hours Per Worker From Each Package
SocialProEach work package switches on the target and reports hours at worker level each month. Trade partners and suppliers report free of charge, so per-person data does not stop at the head contractor.
A Denominator Taken From Your Plan
SocialProThe target measures against total work hours, and you enter your estimated hours at setup. The framework's Estimated Labour Hours (in LIDP) document holds your source. Where packages enter a forecast, analytics compare it with the target before the six-monthly report.
Training Contracts On File
GovAssureThe framework adds Training Contract per Worker, ATC Hours Data and Statutory Declaration + Final ATC Report as document requirements, which can flow down to packages. This gives you the record to report from, and you lodge the VMC report and completion report yourself.
Adopting this framework on a project generates these targets and documents. You can edit them to match your contract.
Major Projects Skills Guarantee questions.
What is the MPSG in Victoria?
MPSG stands for Major Projects Skills Guarantee, one of the two parts of Local Jobs First. It requires Victorian apprentices, trainees or cadets to deliver at least 10% of project labour hours on covered government construction projects. It is written into the Local Jobs First Act 2003 at section 7C.
What projects does the MPSG apply to?
It applies to Standard Projects that are construction projects with a budget of $20 million or more, and to all Strategic Projects that are construction projects. A Strategic Project has a budget of $50 million or more or is declared by the Minister.
Do off-site hours count towards the MPSG?
They can. Hours worked off site to deliver project inputs count when the apprentices, trainees or cadets are employed by subcontractors under the principal supplier. Training contact hours count too, but only while the person is concurrently working on the project.
Is the Deemed Hours Formula still required?
No. For tenders from 31 January 2023 it is no longer mandatory, and the 10% is calculated from the labour-hour estimate the bidder enters in its Local Industry Development Plan. Agencies and suppliers can still use a simplified version if they choose.
Can professional trainees count towards the MPSG?
No. Professional traineeships, meaning experienced workers undertaking professional development training, cannot count towards the guarantee. Apprentices, trainees and cadets need to be in a qualifying arrangement. Check the Supplier Guidelines against each person's training contract or enrolment.
What happens if you miss the 10% target?
The target is a commitment in the Local Industry Development Plan, and the Act requires a successful bidder to comply with its plan. On tenders released from 1 July 2026, the Commissioner can deprioritise a supplier for 6 to 18 months for a failed commitment, with a 5% to 20% deduction on later tender evaluations. A commitment is treated as met if it is met in the aggregate.
How does the MPSG relate to the Building Equality Policy?
They are separate rules that can apply to the same project. The Building Equality Policy requires women apprentices, trainees or cadets to perform at least 4% of total estimated hours, on publicly funded construction projects of $20 million or more. Both are measured from worker-level hours, so one record can serve both.
Read our full reporting guide to the Major Projects Skills Guarantee
- Local Jobs First Act 2003, No. 72 of 2003, Authorised Version 009 (Victorian Legislation, Chief Parliamentary Counsel)
- Local Jobs First Supplier Guidelines, July 2026 (Victorian Government, Local Jobs First)
- Local Jobs First - Major Projects Skills Guarantee (Victorian Government, Local Jobs First)
- Local Jobs First - Monitoring and reporting obligations (Victorian Government, Local Jobs First)
- Building Equality Policy: Suppliers (Buying for Victoria)
Reviewed 4 November 2026. General information to help you plan reporting, not legal advice. Policies change, so check the current version with the policy owner before you rely on it.
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