Maritime Skills and Training Initiative (MSTI) Program

Maritime Skills and Training Initiative (MSTI) Program

  • Grant applications open until 23 December 2025
  • Grants up to:
    • Trainee (Integrated Ratings): $102,000
    • Deck Cadet: $187,500
    • Engine Cadet & Electro-Technical Officers: $197,500
    • (Minimum grant amount for all roles: $80,000)
  • Total funding pool: $13.8 million over 4 years (2025–26 to 2028–29)
  • Annual allocation: $3.451 million per year

The Maritime Skills and Training Initiative (MSTI) is designed to provide financial assistance to employers of trainee and cadet seafarers, enabling them to secure berths for the mandatory sea time required to achieve STCW 1978 certification. The program aims to increase the availability of training berths for Australian trainees and cadets, address the critical skills shortage of STCW-certified seafarers, and support the implementation of Australia’s Strategic Fleet. By expanding access to sea time opportunities, the MSTI program seeks to enhance the supply of Australian seafarers certified to international STCW standards, strengthening the nation’s maritime capability and ensuring a sustainable workforce for the future.

Key Requirements

Eligible projects:

Direct placement of trainee/cadet seafarers onboard vessels for mandatory sea time to achieve STCW certification.

Eligible activities:

Provision of berths for trainees/cadets in roles such as Integrated Ratings, Deck Cadet, Engine Cadet, Electro-Technical Officers

Project must be completed by 30 March 2029.

 

What is eligible for funding?

Eligible costs:

  • Wages and on-costs (payroll tax, superannuation, leave, insurances).
  • Accommodation and victualling onboard vessels.
  • Economy-class travel to/from vessel from trainee/cadet’s home.
  • Independent audit of project expenditure (up to 1% of total eligible costs).

Ineligible costs include: course fees, AMSA certificate fees, MSIC, government/union fees, ongoing operational costs, wages for non-trainee staff.

What companies are eligible for funding?

  • Must be an Australian-incorporated entity with an ABN and an Australian financial institution account.
  • Must employ the trainee/cadet seafarers and be one of:
    • Group Training Organisation (GTO)
    • AMSA-registered private seafarer recruitment and placement service
    • Shipping company or vessel operator (Must be incorporated in Australia and meet all eligibility criteria.)
  • Cannot claim the Shipping Reform (Tax Incentives) Act 2012 exemption for the same trainee/cadet
  • Compliance with all relevant industry regulations and AMSA requirements.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.