Statute Details
- Title: Skills Development Levy (Exemption) Order 2014
- Act Code: SDLA1979-S258-2014
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Skills Development Levy Act (Cap. 306)
- Enacting formula: Made under section 4(3) of the Skills Development Levy Act
- Citation and commencement: Comes into operation on 1 April 2014
- Key provisions: Section 1 (Citation and commencement); Section 2 (Exemption)
- Current version status: “Current version as at 27 Mar 2026” (with amendments)
- Notable amendments (from timeline):
- S 470/2016 (effective 03/10/2016) — amendment affecting overseas tertiary student exemption conditions
- S 385/2017 (effective 11/07/2017) — amendment affecting the list of local institutions covered
What Is This Legislation About?
The Skills Development Levy (Exemption) Order 2014 (“the Order”) is a subsidiary piece of legislation made under the Skills Development Levy Act (Cap. 306). In practical terms, it carves out specific categories of workers—primarily students—who are exempt from the requirement to have Skills Development Levy (“SDL”) charged in respect of their employment.
SDL is a mandatory levy regime designed to support Singapore’s workforce development and training ecosystem. Employers generally pay SDL based on the remuneration of their employees, and the levy is collected and administered through the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency. However, the SDL framework also recognises that certain employment arrangements—especially those involving students undergoing approved training—serve training and education objectives rather than the same policy concerns that SDL is meant to address.
This Order therefore targets limited, defined situations where SDL should not be chargeable. The exemption is not a general waiver for all student employment. Instead, it is tightly linked to (i) the student’s status (matriculated/registered student, or registered student under the Education Act), (ii) the type and duration of training or employment (approved training, overseas training required by the institution, or employment during gazetted school holidays), and (iii) in some cases, documentary conditions imposed on the employer (submission of a confirmation letter to SkillsFuture Singapore Agency).
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) is straightforward. It provides that the Order may be cited as the Skills Development Levy (Exemption) Order 2014 and that it comes into operation on 1 April 2014. For practitioners, this matters for determining whether an exemption applies to employment periods starting on or after that date, and for aligning SDL reporting and compliance with the correct legal version.
Section 2 (Exemption) is the operative provision. Section 2(1) states that no skills development levy shall be chargeable in respect of three categories of students/employment scenarios.
First category (Section 2(1)(a)): No SDL is chargeable for a matriculated or registered student employed for training approved by the institution. The Order specifies the institutions covered. As amended (notably by S 385/2017), the list includes Singapore’s key polytechnics, universities, and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), such as Nanyang Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore Management University, Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Temasek Polytechnic, and Singapore University of Social Sciences. The legal significance is that the exemption is institution-specific: employment for training must be approved by one of the listed institutions, and the worker must be a matriculated or registered student of that institution.
Second category (Section 2(1)(b) and Section 2(2)): No SDL is chargeable for a matriculated or registered student of any overseas tertiary education institution who, during the course of studies, is required by the institution to undergo training in Singapore for a period of not more than 6 months. This is a time-limited exemption tied to the overseas institution’s requirement. The “not more than 6 months” element is critical: it sets an outer boundary for the exemption and may require careful assessment of the training period (including whether extensions or overlapping training arrangements could exceed the limit).
Documentary condition (Section 2(2)): The exemption under Section 2(1)(b) is subject to a condition. The employer must submit to the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency a letter issued by the overseas tertiary education institution confirming two matters: (a) the student is a matriculated or registered student of the institution; and (b) the student is required by the institution to undergo training in Singapore. This condition is not merely procedural; it is a statutory precondition to the exemption. Practitioners should treat it as an evidentiary requirement that can affect whether SDL is chargeable in the first place.
Third category (Section 2(1)(c)): No SDL is chargeable for a registered student (with an important exclusion) of any school registered under the Education Act (Cap. 87) who is employed during gazetted school holidays. The exclusion is that the student must not have completed his “A” level examinations. In other words, the exemption is intended to cover younger or pre-tertiary students (or those not yet having completed A levels), employed during official holiday periods. For compliance, the key legal questions are: (i) whether the school is registered under the Education Act, (ii) whether the person is a “registered student” of that school, (iii) whether the student has completed “A” levels, and (iv) whether the employment falls within gazetted school holidays.
Notably, Section 2 does not provide a general discretion to grant exemptions. The exemptions operate by meeting the statutory criteria. Therefore, where the facts are borderline—such as whether training is truly “approved by the institution,” whether the training duration exceeds six months, or whether a student has completed A levels—SDL exposure may arise if the statutory conditions are not satisfied.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is compact and structured around two provisions. It begins with a standard citation and commencement clause (Section 1). It then contains a single substantive operative section (Section 2) setting out the exemption categories. Within Section 2, the exemption is broken down into sub-paragraphs (a) to (c), each corresponding to a distinct scenario. Section 2 also includes a conditionality clause in subsection (2) applicable specifically to the overseas tertiary student exemption under Section 2(1)(b). There are no separate Parts or schedules in the extract provided; the legislative design is intentionally targeted and limited.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies primarily to employers who would otherwise be required to have SDL charged in respect of employees’ remuneration. In practice, it is relevant to employers who engage students in training or holiday employment arrangements that fall within the statutory categories.
For the exemptions to apply, the worker must meet the relevant student status and the employment must match the statutory purpose. For example, the local institution training exemption requires the worker to be a matriculated or registered student of a listed institution and employed for training approved by that institution. The overseas exemption requires the worker to be a matriculated or registered student of an overseas tertiary institution and to undergo Singapore training required by that institution for not more than six months, with the employer submitting the required confirmation letter. The school holiday exemption requires the worker to be a registered student of an Education Act-registered school, not having completed A levels, and employed during gazetted school holidays.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
For practitioners advising employers, the Order is important because it directly affects SDL chargeability—a compliance and cost issue. SDL is administered through SkillsFuture Singapore Agency processes, and employers typically need to ensure their SDL submissions and internal payroll classifications reflect whether SDL is chargeable for particular employees. If an exemption applies, employers may avoid SDL charges for the relevant employment period; if it does not, SDL may be payable, potentially with interest or penalties depending on the broader SDL compliance framework.
The Order is also significant because it demonstrates how SDL law interfaces with education and training policy. By exempting student training approved by educational institutions, and student holiday employment in defined circumstances, the regime recognises that certain employment is effectively part of education and training pathways rather than ordinary employment. This can be particularly relevant for employers that routinely engage interns, trainees, or student workers through institutional programmes.
From a risk-management perspective, the Order’s conditional requirement for overseas tertiary students is a focal point. Employers should implement document-control practices to ensure that the confirmation letter is obtained and submitted to SkillsFuture Singapore Agency as required. Similarly, employers should maintain evidence of (i) the student’s matriculated/registered status, (ii) the institution’s approval of training, and (iii) the timing of employment relative to gazetted school holidays and the student’s A-level status.
Related Legislation
- Skills Development Levy Act (Cap. 306) — the authorising Act; provides the SDL framework and the power to make exemption orders
- Education Act (Cap. 87) — relevant for determining whether a school is registered and therefore within the scope of Section 2(1)(c)
- Skills Development Levy (Exemption) Order 2014 amendments: S 470/2016 and S 385/2017 (as reflected in the legislation timeline)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Skills Development Levy (Exemption) Order 2014 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.