Sydney Morning Herald & The Age launch visual journalism traineeships

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have announced two 12-month Visual Journalist traineeships in partnership with Canon Australia.

The roles, aimed at early-career photographers and videographers, will begin in January 2026, and are full-time rostered positions.

The traineeships are part of a three-year partnership in which Canon will also provide imaging equipment to Nine Publishing photographers. Recruitment for the roles will be led by photo editors and senior editors at the Herald and The Age.

According to The Herald and The Age, the program is designed to build skills in visual reporting and contribute to the mastheads’ daily news coverage through photography and videography.

Trainees will work across newsroom departments and receive mentoring from photographers, video producers and editors.

In addition, If the successful candidates need to relocate from interstate or regional areas to take up the traineeship, they may also be eligible for grants up to $5,000 each from the Fairfax Foundation for relocation expenses. 

Executive Editor Luke McIlveen said the initiative reflects the publications’ long history of strong photojournalism.

“The Herald and The Age have an extraordinary history of photographic excellence and this is an opportunity for us to unearth the next generation of visual journalists,” he said.

The Herald and The Age have a combined readership of about 12 million.

You can apply via the mastheads below.

The Sydney Morning Herald: HERE

The Age: HERE