HRD Corp Allowable Cost Matrix (ACM): what you can claim, and the rates

This guide is general information for Malaysian employers, not official HRD Corp advice or legal advice. Processes, rates and forms are set by HRD Corp and can change — always verify against the official links at the end before you act.

Every HRD Corp claim is measured against one document: the Allowable Cost Matrix (ACM). It is the guide HRD Corp uses to decide, line by line, what is claimable, the maximum you can claim, and the eligibility for each training type. If a cost sits within the matrix it flows through; anything above the ceiling is disallowed as excess. Understanding it is how you size a quote correctly and avoid a trimmed claim — it plugs directly into the overall claim process.

If the training you are claiming for is AI, every AITraining2U programme is HRD Corp registered and claimable under SBL-KHAS. The ones employers file most often are our n8n AI automation course, Microsoft Copilot training and Claude AI training. The full list, with fees, is in the AI course catalogue.

What the ACM is — and why it was overhauled

HRD Corp introduced the ACM as a shared reference for employers and training providers. It was substantially enhanced under Employer’s Circular No. 3/2024, which moved claims toward an hourly-based model and lifted several ceilings — industry bodies broadly welcomed the added flexibility. The current reference is the January 2026 ACM guidebook (linked at the end).

The two matrix categories

The ACM separates claimable expenditure into two streams:

• HRD Corp Focus Area — courses aligned to national priority areas, which can attract more favourable treatment.
• Employer-Specific Courses — training tailored to an individual employer’s needs.

The matrix also spans multiple training modes — physical/in-house, remote online training, and e-learning — with the applicable cost lines differing by mode (an e-learning claim, for instance, will not carry a physical venue cost).

HRD Corp Focus Area Courses — the nine national priority areas

This category deserves more attention than it usually gets, because it is where a great deal of AI, digital and technology training actually sits — and because it carries an extra process step that catches employers out.

HRD Corp defines Focus Area Courses as training that directly supports Government initiatives towards nation-building, and that is considered critical for equipping the workforce with the skills required for current and future job requirements. In other words: not just useful training, but training aligned to where the country is trying to go.

There are nine designated Focus Areas:

Where AI and digital training sits. Most applied-AI, automation and data programmes map to Industry 4.0 or Future Technology, and finance-specific AI work often maps to FinTech. That is why the majority of AI courses run in Malaysia — including AITraining2U’s programmes — are Focus Area rather than general courses.

The extra step: course verification

This is the practical point that most ACM summaries omit, and the one worth planning around.

Course verification applies only to Focus Area and Industry Specific Courses. A general employer-specific course does not go through it; a Focus Area course does. HRD Corp publishes dedicated Course Verification Guidelines (currently version 3, November 2025) together with a verification template that the training provider completes when registering the programme.

Two consequences for employers:

• Lead time. Verification is an additional stage before the course is registered and claimable. Build it into your planning rather than discovering it a fortnight before the training date.
• It is the provider’s job, not yours. A registered provider handles verification as part of programme registration. If a provider cannot tell you which Focus Area their course is verified under, treat that as a warning sign.

Does Focus Area actually change the rates?

Worth being straight about the limits of what is publicly documented. HRD Corp describes Focus Area courses as attracting more favourable treatment, and the ACM guidebook sets out ceilings by category, scheme and mode. However, the specific rate differentials between Focus Area and general courses are not clearly published in the public summaries — they sit inside the ACM guidebook and can vary by scheme and training mode.

So the honest position: confirm the applicable ceiling for your category and mode against the current ACM guidebook or directly with HRD Corp before you size a quote. Anyone quoting you a precise Focus Area premium without pointing at the guidebook is guessing.

Indicative claimable rates (2026)

The table below summarises commonly-referenced ceilings from the 2026 ACM. Treat these as a planning guide, not gospel — the official guidebook is authoritative and varies by scheme, mode and category:

Trainee, meal and travel allowances in 2026

The allowances are where most employer claims go wrong, because they interact. Under the January 2026 guidebook:

• Trainee daily allowance: up to RM250 per person per day when the venue is under 100km away one way, or up to RM500 at 100km or more, which already includes accommodation. An extra travel day is possible for 100km+ only if the employer applies and meets the criteria.
• Meal allowance: up to RM100 per person per day (RM50 for a half day of at least four hours). You claim either the meal allowance or the trainee daily allowance, never both.
• Travel: there is no mileage rate. Airfare is reimbursed at actual cost including airport tax and surcharges; a chartered bus or van is paid as quoted for in-house training held away from your premises.
• Overseas training: up to RM1,500 per person per day, at a 50% rate of financial assistance.
• Attendance: trainees must attend at least 75% of the course, and allowances are prorated by attendance. Trainees based at the premises where the training is held get no trainee allowance.

These rates date from Employer’s Circular No. 3/2024, which applied to grants submitted from 1 November 2024; before that the trainee allowance was RM150 and RM400, and meals RM50. When you sign the JD14 joint declaration after training, the amounts claimed must match these ceilings.

How hourly-based claims work

The 2024 enhancement shifted the course-fee logic from a flat daily cap to an hourly ceiling of RM1,500/hour, capped at RM10,500/day. In practice you multiply the eligible training hours by the hourly rate, subject to the daily ceiling — which rewards well-structured, content-dense programmes and gives shorter high-value courses more room than the old flat cap did.

A worked example

Take a 2-day, 14-hour AI automation course quoted at RM12,000 for the group:

• Course-fee ceiling check: 14 hours × RM1,500 = RM21,000, and 2 days × RM10,500 = RM21,000 — so the RM12,000 fee sits comfortably within the ACM ceiling and is claimable in full.
• Add allowable extras if applicable and within their own caps — e.g. a meal allowance of up to RM100/pax/day, or the trainee daily allowance instead.
• Everything is drawn from your accumulated levy pool, so a compliant quote can be effectively fully funded.

Had the same course been quoted at, say, RM25,000, the amount above the RM21,000 ceiling would be disallowed — you would either absorb it or renegotiate. That is exactly why sizing the quote against the ACM before the grant application matters.

Common ACM watch-outs

• Fees above the ceiling — the excess is simply not paid; keep quotes within the matrix.
• Wrong mode assumptions — claiming physical-only costs (venue, meals) on an e-learning or remote course.
• Non-consumable ‘materials’ — equipment you keep is generally not a consumable training cost.
• Stale rates — the ACM is revised periodically; always price against the current guidebook.

How to stay within the ACM

Ask your provider to structure the quote against the current ACM up front, itemise hours clearly, and separate allowable extras from the course fee. A registered provider does this by default — every AITraining2U course is scoped to be claimable under SBL-KHAS, so the quote you receive already fits the matrix. New to all this? Start with the full claim guide.

Official HRD Corp resources

This guide summarises official material for convenience. Always confirm the current rules on HRD Corp’s own channels — they are the authority and details change:

• HRD Corp — official website
• HRD Corp — Employers FAQ
• PSMB Act 2001 (the governing law)
• e-TRiS — the HRD Corp portal
• Support Centre — SBL-KHAS grant application steps
• Support Centre — claim submission steps
• Allowable Cost Matrix (Jan 2026, PDF)