Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations

An essential mechanism for the regulation of vocational education and training (VET) is the national standards against which applicants/RTOs are assessed. Prior to the establishment of the national VET regulator, ASQA, the standards that applied to an RTO's or applicant's registration were found within the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF).

New standards

The Standards for National VET Regulator (NVR) Registered Training Organisations 2011 replace the former AQTF standards for relevant applicants/RTOs.

TheStandards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2011 will be used by ASQA as an instrument in protecting the interests of all students undertaking vocational education and training in Australia.

The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2011 are now the standards guiding nationally consistent, high-quality training and assessment services in the vocational education and training system.

As of 1 July 2011, the new National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) is responsible for providing advice to the Standing Council for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE), which is one of a number of Standing Councils that report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). 

SCOTESE is the successor of the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE). The NSSC provides advice on national standards for quality assurance, performance monitoring, reporting, risk, audit, review and renewal of providers’ accreditation status, and accreditation of VET qualifications. (The NSSC will undertake many of the functions formerly carried out by the National Quality Council, which was dissolved on 30 June 2011.)

The standards put forward by the NSSC will be implemented by ASQA. 

These Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2011 are a separate legislative instrument, made by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations under subsection 185(1) of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

Read the NSSC's first communiqué, which clarifies the Council's role and discusses the relationship between the Standards for NVR RTOs and the AQTF.

Comparative analysis

How the standards are numbered and ordered has changed from the AQTF. The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations include both initial and continuing registration requirements.

While the some of the terminology and layout is new, the actual standards remain largely unchanged from those in the AQTF. The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations express all requirements as standards. Unlike in the AQTF, there is no differentiation between ‘conditions' and ‘standards’.

The  Initial registration comparison table compares the Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations—Essential Standards for Initial Registration and the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Initial Registration.

The  Continuing registration comparison table compares the Standards for  NVR Registered Training Organisations—Essential Standards for Continuing Registration and the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Continuing Registration.