FAQs

The following explains the additional evidence you must include when using ASQAnet to submit an 'Application to change RTO scope of registration'.

When is additional evidence not required?

Additional evidence is not required with an application to remove training products from your scope.

Additional evidence is not required with an application to add training products to your scope if you are entitled to transitional registration. That is, if in your ASQAnet application you have ticked the ‘transition’ box and selected the qualification or course from your current scope that you believe entitles you to transitional registration. (Note that all applications for registration of TAE10 Training and Assessment Training Package qualifications or units of competency will require additional evidence).

When is additional evidence required?

Additional evidence is required with any application to add training products to your scope, where in your ASQAnet application you have not ticked the ‘transition’ box.

For this type of application, the following evidence is required for every qualification, accredited course, skill set or explicit unit of competency sought:

• Strategy/ies for training and assessment which:
  - define the RTO’s target client group/s and describe how it will deliver the training product/s to meet client needs [Ref: Standards for NVR registered training organisations SNR 15.2]
  - demonstrate how each strategy has been developed through effective consultation with industry [Ref: SNR 15.2]
  - demonstrate, using the staff matrix template, how each proposed trainer/assessor possesses all relevant vocational competencies at least to the level of the training or assessment to be delivered [Ref: SNR 15.3 & 15.4] (download template here)
  - list all physical resources and equipment that are accessible at each proposed delivery venue [Ref: SNR 15.3]
  - identify the range and format of all delivery and assessment methodologies and resources/tools to be used [Ref: SNR 15.2,15.3 & 15.5]
  - describe how assessment processes, tools and judgements have been and will continue to be systematically validated [Ref: SNR 15.5].
• A complete set of assessment tools, including student instructions and assessor guides, to gather evidence and conduct assessment of all knowledge and skill requirements of one (1) unit of competency (per qualification, course, skill set or unit) [Ref: SNR 15.3 & 15.5].

For qualifications and units of competency from the TAE10 Training and Assessment Training Package, the following evidence is also required for applications :

• Assessment processes, plans and tools which will be used to assess a minimum of two units of competency (if seeking more two or more) from each TAE10 qualification sought in the application.

Evidence requirements and your application

An application submitted without the required evidence clearly labelled will be considered incomplete and returned to the applicant.

Application fees are non-refundable.

ASQA may accept your application, but may contact you to add to or clarify evidence provided, or to inform you that your application does not satisfy all criteria to be assessed as a ‘transition’.

The national regulatory system promotes consistency and quality in Australia’s training sector. As the National VET Regulator, ASQA has a range of regulatory powers to ensure compliance across the sector.

ASQA regulates multi-jurisdictional providers through audits that review compliance with relevant state-based regulatory requirements as well as compliance with the VET Quality Framework.

ASQA's regulatory approach is based on risk assessment. ASQA examines those RTOs, courses and qualifications rated as higher risk.

ASQA continually assesses risks presented by RTOs, courses, qualifications and the VET system.

This analysis is informed by:

• the Risk Assessment Framework (s.190 of the Act)
• structured risk assessments of initial, renewal and change of scope applications
• advice from auditors on trends in non-compliance
• feedback from industry regulators and associations
• complaints data
• information provided by Australian, State and Territory Governments, and
• analysis of data, including data on student and employer outcomes, and PRISMS data.

On 1 July 2011, ASQA became the regulatory body for the VET sector in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and New South Wales.

ASQA also has responsibility for regulating RTOs based in Victoria and Western Australia, if they deliver either to overseas students or in an ASQA state or territory.

ASQA became the regulatory body for the VET sector in Tasmania after state referral legislation was proclaimed on the 15 February 2012. ASQA commenced regulation of Tasmanian RTOs on 1 March 2012.

ASQA commenced regulation of South Australian RTOs on 26 March 2012.

State referral legislation in Queensland will be finalised following the Queensland election.

Read more about ASQA's establishment and jurisdiction.

The National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) recently provided updated information regarding RTOs’ requirements to support the continuous improvement of the delivery of VET training and assessment.

RTOs are required to continue to collect, analyse and report against the three quality indicators (QIs) for RTOs—the Learner Engagement, Employer Satisfaction and Competency Completion quality indicators. RTOs are required to report to their regulator against the three quality indicators for the 2011 calendar year by 30 June 2012.

The NSSC is currently working with relevant bodies to refine the existing Quality Indicators for RTOs to improve the efficiency of the collection and the utility of the data, and to inform data on total VET effort and activity.

RTOs must have the capacity to gather and report on AVETMISS compliant data.

ASQA is continuing dialogue with NSSC about future reporting requirements.

RTOs are required to continue to use the Learner Questionnaire and the Employer Questionnaire to collect the data for the Learner Engagement and Employer Satisfaction quality indicators.

RTOs are not required to use the SMART system to report to their regulators against the Learner Engagement and Employer Satisfaction quality indicators:

• The Australian Centre for Educational Research (ACER) is no longer funded to provide help desk support services to RTOs that wish to continue to use the SMART system.
• This does not limit the ability for regulators to prescribe the manner in which RTOs are required to report against the Learner Engagement and Employer Satisfaction quality indicators.

ASQA will provide more information on reporting and reporting mechanisms in the near future. RTOs will be notified through the ASQA Update.

More about RTOs' reporting requirements

Applications have taken longer to process because of an unexpectedly high backlog of partially completed applications transferred from state and territory regulators to ASQA on 1 July 2011.

This backlog has slowed things down; however, ASQA has now completed processing those pending applications that were transferred from state and territory regulators.

ASQA is currently working on a comprehensive list of indicative timeframes for all ASQA applications. These timeframes will provide a breakdown of how long an RTO can expect to wait for an application to be processed by ASQA in the normal course of events and should provide a helpful guide to RTOs for business planning purposes. These indicative timeframes will be posted on ASQA’s website and will be updated each month.

New applications to change the scope of an RTO’s registration that are assessed by ASQA as low risk can be expected to be processed within three weeks (fifteen business days).

This includes applications for changes to scope of registration to add new qualifications or units of competency to replace superseded qualifications/units, i.e. transition applications.

The three-week indicative timeframe for processing applications has the following caveats:

• The application is not a CRICOS application.
• The application is submitted via ASQAnet.
• ASQA does not require any further information/evidence from the RTO to assess the application.
• The qualifications requested have no licensing outcomes or pre-approval requirements.
• The application is considered low risk by ASQA.
• The applicant RTO has no outstanding non-compliances or complaints.
• The application does not include TAE applications.
• The application is not for qualifications in a new industry sector that is not currently on scope of registration.
• The application has not been received by ASQA during a peak period, such as a major training package transition period which may result in delays outside of ASQA’s control.
• The application is approved.

Changes to scope applications that are not low risk, or that are more complex, and are assessed as requiring an audit can be expected to be processed within three to six months.

In assessing risk, ASQA is empowered by the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 to use a range of regulatory tools to gather data about the operations of applicant organisations and RTOs. One of the regulatory tools ASQA uses is the conduct of audits.

All initial registration applications involve a site audit and, if approved, a follow-up audit (usually at 12 months). Applications for registration renewal or change of scope that are assessed to be higher risk are referred for audit. Other audits may be conducted at any time to assess an RTO’s compliance with the VET Quality Framework.

The scope and complexity of an audit will vary according to its purpose and the risk of the organisation or industry being audited. Applicant organisations and RTOs that are complying with the conditions and standards of the VET Quality Framework can expect a low level of regulatory intervention, while those displaying a high risk of not complying can expect increased scrutiny from ASQA auditors.

ASQA will conduct a desk audit of evidence provided with a registration application, then conduct a site audit at the RTO’s premises, including local, interstate and overseas operations.

During the audit process information may be sourced from the RTO, its staff, its students (past and present), technical experts, industry representatives and stakeholder, the RTO’s quality management systems, RTO records, and other requlatory bodies as well as ASQA’s information management systems.

Audit report templates

ASQA auditors report the outcomes of an audit to an RTO or applicant using the following templates.

Note that these templates are undergoing review during March 2012. Updated audit report templates will be published in April 2012.

 VET Quality Framework audit report—Initial registration as a national VET regulator registered training organisation (Word, 92kb) 

 VET Quality Framework audit report—Continuing registration as a national VET regulator registered training organisation (Word, 92kb)

When ASQA conducts a risk assessment and determines an audit is required, the lead auditor will formally notify the RTO and arrange an audit date, time and venue(s).

The lead auditor will confirm arrangements by email and provide further details of the audit process.

In some circumstances an unannounced audit may be conducted with minimal or no notice.

In preparation for an audit, RTOs are advised to:

• ensure that senior management is available on the day(s) of audit
• ensure that auditors will have ready access to relevant staff and student files (including completed assessment materials)
• ensure that auditors will have access to staff and students
• provide a work space, with adequate power points, lighting and desk space, in which the audit team can work.

A registered training organisation (RTO) must ensure it complies with the conditions of its registration, as per the requirements of Sections 21 to 30 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (the Act) throughout the period of its registration. 

Additional conditions may be imposed by ASQA on the registration of an RTO.

ASQA's role is to ensure that RTOs comply at all times with all compliance requirements detailed in the Act.

It is not ASQA’s role to assist RTOs in meeting their compliance requirements.

RTOs must:

• comply with the VET Quality Framework (which comprises the Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations, the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the Data Provision Requirements, the Fit and Proper Person Requirements, and the Financial Viability Risk Assessment Requirements)
• comply with any General Direction made under Section 28(1) of the Act
• provide ASQA with information on request, including Quality Indicator data
• cooperate with ASQA in the conduct of its regulatory activities
• pay fees when due
• comply with any sanctions imposed on their registration
• comply with any other conditions that ASQA may impose, and
• notify ASQA of any material changes or other major events that may impact on their registration.

RTOs that deliver training and assessment to overseas students must also comply with all relevant requirements of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) and the National Code 2007. ASQA is the designated authority under the ESOS Act for all CRICOS and ELICOS delivery, except where delivery is conducted by providers registered in states or territories that are yet to refer regulatory powers to ASQA.

Prior to the establishment of ASQA, the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) standards applied to RTOs.

The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations replace the former AQTF standards for ASQA applicants/RTOs./p>

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 Standards page on this site includes comparison tables that break down the differences between the AQTF and NVR standards for initial and continuing registration.

ASQA gathers and analyses data to manage the risk of any provider not complying with its requirements. ASQA conducts compliance monitoring audits of RTOs when necessary. Usually, the first compliance monitoring audit is conducted about 12 months after an RTO is initially registered.

In determining if and when a monitoring audit is to be conducted, ASQA considers a number of risk indicators, including:

• the RTO’s history of meeting its compliance requirements
• the length of time since its last full audit
• factors relating to its governance structures and delivery activity.

The audits are conducted at the RTO’s premises.

Audits review the RTO’s compliance with the VET Quality Framework across a sample of its scope of registration. ASQA examines the strategies, resources and materials used to deliver a sample of the qualifications or units of competency in the RTO’s scope of registration.

Compliance monitoring audits are conducted to determine that RTOs are delivering compliant training, assessment, support and administrative services. ASQA’s focus is usually on records and interviews with delivery staff, rather than quality-controlled documents and assessment tools.

When ASQA identifies non-compliance, it provides a specified period of time in which the RTO must submit evidence that the non-compliance has been rectified. The evidence is audited by ASQA and if non-compliance remains, ASQA will determine whether a sanction or penalty will be applied, or if the application will be refused.

In deciding whether to impose sanctions, ASQA will take into account the RTO’s history of compliance and the risks associated with the non-compliance.

The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 provides a range of sanctions of increasing severity—escalating from enforceable undertakings and additional conditions on registration through to suspending or cancelling the registration of an RTO.

ASQA will apply these powers and sanctions with proportion, rigour, fairness and consistency.

The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations are the national standards that ASQA uses to regulate vocational education and training. ASQA assesses applicants and RTOs against these standards.

The National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) provides advice to the Standing Council for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE) on these standards. SCOTESE is the successor of the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE).

The NSSC and ASQA operate independently. The NSSC website explains that this 'separation of the standard-setting function from the regulatory function is designed to maximise the independence of the respective bodies, improve probity and minimise conflicts of interest'.

The NSSC will provide information to ASQA about the implementation and interpretation of the national standards, and ASQA will provide six-monthly reports on the application and regulation of the standards to the NSSC.

RTOs that are registered with ASQA, or training organisations applying to register with ASQA, are assessed against the Standards for NVR registered training organisations. 

These standards are set and maintained by the National Skills Standards Council (NSSC).

The NSSC recently published a communiqué providing clarification on the standards for the regulation of VET. This communique explained the relationship between the Standards for NVR registered training organisations and the AQTF standards as follows:

' ... there is considered to be no difference in effect or intent between the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) and the legislative instruments established under the National VET Regulator (NVR) Act 2011. All RTOs and applicants to become an RTO are required to meet the same minimum set of standards for regulation. Depending on who a RTOs regulator is, these minimum standards will either be called the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Initial/Continuing Registration or the VET Quality Framework.'

Read the NSSC communique.

As of 1 July 2011, RTOs must comply with the requirement for the protection of student fees as set out in the Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations.

The section of the Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations relating to 'Financial management for initial registration' sets out the following options:

• (a) (Option 1) the RTO is administered by a state, territory or Commonwealth government agency
• (b) (Option 2) the RTO holds current membership of an approved Tuition Assurance Scheme
• (c) (Option 3) the RTO may accept payment of no more than $1000 from each individual student prior to the commencement of the course. Following course commencement, the RTO may require payment of additional fees in advance from the student but only such that at any given time, the total amount required to be paid which is attributable to tuition or other services yet to be delivered to the student does not exceed $1,500
• (d) (Option 4) the RTO holds an unconditional financial guarantee from a bank operating in Australia for no less than the full amount of funds held by the RTO which are prepayments from students (or future students) for tuition to be provided by the RTO to those students, or
• (e) (Option 5) the RTO has alternative fee protection measures of equal rigour approved by the National VET Regulator.

The following options are currently available for NVR Registered Training Organisations:

• Option 1—protecting a student enrolled at a RTO on the strength of it being administered by a state, territory or Commonwealth government agency
• Option 3—limiting the amount of fees collected in advance, and
• Option 4—unconditional financial guarantee from a bank operating in Australia.
• The NQC has advised that Option 2—approved Tuition Assurance Scheme (TAS) is unlikely to be approved before October 2011. As such, Option 2 is not currently available as an option for ASQA RTOs.
• Option 5—alternative fee protection measure of equal rigour. ASQA is currently reviewing the requirements of Option 5 in line with the ‘principles underpinning the approval of alternative fee protection measure of equal rigour’, which have been endorsed by the NQC. Further advice will be provided on this site shortly for training organisations that would like to consider Option 5 as their preferred fee protection mechanism.

Please visit www.training.gov.au.

Training.gov.au is the official national register of information on training packages, qualifications, courses, units of competency and registered training organisations (RTOs).

ASQA will complete the processing of applications that have been transferred from state and territory regulators. ASQA requirements may be different (under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011) to previous state and territory regulators' requirements.

ASQA will contact you if further information is required to complete your application.

If you have prepared information that you wish to submit as part of a pending application that has been transferred to ASQA from a state or territory regulator, please:

• Scan and send information electronically to enquiries@asqa.gov.au
• Include details in the email to identify the application, including the application number; RTO code (or course ownership code where applicable); the original applicant's contact details; and the type of application being made (RTO registration/course accreditation etc).