What is an accredited course?

A vocational education and training (VET) accredited course has been assessed by ASQA as compliant with the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Accreditation is formal confirmation that the course:

is nationally recognised and meets quality assurance requirements
meets an established industry, enterprise, educational, legislative or community need
provides appropriate competency outcomes and a satisfactory basis for assessment
is aligned appropriately to the AQF where it leads to a VET qualification.

Each VET accredited course receives a national code and appears on the national register, training.gov.au.

Individuals or organisations retain copyright on a VET accredited course. Training.gov.au publishes the contact details for all course owners under the details of the course.

The unit code, title and course completion mapping for each unit of competency are available online. More substantive course content is not publicly available.

It is an offence to imply that non-accredited training is accredited training. Training providers’ promotional material should clearly define which courses are accredited and which are not.

About course accreditation

What are the benefits of course accreditation?

Accredited courses are nationally recognised and meet quality assurance requirements.

Accreditation also means that a course may be eligible for:

listing on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
participant/employer financial help through various government agencies
relief from GST on courses.

Accreditation means that participants in the course may also be eligible:

for Austudy, Abstudy and other entitlements
to achieve an occupational licensing or regulatory outcome.

What types of courses can be accredited?

A VET accredited course must fulfil a training need not addressed by a training package or address training in a new or emerging area.

ASQA can accredit a VET course for all qualification types recognised under the AQF that are eligible for delivery within the VET sector, including:

Certificate I
Certificate II
Certificate III
Certificate IV
Diploma
Advanced Diploma
Graduate Certificate
Graduate Diploma.

Find out more about AQF qualification types and levels.

You can also apply to accredit a course that results in a Statement of Attainment outcome. The title of such a course begins with the words ‘Course in’.

Who can develop an accredited course?

Who can deliver an accredited course?

Do I need to have a course VET accredited?

Introduction to course accreditation with ASQA (animated video)

The video below explains the basics of what course accreditation is and describes how course accreditation with ASQA works.

What is an accredited course?

About course accreditation

Introduction to course accreditation with ASQA (animated video)

About ASQA

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