COVID-19

ASQA is committed to working with providers

ASQA understands the challenge that the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak poses for VET and ELICOS providers, their staff and students.

We are committed to a flexible approach to regulating the sector in the current environment and we acknowledge that challenges during this time will take many forms.

ASQA is focused at this time on supporting providers to maintain quality of training and assessment by providing extensive guidance that can support providers to assure themselves of the outcomes of competency.

Providers should be assured that ASQA will continue to provide support as the sector transitions out of COVID-19 restrictions. ASQA understands that these challenges may continue for some time and that providers operating across multiple locations and learner cohorts may implement staggered approaches based on a risk assessment of their individual circumstances. Any changes to our flexible regulatory approach will be carefully considered in consultation with peak bodies and other government agencies as appropriate. Should a decision be taken to end ASQA’s regulatory flexibility, adequate transition arrangements will be afforded to providers to ensure that students and providers are not adversely affected. Changes and updates will continue to be announced on our website.

We remain committed to help relieve the pressure on providers during this time by implementing the Government’s decision to waive or reimburse some fees and charges, enabling providers to temporarily cease operations, extending transition and teach out periods for superseded training products, extending some registration periods and applying regulatory flexibility.

ASQA has also been engaging with Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), TAFE Directors Australia (TDA), Community Colleges Australia (CCA), Enterprise Registered Training Organisations Association (ERTOA) and English Australia.

ASQA is also working with TEQSA, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, the Tuition Protection Service, the Department of Home Affairs, State and Territory training agencies and the Australian Industry Skills Committee.

While ASQA has modified its regulatory approach in recognition of the practical constraints for providers and regulatory activity, it continues to monitor and respond to concerns that some providers may not be meeting their regulatory obligations.

Compliance arrangements

We acknowledge the challenges providers face, particularly as they relate to delivery and assessment of some practical aspects of courses, self-isolation impacts and travel and quarantine restrictions.

Financial viability risk assessment

A challenge of COVID-19 may be the impact on a provider’s ability to make sound predictions regarding its anticipated revenue and expenses, and overall financial viability.

It is a legislative requirement for a provider to assure themselves that their financial operations are sufficient to maintain business continuity and continue delivering quality outcomes for students.

ASQA will engage with a provider to better understand how they are operating to meet their financial viability obligations and apply a flexible approach in the application of our regulation of Financial Viability Risk Assessments (FVRA).

The circumstances where ASQA may check the financial sustainability of a provider during a standard compliance or application process include:

where assessing an initial application for registration
where a newly-registered provider is seeking to expand its scope of registration
where more than 50 per cent of a provider’s business has had a change of ownership
where a provider has not delivered any training over consecutive years
as a result of reviews underway, for example, in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

While the FVRA is used, we also engage with a provider as part of the assessment process to better understand how they are operating to meet their financial viability obligations. This involves us gaining a more thorough understanding of a provider’s particular circumstances, and what actions they have taken to self-assure their financial viability.

In addition, there are a number of measures that are available to assist providers, including:

reducing the scope of registration to consider only those training products being delivered
placing registration on hold by entering a period of hibernation.

In considering these measures, providers should document any self-assessment activities undertaken, and maintain a record of any measures put in place.

To support providers during COVID 19, we:

✅	waived or reimbursed some fees and charges for VET providers and accredited course owners
✅	enabled providers temporarily ceasing operations to maintain their registration by placing it on hold (effectively a hibernation period)
✅	allowed notification of temporary changes to be made using our online form
✅	transition periods were extended for 141 qualifications 51 qualifications (18 March 2020) a further 90 qualifications (27 March 2020)
✅	extended the teach out period of 56 VET accredited courses
✅	extended the deadline for completion of the annual declaration on compliance to 30 April 2020
✅	did not take regulatory action against providers that were unable to submit their 2019 quality indicator data
✅	extended some registration periods to relieve the pressure of upcoming renewal applications
✅	postponed regulatory activities already underway, in consultation with providers.

ASQA has also published a new website section to present compliance guidance for providers offering distance learning options. View the Distance learning section.

International Student Arrivals - update from TEQSA and ASQA

25 November 2021

In March 2020, in an initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASQA and TEQSA announced flexibility in regulatory arrangements and requirements to enable providers to support students to study online either in Australia or offshore.

As long as the student remained enrolled with their provider, and the assessment requirements of the course allowed it, the location of the student and the mode of delivery would not prevent the student from attaining an Australian qualification.

The Prime Minister has announced that fully vaccinated international students and temporary graduate (subclass 485) visa holders will be able to arrive in Australia from 1 December 2021.

As there are around 164,000 international student visa holders outside of Australia, it may take some time for students to gradually return to Australia.

ASQA and TEQSA will continue to apply regulatory flexibility until conditions allow for the return of a substantial proportion of international students who are currently not in Australia. ASQA and TEQSA will review this approach in mid-2022.

Providers should assure themselves that current and ongoing arrangements for students maintain assessment and quality standards and are appropriately documented as previously published here.

If providers have questions about their specific circumstances, including how they may resume delivery, they should contact their relevant regulator. You may like to refer to ASQA’s contact information or TEQSA’s contact information.

More information

The information in the links below is being updated frequently, and we encourage those affected by the Coronavirus to check these regularly.

Rising to the challenges of delivering in a changed world

Latest news

Fri 26 Nov

VET fee relief until 1 July 2022

Recently, the Australian Government announced a regulatory fee relief package of $27.8 million to support the education sector, including an extension of fee relief for vocational education and training (VET) providers until 1 July 2022, with further extensions until the end of 2022 for ELICOS only providers.