Application outcome

Once you have submitted your application for CRICOS and/or ELICOS registration, we review your application to make sure you can comply with:

• the ESOS Framework, which includes:
  • the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act)
  • the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Regulations 2019
  • the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code)
  • other legislative instruments supporting the implementation of the ESOS Act
• the ELICOS Standards 2018, where relevant.

How we process CRICOS applications

The diagram below shows what happens once you have submitted your application.

Completeness check

After submitting your application, we conduct a completeness check to ensure you have:

• submitted all required application and evidence documents
• completed all documents correctly
• paid all applicable fees and charges.

Risk assessment

If you have submitted all required documents, we will then conduct a risk assessment of your organisation. This includes examining your Financial viability risk assessment tool and Fit and proper person requirements declaration.

Applications may be rejected at this stage if they do not meet our risk assessment requirements.

If your application passes the risk assessment stage, you will be issued with an invoice for the initial application assessment fee. Your application will not progress to the registration audit until this fee is paid in full.

Registration audit

The registration audit will assess whether your organisation:

• is compliant with the National Code (and ELICOS Standards, if relevant)
• whether you have adequate systems in place to deliver high-quality training and education
• has presented complete and factual evidence in its application.

The registration audit begins with an assessment of available information and evidence about your organisation—we may contact you for further evidence or clarification.

We then undertake validation, which aims to confirm the evidence provided to us and that your assessment systems can consistently produce valid assessment judgements. This portion of the application process may require a visit to your delivery site by ASQA auditors.

CRICOS application outcomes

Applications for initial VET registration are usually finalised within six months of ASQA receiving a complete and full compliant application. See ASQA's Service Standards for more information.

If we approve your application

If your application is successful, we may decide to:

• approve your application in full
• approve some parts of your application, but not others
• approve your application with some conditions.

We will tell you our decision in writing, explaining the reasons for the decision if approval is not in full. Once you have paid all applicable fees and charges, we will finalise your CRICOS registration.

If you are an existing RTO, we will try to align your initial period of CRICOS registration to the expiry date of your RTO registration.

If you are not an existing RTO, we will usually grant an initial CRICOS registration period of two years.

If we reject your application

If we reject your application, we will notify you in writing with the reasons for this decision.

If you disagree with our decision

You have a number of options if you disagree with the outcome of your application.