ASQA's regulatory risk priorities 2022-23

Regulatory risks

• Assessment practices, including workplace training and assessment
• Short duration training 

Regulatory environment

Demand for skills training in areas of expected employment growth, such as the caring professions, is likely to remain high over the next five years. In the short-term, job growth in care industries is being driven by acute labour and skills shortages. Over the medium- to long-term, job growth in healthcare and social assistance professions will be driven by demand for more and better-quality services to support an ageing population, as well as the recommendations from several Royal Commissions. Continued financial investment by governments in aged care and disability support is also likely to drive job creation and increase demand for VET qualifications in health, aged care, and social services into the future. Employment growth sectors normally signal where areas of risk might arise, typically because of increased demand for training and provider response to that increased demand.

Our focus

Our regulatory focus will use an integrated approach of education, compliance monitoring and feedback and support for self-assurance to ensure confidence in the growth of skills to support this critical area. ASQA will be responsive to innovative approaches to meeting training product requirements whilst being alert to poor practice and risks to quality VET. This includes ensuring the appropriate safeguards for training and assessment including where all or some of the delivery is online. 

Regulatory risks

• International student delivery
• Context of Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Review 2022  
• International sector - higher risk products with exposure to international students are identified by ranking qualifications according to an analysis of performance assessment outcomes, complaint reports and product growth as well as market coverage and demand. The top 6 qualifications with exposure to international students are:
  • CHC33015    Certificate III in Individual Support
  • CHC50121    Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
  • CHC30121    Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
  • CHC43015    Certificate IV in Ageing Support
  • CHC52015    Diploma of Community Services
  • RII60520    Advanced Diploma of Civil Construction Design

Regulatory environment

The international education sector has been significantly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while governments have encouraged international education providers to expand online and offshore course offerings and/or refocus their business models on domestic students, recovery in this sector has the potential to be slow and uneven. Student demand and increased government investment in the return of international students, including to address skills shortage areas are likely to drive providers’ business planning over the next 12 months.

Our focus 

Our regulatory focus will work in partnership across government to detect and deter non-genuine providers and safeguard the integrity of the international VET market.  Our education and monitoring activities will provide guidance and seek assurances from providers investing in new business opportunities outside their current expertise. We will be alert to collusion, opportunistic or misleading behaviour by providers and their agents. Our insights about risk and performance will inform the regulatory settings under the ESOS Review 2022.

Regulatory risks

• Training package transitions
• Trainer and Assessor Capability, including delivery of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment 
• Domestic sector - higher risk products are identified by ranking qualifications according to an analysis of performance assessment outcomes, complaint reports and product growth as well as market coverage and demand. The top 6 qualifications identified as higher risk are:
  • CHC50121    Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
  • TAE40116    Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
  • SIT40516    Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery
  • CHC30121    Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
  • BSB60420    Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management
  • CHC33015    Certificate III in Individual Support
• VET in schools
• Online delivery
• Provider governance
• Academic cheating

Regulatory environment

In a rapidly changing sector, ASQA will focus on areas of market performance where we see risk. These risks may be exacerbated by changes in environmental settings such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of natural disasters, market responses, changes in training packages and transitions, policy or regulatory settings and any number of other factors including technical change, new business models for industry participants, and changes in consumer preferences or behaviours. 

Our focus

Our regulatory focus will use broad reaching education as a primary regulatory tool and a range or risk-based monitoring activities to provide feedback enabling regulated entities to take responsibility for their governance of these risks and assure compliance. In doing so we will promote provider capability for self-assurance to mitigate risk and continuously improve VET outcomes. We will escalate our regulatory action when a provider does not respond to ensure ongoing compliance. This includes collaboration with TEQSA to target contract cheating such as paying third parties to write papers or the use of a third party to complete an examination or assessment on a student’s behalf.
 

Regulatory risks

• Funding growth
• Third party arrangements
• Resumption of service

Regulatory environment

Service delivery models in flux have been a feature of the last couple of years as the sector adjusts and rebuilds following the pandemic. A significant number of services are resuming delivery or expanding operations with government investment now targeting identified skills gaps in critical workforces, including by supporting students to study in industries identified with skills shortages through the provision of fee-free public VET places and investing in apprenticeships and traineeships.  

The risk area of funding growth arises from a number of factors relating to changes to industry and government funding programs, the cost of delivering VET and the complexities of VET data collection and reporting.

Our focus

ASQA seeks to maintain up to date data on the characteristics of the market in order to assess risk and better target our services and interactions with regulated entities. We will restate our expectations for notification of third-party arrangements and change in a provider’s circumstances including recommencement of services and change in delivery location. ASQA will provide risk-based guidance and may undertake a range of monitoring activities to seek assurances (including conditions on registration) from providers recommencing service and/or expanding business outside their current expertise.