What is an accredited course?
Accredited courses are an important part of Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector.
An accredited course is developed when:
- a training need is not covered by a training package qualification
- a course needs to be nationally recognised.
Accreditation means a course has been independently assessed by ASQA or a state regulator and meets the:
Accredited courses vs training packages
Training packages are government-funded and designed to meet the majority of Australia's vocational training needs. They are publicly available for all Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to use.
In contrast, accredited courses are developed by individuals or organisations to address specific skills or knowledge gaps not covered by training packages. These course owners pay for the accreditation process, retain intellectual property rights, and can license their courses to RTOs.
While both types of courses are nationally recognised, a course cannot be accredited if its intended outcomes are already achievable through an existing training product.
Types of accredited courses
ASQA can accredit courses across a wide range of qualification levels, including:
- Certificate I, II, III and IV
- Diploma and Advanced Diploma
- Vocational Degree
- Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma
In addition to full qualifications, course owners can also seek accreditation for courses that lead to a Statement of Attainment. The titles of these courses begin with the words ‘Course in’.
Delivering accredited courses
Only Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can deliver accredited courses. To do so, they must:
- Own the course or have permission from the course owner
- Add the course to their scope of registration.
All accredited courses are listed on the National Training Register (TGA), which includes course codes, titles, and approved RTOs. ASQA does not publish detailed course content online.
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