Apply for course accreditation

VET course concept requirements and eligibility criteria

Before developing a full course for initial accreditation, you must submit a VET course concept. The VET course concept outlines the key details of your proposed course and helps ASQA determine whether it meets the eligibility criteria for accreditation.

To be eligible, your VET course concept must demonstrate:  

• Industry or community need: 
  You must provide evidence from a broad range of stakeholders that there is a genuine industry or community need.
  • This evidence should show that the course addresses a skills and knowledge gap not covered by any existing training products.
• Stakeholder involvement: 
  You must provide evidence from stakeholders confirming their involvement in the course development process.
  • Some stakeholders may provide letters confirming both their support for the proposed course and their involvement in consultation and/or validation activities. Only one letter per stakeholder is required, provided it clearly addresses both aspects.
• No duplication of existing training products: 
  Your proposed course must not duplicate any existing accredited training products (qualifications, skill sets, or units of competency).
  • Use the National Training Register (TGA) to search for existing qualifications, skill sets, and units of competency by keywords, job roles, or industry sectors.
  • If your course duplicates any existing training products, it will not be approved (as required by Standard 9 of the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021).
• Enterprise units (if applicable): 
  If no existing training package unit addresses the specific skills and knowledge gap you have identified, you may develop your own enterprise unit of competency to include in your course.
  • An enterprise unit is a unit developed by a course owner to meet a skills and knowledge gap not covered by existing units
  • Refer to Standard 10.2 of the Users’ guide to the Standards for VET Accredited Courses for more guidance about developing enterprise units.

VET course concept submission

1. Complete the VET course concept form for each course you wish to accredit
2. Submit the completed form along with supporting evidence to the ASQA Finance team via email: courses@asqa.gov.au   
3. Receive an invoice from ASQA
4. Pay the VET course concept lodgement fee.

VET course concept assessment process

After you submit the completed VET course concept form, supporting evidence, and pay the lodgement fee, ASQA will:

• Review your submission to ensure it is complete
• Assess your VET course concept against the eligibility criteria for accreditation
• Request additional information or evidence if required, giving you the opportunity to provide it.
• Notify you in writing whether your VET course concept is eligible to proceed to course development.

Decision

If your VET course concept is eligible to proceed:

• You may begin developing your course
• You have up to 6 months to complete and submit your course for accreditation.

If your VET course concept is not eligible to proceed, it may be due to:

• Not meeting the eligibility requirements
• Failing to provide requested information within the specified timeframe. 

You must develop your course using the national course document template, as required by the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021.

Once completed, this template becomes your course document.

If your course is accredited, the course document will be used by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) as the basis for delivering training and conducting assessment.

Important information

To develop a course, you must access both the:

1. Guide to Completing the National Course Document Template and
2. Users’ guide to the Standards for VET Accredited Courses.  

These guides are critical for understanding the course development process - including stakeholder engagement, course structure, and writing units of competency - and for correctly completing the national course document template.

1. Complete the Application for course accreditation form for each course you wish to accredit
2. Submit the completed form together with the completed course document (in Word format) and supporting evidence to the ASQA Finance team via email: courses@asqa.gov.au
3. Receive an invoice from ASQA
4. Pay the accreditation assessment fee. 

Assessment process

After you submit the completed Application for course accreditation form, national course document, supporting evidence, and pay the accreditation assessment fee, ASQA will:

• Review your application to ensure it is complete
• Request additional information or evidence if required, giving you the opportunity to provide it  
• Assess your initial application against the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
• Contact you and provide the assessor’s contact details once the application has been allocated for assessment.

Notice of non-compliance

If the course does not meet all the requirements, ASQA will send you:  

• A notice of non-compliance  
• An evaluation report that outlines the areas of non-compliance  
• A rectification response summary form.

You will have an opportunity to address the issues identified. A response must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the notice. The exact due date will be clearly stated in the notice.

Outcome of your application

If your application is granted and the course is accredited you will receive written confirmation from ASQA, including:

• Your course owner number and course code
• The accreditation period (up to five years)
• Any conditions placed on the accreditation
• Your responsibilities for managing and monitoring the course.

ASQA will also publish the following details on the National Training Register (TGA):

• Course code and title
• Course owner and contact details
• Course description
• List of units of competency included in the course.

Adding the course to your scope of registration

If you are an RTO and intend to deliver the accredited course, you must apply to have it added to your scope of registration. This is not an automatic process.

Other RTOs wishing to deliver your course must:

• Apply to ASQA to add the course to their scope
• Provide evidence that you, as the course owner, have granted permission for its use.

If your application is rejected

If your initial application is rejected, ASQA will notify you in writing and explain the reasons for the decision.

Common reasons for rejection include:

• An incomplete application, where requested information was not provided in the required time or format
• Failure to meet the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

If your initial application is not successful, you may:

• Request a review of ASQA’s decision
• Submit a new application, addressing the areas of non-compliance identified.