ASQA | Spotlight On validation, Chapter 4
Assembling your validation team
Chapter 4 aims to help training providers understand the requirements that your selected validation team needs to meet. We look at where and how you might begin sourcing your team.
Fair and impartial validation
Validation is undertaken by one or more people who collectively have industry competencies, skills and knowledge relevant to the training product, a practical understanding of current industry practices relevant to the training product and relevant credentials for validation as specified in the Credential Policy.
To remove the risk of bias, your validation team will need to include someone who was not involved in the training and assessment of the sample being validated.
Meeting the 2025 Standards
Validation of your assessment practices and judgements needs to be undertaken by one or more people who:
- are not directly involved in the instance of delivery and assessment of the training product being validated
- collectively have industry competencies, skills and knowledge relevant to the training product
- collectively have a practical understanding of current industry practices relevant to the training product; and
- collectively have one of the credentials for validation specified in section 3 of the Credential Policy
- hold current knowledge and skills in vocational teaching and learning.
You may choose to engage industry experts in your validation to ensure there is the right combination of expertise to meet these requirements.
Choosing your validation team
Your validation team can be sourced either internally or externally.
Internal contributors
Validators can be employees or contractors of your training provider, including
- trainers and assessors
- compliance staff
- consultants.
Trainers and assessors who were directly involved in the training and assessment of the products being validated can participate in the process as part of a team, but cannot:
- conduct the validation on their own
- determine the validation outcome for any assessment judgements they made, and
- be the lead validator in the assessment team.
External contributors
You can invite external sources to conduct your validation process. These could include:
- employers and employer associations
- industry bodies
- other training providers —from the same or different industry areas
- consultants.
Using external team members is particularly useful for small providers with only one or two trainers/assessors. The invaluable experience that industry and other providers bring to the process can allow you to embed new advice and feedback into your practices.
An internal or external contact cannot lead validation on their own unless they personally meet all the requirements. For example, a compliance officer may have the required credentials and vocational currency, but may not have the industry competencies required.
If you’re collaboratively validating assessments with another training provider, you can also share other continuous improvement ideas and achievements.
The benefits of industry validation
There are several advantages to using industry representatives, especially those involved in the development of your training assessment systems and validation activities.
Industry representatives are able to provide relevant commentary on:
- the industry relevance of the context and conditions of the assessment
- the industry relevance of the resources used during assessment
- the tasks the learner completed.