Course accreditation

Yes. Nominal hours are also referred to as supervised hours for course accreditation. Nominal hours represent the supervised, structured learning and assessment activity required to sufficiently address the content of each unit.

The Assessor competencies identified in a course must ensure RTOs will meet the requirements of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015.

No, a student must satisfy all entry requirements, including holding specified units of competency, prior to commencing the course.

Yes—there are many accredited courses that provide training and assessment to address an outcome in the same area. However, you cannot accredit a course to address an outcome that can be achieved via a training package.

Units from the Foundation Skills Training Package can be included in accredited courses if they are relevant to the vocational outcome of the accredited course.

Pre-requisite unit relationships must be defined within the course structure at Section B: 5.1. This must include any pre-requisite requirements for imported training package units or units from an existing accredited course. Students must be deemed competent in a pre-requisite unit prior to the determination of competency in the associated unit/s. Advice to RTOs on the sequence of delivery of the accredited course must also be provided within the course structure. For example, knowledge-based units should be completed prior to units requiring the application of practical skills.

Course Developers may utilise a consultant to develop a course; however, ASQA does not endorse any particular consultants. Industry bodies such as Velg and the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) publish lists of consultants that may help you find a suitable consultant.

The possession of a current blue card or a police check can be included as an entry requirement into accredited courses. Course owners will need to provide a rationale for including this entry requirement if it prevents a student from undertaking work placement.

Trigger words that align to foundation skills may be used in the performance criteria. If foundation skills are not explicit in the performance criteria they must be identified in the ‘Foundation skills’ field of the unit of competency.

• Foundation skills trigger words.pdf (165.95 KB)

ASQA liaises with Skills Service Organisations (SSOs), industry regulators and peak and professional bodies to seek technical advice on the relevant industry area when accrediting a course.

Online directed study classes may count towards supervised hours. Assignment work is considered to be an unsupervised activity.

The content of all endorsed training package units can be accessed from training.gov.au

If you are dissatisfied with a decision made by ASQA you have a number of options:

1. Consider the reasons for the decision, address the outstanding areas of non-compliance and submit a new application
2. Ask ASQA to reassess its position 
3. Ask ASQA to review the decision 
4. Apply to have the decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Refer to the ASQA fact sheet―AAT review of an ASQA decision.

If you develop and complete the course document and course accreditation submission in accordance with the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021, ASQA may accredit your course within six months. However, this is an indicative timeframe only. Timeframes for course accreditation vary depending on a range of factors, including the quality of the submission.

No—only registered training organisations (RTOs) can deliver accredited courses. If you are registered with ASQA as an RTO, once the course is accredited you need to apply on the asqanet website to have the course added to your scope of registration. Once ASQA has approved this application you can deliver the course. (If you are not registered as an RTO, you will need to apply and be approved to operate as an RTO, and apply to include the course on your scope of registration.)

Yes—you can apply to accredit a course that includes units of competency from an existing training package, or enterprise units (units you write yourself).

Yes—units of competency should be written in accordance with the requirements of the Standards for Training Packages.

If the workplace training is supervised by the RTO trainer/assessor, this is included in the nominal (supervised) hours. Nominal (supervised) hours do not include the hours associated with unsupervised activities such as work experience or field placement.

To meet the requirements of 7.13, course owners might consider:

• reviewing the course for currency (for example, did the graduates of the accredited course meet the needs of industry?)
• undertaking periodic reviews of the course content and outcomes
• seeking feedback and conducting surveys of RTOs, employers and graduates
• conducting trend analyses of the industry and emerging trends
• liaising with regulatory/industry associations and peak bodies.

Advice should be included regarding how frequently the monitoring and evaluation activities will be undertaken (e.g. annually). The information to be included should not solely relate to the outcomes of assessment moderation/validation activities unless they relate to informing the monitoring and evaluation of the course content and outcomes.

The qualification levels in the VET sector are:

• Certificates I, II, III and IV
• Diploma
• Advanced Diploma
• Graduate Certificate
• Graduate Diploma.

Applying for initial course accreditation or renewal of accreditation involves two fees:

• an application lodgement fee ($500)
• an application assessment fee ($7570).

Some courses identify units that can be completed in conjunction with other units. Where co-requisite unit relationships exist they must be identified in the ‘Assessment conditions’ field of an enterprise unit developed for inclusion in a course.

The hours assigned to training package units of competency included in an accredited course can be found in the Victorian Purchasing Guides.