Training and assessment

A registered training organisation (RTO) is required to securely retain—and to produce at audit, if requested—all completed student assessment items for each student for a period of six months from the date on which the judgement of competence for the student has been made. Completed student assessment items include the actual work completed by a student or evidence of that work, including evidence collected for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.

If you are unable to retain a student’s actual work, an assessor’s completed marking guide, criteria, and observation checklist for each student may be sufficient. However, this evidence must have enough detail to demonstrate the assessor’s judgement of the student’s performance.

Qualifications, courses or units of competency that lead to regulated/licensed outcomes may also impose specific records retention requirements. RTOs should refer to specific regulatory requirements relating to that delivery.

• Read more about the retention of assessment items in ASQA’s General Direction—Retention requirements for completed student assessment items.

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) provides a guide to the volume of learning (see ‘AQF volume of learning indicators’ table), which describes how long a learner who does not hold any of the competencies identified in the relevant units of competency or modules would take to develop all the required skills and knowledge.

Your RTO is required to comply with the AQF in applying the volume of learning to your programs. You must therefore develop and implement strategies for training and assessment that are consistent with the AQF.

The Standards for RTOs 2015 requires that a person that does not hold the required competencies (regardless of their skills and knowledge):

• must be supervised by a qualified trainer, and
• must not determine assessment outcomes.

Training must only be provided by those who have current industry skills and knowledge.

From 1 January 2016, people working under such supervision arrangements must hold the:

• Enterprise Trainer Skill Set (in either mentoring or presenting), and/or
• Enterprise Trainer and Assessor Skill Set.

For more information see Clauses 1.17 – 1.20 of the Standards Guide.

Vocational competency includes broad industry knowledge and experience, usually combined with a relevant industry qualification.

A person who has vocational competency will:

• be familiar with the content of the vocation, and
• have relevant, current experience in the industry. (See Clause 1.13 of the Standards for RTOs 2015)

Vocational competency must be considered on an industry-by-industry basis and with reference to the guidance provided in the assessment guidelines of the relevant training package.

Training packages include industry-specific advice on vocational competencies of assessors. This may include advice on the industry qualifications and experience required for assessing against the training package (or against specific qualifications within the package). The training package will also provide industry-specific advice on acceptable forms of evidence to show currency with vocational competency.

An assessor must collect and consider a range of evidence from a variety of sources. This evidence can include third-party reports provided by supervisors, trainers, team members, clients or consumers who can report what they see or hear to the assessor.

Evidence may be:

• direct (such as an observation of workplace performance by an assessor)
• indirect (such as a portfolio of evidence), or
• supplementary (such a supervisor reports).

Registered training organisations (RTOs) must ensure that the assessments are valid, reliable, fair and flexible and the evidence collected is valid, sufficient, current and authentic and that the judgement of competence is made by a person/s who meets the requirements of the Standards for RTOs 2015, specifically Clauses 1.13 - 1.15, 1.17, 1.18 and 1.21 - 1.25.

• Find out more about third-party arrangements in the fact sheet—Using other parties to collect assessment evidence

There is a range of evidence that registered training organisations (RTOs) can provide to demonstrate that they are contributing to:

• the continuous development of a trainer’s or assessor’s vocational education and training knowledge and skills, and
• the trainer’s or assessor’s industry currency and competence.

It is important to remember that it is an RTO that must demonstrate compliance with the standards, rather than individual trainers and assessors.

RTOs seeking to prove that they are serious about the quality of their training and assessment should:

• support their trainers/assessors in meaningful industry engagement
• support their trainers’/assessors’ professional development in teaching and learning methods and in understanding the requirements of the vocational education and training (VET) sector, and
• foster a culture of critical evaluation and innovation.

Evidence to demonstrate the currency of trainer/assessor skills might include documentation related to:

• attendance at relevant professional development activities
• participation in networks, communities of practice or mentoring activities
• participation in industry release schemes
• personal development through the reading of journals
• participation in projects with industry, and
• shadowing or working closely with other trainers and assessors.

RTOs should be able to demonstrate how development activities contribute towards:

• trainers’/assessors’ understanding of the requirements of the VET environment
• trainers’ vocational skills and knowledge (so that they are providing learning programs that are in line with current industry requirements)  
• assessors’ vocational skills and knowledge (so that they are assessing to the standards required by industry), and
• improving the way in which trainers/assessors train and assess.

Vocational competency must be considered on an industry-by-industry basis and with reference to any guidance provided in the relevant training package or accredited course.

While ASQA does not have a specific requirement for trainers and assessors to complete working with children checks, ASQA requires registered training organisations (RTOs) to comply with all relevant state, territory and commonwealth legislation.

RTOs should contact the occupational health and safety agency in their state or territory to determine requirements for trainers and assessors to complete working with children checks.

ASQA does not prescribe the methodology registered training organisations (RTOs) should use to meet the requirements of the relevant standards, training packages and accredited courses.

RTOs must demonstrate the validity of their assessment tools, but they can choose to do this in a variety of ways.

ASQA’s position is to give providers the opportunity to present evidence that they have met the required outcomes. Regardless of the source of training and assessment resources, be it commercial or otherwise, providers are responsible for undertaking effective quality assurance, including validation and contextualisation, on any training and assessment resources they choose to use.

Providers are obliged to demonstrate that materials used are consistent with the requirements of the training package or vocational education and training (VET) accredited course, as required in the Standards.

If an ASQA registered training organisation (RTO) intends to offer/deliver a unit that is not a core unit of competency, or a named elective unit of competency within the packaging rules of a qualification on its scope of registration, the RTO cannot offer/deliver/issue a statement of attainment for the unit unless:

• it has applied to ASQA to have that unit explicitly listed on its scope of registration, and 
• ASQA has approved that application.
• Find more information in the fact sheet—Delivering elective units.

A training provider interested in delivering VET in schools will need to contact the relevant department of education in that state or territory.

• Contact the relevant education department in your state/territory.

Yes―however, the statement of attainment and testamur needs to include the language in which the course was delivered.

The registered training organisation delivering the qualification or unit would also need to provide ASQA auditors with access to an interpreter.

In addition, there may be further requirements set by licensing bodies regarding what language a specific course can be delivered in.

• More about licensing body requirements

ASQA cannot teach providers specifically how to comply with the standards and cannot provide private rulings. This is because it is important for training providers to design tools and systems that meet their specific business needs and for each unique business to demonstrate to ASQA how the standards are being met.

ASQA assesses the compliance of your training and assessment strategies through the application process. If your strategies are not compliant, ASQA will provide you with 20 working days to rectify the situation and provide evidence that you have done so.