- Develop a shared understanding of what ‘quality’ and ‘outcomes’ look like, how these should be reflected in outcomes-focused standards and performance assessed by ASQA.
- Develop new standards in consultation with the sector, with a view to decreasing prescriptive detail and increasing the focus on quality training delivery and outcomes for students and employers.
- Develop resources to support providers to meet the standards including self-assessment tools to encourage continuous improvement.
- Adjust ASQA’s approach to performance monitoring in line with revised standards and a focus on provider self-assurance.
- Publish more information regarding provider performance to support students and employers to differentiate between providers.
- Realign ASQA’s cost recovery arrangements to reflect ASQA’s new approach to performance monitoring.
- Build a common understanding of ASQA’s role and regulatory approach, what stakeholders can and cannot expect of ASQA and areas of shared stakeholder responsibility.
- Change ASQA’s organisational structure and focus to strengthen strategic oversight and managerial capacity to:
- support implementation of critical reforms (including in relation to engagement and education, performance assessment and proportionate response to non-compliance)
- support change management
- strengthen internal systems and quality controls.
- Establish an advisory council to improve access to high-level ongoing expert advice including in relation to ASQA’s strategic objectives and approach to regulation.
- Strengthen ASQA’s strategic stakeholder engagement and education, including to:
- build provider capacity for self-assurance
- co-design new regulatory tools with the sector (for example, to support self-assessment)
- identify common areas of non-compliance and develop consistent guidance for external stakeholders and for ASQA.
- Strengthen strategic engagement with SSON, IRCs and SSOs to establish a feedback loop regarding broader VET reform, training packages, their intent and their implementation by providers.
- Expand ASQA’s post-market monitoring to include risk-based and routine monitoring to support public confidence in the regulation of the sector.
- Review the provider self-assessment tool and the annual declaration on compliance, such that they better support providers to identify and address non-compliance and drive continuous improvement.
- Adopt a range of monitoring activities that can be selected based on risk and the purpose for monitoring, to better align regulatory effort to risk.
- More clearly distinguish the functions of monitoring provider performance and determining the most appropriate regulatory response where non-compliance is identified to improve consistency of performance assessment outcomes and proportionality of regulatory response.
- Give providers opportunity to remedy any identified non-compliance within 20 working days, or in accordance with an undertaking to remedy (providing a longer period within which to address the non-compliance on a more systemic and sustained basis).
- Enhance opportunity to undertake early dispute resolution.
- Revise the report that is given to providers following performance assessment to more comprehensively describe any non-compliance as identified issues against the student-centred journey; reduce the amount of non-essential text; and distinguish between minor non-compliances or areas for improvement and more significant non-compliances.
- Notify government agencies of provider non-compliance after the provider has had the opportunity to respond to the performance assessment report (except where there is significant and immediate risk to public funding, students or others as a result of the identified non-compliance).
- In the short term, build on the information ASQA publishes in respect of regulatory decisions to include the main reasons for the decision, so as to improve transparency of decision-making.
- In the long-term, publish a summary of ASQA’s findings regarding the provider’s performance against the standards.
- Strengthen induction training for ASQA assessors and decision-makers, including to support consistent regulatory practice, decision-making and documentation.
- Implement a formal program for continuing professional development for ASQA assessors and decision-makers.
- Implement a program of internal quality assurance, including regular:
- opportunities for moderation of performance assessment outcomes and decision-making
- internal review of performance assessment reports and compliance outcomes.
Download the report
Download the full rapid review report via the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website