Working together for better regulation

Long term vision for ASQA: Moving from input and compliance controls to a focus on self-assurance and excellence in training outcomes

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Develop resources to support providers to meet the standards including self-assessment tools to encourage continuous improvement.
4. Adjust ASQA’s approach to performance monitoring in line with revised standards and a focus on provider self-assurance.
5. Publish more information regarding provider performance to support students and employers to differentiate between providers.
6. Realign ASQA’s cost recovery arrangements to reflect ASQA’s new approach to performance monitoring.

Clarifying and modernising ASQA’s role and regulatory culture

7. 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.

Aligning governance arrangements with ASQA’s renewed focus

8. 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.
9. 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.

Strengthening engagement and education

10. 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.
11. 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.

Using intelligence to effectively monitor strategic risk and provider performance

12. Expand ASQA’s post-market monitoring to include risk-based and routine monitoring to support public confidence in the regulation of the sector.

Aligning audit practice to focus on self-assurance

13. 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.
14. 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.

Appropriate and proportionate regulatory action where non-compliance is identified

15. 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 audit outcomes and proportionality of regulatory response.
16. 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).
17. Enhance opportunity to undertake early dispute resolution.

Meaningful reporting on provider performance

18. Revise the report that is given to providers following audit 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.
19. Notify government agencies of provider non-compliance after the provider has had the opportunity to respond to the audit report (except where there is significant and immediate risk to public funding, students or others as a result of the identified non-compliance).
20. 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.
21. In the long-term, publish a summary of ASQA’s findings regarding the provider’s performance against the standards.

Supporting ASQA staff to deliver the outcomes

22. Strengthen induction training for ASQA auditors and decision-makers, including to support consistent regulatory practice, decision-making and documentation.
23. Implement a formal program for continuing professional development for ASQA auditors and decision-makers.
24. Implement a program of internal quality assurance, including regular:
    • opportunities for moderation of audit outcomes and decision-making
    • internal review of audit reports and compliance outcomes.