Standards for VET Regulators

The Industry and Skills Council has endorsed the Standards for VET Regulators 2015. These Standards ensure:

• the integrity of nationally recognised training by regulating RTOs and VET accredited courses
• consistency in the VET regulators’ implementation and interpretation of the standards applying to RTOs and VET accredited courses
• accountability and transparency of VET regulators.

The Standards for VET Regulators describe a series of outcomes that regulators must achieve but do not prescribe how to achieve these outcomes.

How the Standards relate to ASQA

The Standards require ASQA to:

• use a risk-based approach to regulation, implementing processes that are fair, transparent, responsive and consistent and which uphold the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness
• use auditors and accreditation assessors who meet agreed competency requirements
• develop and put in place a code of conduct for auditors and course accreditation assessors to ensure the use of contemporary best practice approaches to regulation
• assist RTOs to comply with the Standards for RTOs 2015 and provide information to the sector on emerging risks
• manage RTOS’ scope of registration to ensure they deliver only current training products
• publish decisions to impose sanctions on RTOs, together with the reasons for the decisions
• accept and manage complaints about RTOs, and about ASQA’s role as a regulator, using publicly available processes
• report and respond to requests from the Industry and Skills Council

• make service standards publicly available and regularly review their performance against these service standards and the regulator Standards.

   

How ASQA regulates providers

In regulating providers, ASQA uses a risk-based approach and applies the risk assessment framework as required by the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

Regulatory actions and decisions are informed through data analysis and intelligence about emerging risks to quality outcomes in the VET sector. This intelligence is gathered through activities such as:

• conducting audits and other compliance monitoring activities
• undertaking strategic industry reviews
• analysing complaints about RTOs
• engaging with industry, industry regulators and other VET regulators.