Our regulatory practice

ASQA has a risk-based approach to compliance and a quality outcome focus to protect the quality and reputation of the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Performance assessments (audits) are one of the ways we review compliance and identify and manage provider risks.

Our work with providers promotes a return to compliance in a systemic, structured and sustainable way.

Transforming our regulatory approach

In response to the Rapid Review recommendations, we continue to roll out changes to the way we regulate to improve confidence and quality in the VET sector.

We’re improving our stakeholder consultation and provider relationships by:

building a common understanding about our role, what we do and what we don’t do
identifying shared responsibilities across the sector
aligning our performance assessments with developing self-assurance
supporting and educating providers to meet their obligations.

We’ve improved our systems and processes to manage compliance by:

changing our organisational structure to focus on strengthening strategic oversight
including risk-based and routine monitoring of the sector
responding to non-compliance in a fair and balanced way
strengthening training for our assessors and decision makers.

We will continue to develop our regulatory approach to align with quality standards.

How we assess course accreditation applications

We accredit VET accredited courses if they meet:

Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021.

Accreditation is formal confirmation that a course:

is nationally recognised and meets quality assurance requirements
meets an established industry, enterprise, educational, legislative or community need that is not addressed by a training package
provides competency outcomes and a satisfactory basis for assessment
is aligned to the AQF where it leads to a VET qualification.

Learn more about course accreditation.

How we assess registration applications

Learn more about how we assess new registration applications, application renewals and change of scope to existing registrations.

RTOs

Initial RTO application Renewal RTO application Change to scope RTO application

CRICOS

Initial CRICOS application Renewal CRICOS application

Change to scope CRICOS application

How we manage non-compliance

We manage non-compliance with a risk-based focus to identify and treat the most significant risks.

The way we manage non-compliance is consistent, transparent and central to promoting public confidence in the skills and training system.

Where we find that a provider doesn’t meet legislation or the standards, we’ll respond proportionately based on the level of risk.

Our response includes using a range of regulatory tools, to ensure providers address non-compliance and have monitoring systems in place to remain compliant.

We respond to non-compliance based on the:

seriousness of non-compliance
extent of a provider’s commitment and capability to compliance
ability to maintain compliance.

Our regulatory response aims to:

raise awareness of obligations and the consequences of non-compliance
ensure providers promptly address non-compliance and rectify any harm caused
promote continuous improvement and ensure future compliance is achievable and sustainable
address non-compliance in the most efficient way
increase accountability and transparency of performance in the sector.

Our Regulatory Practice Guide - Approach to compliance outlines the regulatory tools we use to return providers to compliance.

How and why we publish our regulatory decisions

We publish information about our regulatory decisions to assist students, industry and government.

Prior to the 1st March 2021 ASQA published a range of regulatory decisions on its website and the national training register (www.training.gov.au). This practice ceased following changes to the NVR Act which permitted ASQA to publish decisions directly to the national training register in a timely fashion and publishing the information on ASQA’s website became duplicative and no longer necessary.

Historic decisions information continues to be publicly available on Record of decisions prior to 1st March 2021.

How to locate regulatory decision information on the National Register

To locate regulatory decision information, go to the ‘Regulatory Decision Information’ tab on the relevant provider’s profile.

MySkills (for students and employers)

We encourage students and employers interested in learning about registration status and decisions related to a particular provider to visit MySkills, the national directory of VET organisations and courses. MySkills is designed for potential and existing VET students to help them make choices about their training options.

How to locate regulatory decision information on MySkills

To locate regulatory decision information about a particular provider you need to search on MySkills using their name. If ASQA has made a regulatory decision about the provider a red warning will display next to their name in the search results.

Click on the provider’s name to enter into their MySkills profile. The red warning will appear again at the top of the screen, accompanied by a link to the provider’s profile on the National Register.

For more information about regulatory decisions see our Regulatory Practice Guide - Approach to compliance.

How we review decisions

When we make a decision that adversely affects a provider, we provide procedural fairness and robust reasons for our decisions. This ensures a fair process. In addition, providers also have an opportunity to ask for a review.

The way we review decisions intends to:

provide a genuine opportunity to engage with providers
ensure our decisions support the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers
give stakeholders confidence in the decisions we make.

When we review decisions, we review the evidence that led to our original decision and any new evidence. We do this to ensure we have made the correct decision.

We make decisions on the evidence we have at the time of assessment. New evidence may change a decision on review.

For more information see our Regulatory Practice Guide - Approach to review of decisions.

Our code of practice

Our code of practice guides how our staff perform their duties. They follow these principles at all times during assessments:

honesty and integrity
respect and courtesy
confidentiality
procedural fairness
competence
due care and diligence.

Learn more about our Code of Practice or provide feedback in relation to assessor/officer conduct.

How we support providers

We’re giving our providers more clarity, support and help.

Our new way of working with providers includes:

offering support and guidance
providing self-assessment tools for improvement
clarifying how we track and measure performance
producing reports that are easy to understand and follow
explaining the reasons for our decisions.