ASQA suspends Quest College’s registration

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has today suspended the registration of Cooloola Training & Counselling Service Pty Ltd (registered training organisation (RTO) number 31797).

ASQA has also given the RTO – which trades as Quest College – a notice of intention to cancel its registration as a provider of vocational education and training services.

The suspension means the provider is able to continue to provide training to existing students, but may not advertise or enrol any further students while the suspension is in place.

Chief Commissioner Mark Paterson said regulatory scrutiny of Quest College by ASQA officers had identified behaviour that was non-compliant with the requirements of the VET quality framework.

Mr Paterson said that there was sufficient risk to students to require an immediate suspension of the provider.

ASQA found Quest College did not have:

• a sufficient number of appropriately qualified trainers and assessors to deliver to the number of students enrolled across all qualifications, modes of delivery, and locations;
• sufficient learning resources to deliver to the number of learners enrolled across all qualifications, with respect to the RTO’s training and assessment strategies, locations, and mode of delivery provided.

ASQA is also concerned as to the financial viability of the provider.

“ASQA conducted an audit of Quest College on 24 May 2017 and identified a critical level of non-compliances that, in addition to intelligence received regarding recent actions of the provider, led ASQA to the view that immediate action was necessary,” Mr Paterson said.