ASQA Update - October 2023

Welcome to the October edition of the ASQA Update

It has been another busy month for ASQA, highlighted by the tabling in parliament of our 2022–23 Annual Report – a collective statement of our key activities and achievements for the previous financial year.

In 2022–23, ASQA continued to perform an essential role in assuring consistent, high-quality vocational education and training through effective and vigilant regulation and supporting the sector to build capability and capacity. In the last financial year, we achieved all 5 of our strategic objectives aligned to our purpose, enabled by the principles of regulatory best practice – continuous improvement and building trust, risk-based and data-driven and collaboration and engagement.

More information about our 2022–23 Annual Report is available later in this edition.

October also marked the announcement of an investment by the Australian Government in our compliance, investigative and enforcement capabilities to strengthen our response to integrity issues in the sector.

This welcome investment of $33.3m over 3 years will create a dedicated Integrity Unit within ASQA, alongside an uplift in digital and data systems, and establish a VET tip-off line to provide a safe and confidential avenue for current and former students, staff and other potential whistleblowers to report, anonymously if they wish, alleged illegal and serious non-compliance activity.

The tip-off line – 1300 644 844 – was operational immediately and we have already had a very valuable initial response, including through the webform. 

Together, these initiatives will support our actions to tackle integrity issues in the sector, including those identified in the Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System, led by Christine Nixon AO.

Finally, as I flagged last month, this edition will be the last monthly ASQA Update as we transition to a quarterly product from early next year. I want to reassure you that we remain committed to sharing information with the sector in a clear and timely way, and re-shaping the ASQA Update will mean we are able to share important information about our performance and regulatory practice, and trends and changes impacting the sector, on a more strategic basis.

Information in the ASQA Update, along with The Lens, our new monthly newsletter, will also be published on our website, ensuring even greater levels of transparency about key information and changes, as well as operational and compliance information relevant to VET providers.

As always, if you have any feedback about these changes, or would like to suggest any items for inclusion in our first quarterly edition of the ASQA Update, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Stay safe and well.

In this edition

• ASQA Annual Report 2022–23

• Updated draft revised Standards for RTOs 2025

• Tip-off line open: we want to hear from you

• ELICOS courses: issuing multiple CoEs

and more