Changes to our audit practice

From mid-August 2020, providers will notice changes to the way audits are conducted and reported.

While ASQA has always strived to operate in line with best practice audit principles, we have identified improvements that we can make to our processes in line with the Rapid Review.

Providers will see these improvements in a range of ways, including:

• changes to how we deal with minor deficiencies—for example, a deficiency will be minor if it:
  • has negligible impact on students
  • does not impact the overall intent or outcome required of the clause
  • can be readily fixed
  • is not systemic
  • is administrative in nature
  • could have occurred despite controls being in place (e.g. is likely inadvertent, an accident or unintended)
• earlier requests for information—for example, prior to a site visit we will request training and assessment strategies, student files and learning resources for the training products to be sampled. This will reduce the burden on providers during a site visit, enabling ASQA to have better information of the scoping and undertaking of the audit, making the process more efficient.

Auditors will discuss any minor deficiencies with providers as they arise during the audit (or otherwise at the closing meeting) and seek the provider’s agreement to remedy the deficiencies (without the need to require evidence that the minor deficiencies have been remedied). The minor deficiencies will be recorded in the Audit Report but do not result in a finding of non-compliance against the clause.

This is the first stage of changes to how we approach our audit practice with further changes to be implemented in early 2021.