Conditions placed on registration of Gurkhas Institute of Technology

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has imposed a raft of data retention and reporting conditions on the registration of Gurkhas Institute of Technology Pty Ltd (RTO number 22088) as part of the resolution of action in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

ASQA cancelled the registration of Gurkhas Institute as a provider of vocational education and training (VET), including to overseas students, in May after identifying non-compliance with the requirements of the VET Quality Framework.

The organisation, which trades as the Royal Gurkhas Institute of Technology Australia and Gurkhas Institute of Hospitality & Management, sought a review of ASQA’s decisions in the AAT.

As part of this process, Gurkhas Institute provided additional information and evidence which demonstrated that many of the concerns raised by ASQA had been remedied.  ASQA also inspected Gurkhas’ Hobart campus and collected further information.

ASQA agreed the cancellation decisions be set aside and other decisions made to reject a number of applications to change the provider’s scope of registration be varied on the condition that Gurkhas Institute agree to a number of data retention and reporting conditions.

These conditions include:

• quarterly data reporting
• enhanced monitoring and recording of overseas students’ attendance
• retention of student assessments for 12 months after the student is issued with a qualification
• maintenance of a register of workplaces used to deliver training and assessment, and
• a register of student complaints.

Chief Commissioner Mark Paterson said ASQA was pleased with the outcome of the AAT proceedings.

“ASQA took the decision to cancel this provider’s registration because it had serious concerns about the quality of the training and assessment being provided to learners,” Mr Paterson said.

“As the AAT review process allows, the provider has now demonstrated that it has remedied many of the concerns we had and the additional data retention and reporting conditions placed on its scope of registration will allow ASQA to closely scrutinise Gurkhas’ activities going forward.”

ASQA audited Gurkhas Institute of Technology in 2015 and 2016 as part of its regulatory strategy targeting providers approved to offer training under the now-closed VET FEE-HELP program.

Gurkhas is no longer offering training under VET FEE-HELP or its successor, VET Student Loans.