Resourcing requirements—for applicants seeking initial registration or change to scope of registration
Resourcing requirements
Applicants seeking initial registration or change to scope as a provider of Vocational Education and Training (VET) under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 or the Education for Overseas Students Act 2000 are expected to have access to all required resources for each training product included in their application at the time of submission.
Resources include, but are not limited to:
- trainers and assessors
- educational and support services
- learning resources
- facilities
- equipment
- assessment systems
- an Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard (AVETMISS) compliant student management system or data entry tool.
For definitions, see https://www.asqa.gov.au/resources/glossary
What is required?
Trainers and assessors
Trainers are persons who provide training and meet the requirements of Clauses 1.13, 1.14 and 1.16 of the Standards.
Assessors are persons who assess a learner’s competence and meet the requirements of Clauses 1.13 to 1.16 of the Standards.
Initial cohort means the number of learners you intend to enrol when you first commence delivery of a training product. For CRICOS applications, where ‘initial cohort’ is referred to, this is taken to mean the learner capacity requested as part of the application.
You need to have sufficient trainers and assessors to deliver training and conduct assessment for your initial learner cohort(s) with regard to trainer/assessor-to-learner ratios and proposed timetabling. Trainers and assessors that are not currently employed by you need to have been offered employment and indicated they will accept once registration has been granted. Providing a CV for a potential trainer/assessor, or a job description/hiring policy, is not sufficient.
Educational and support services
Educational and support services may include, but are not limited to:
- pre-enrolment materials
- study support and study skills programs
- language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) programs or referrals to these programs
- equipment, resources and/or programs to increase access for learners with disabilities and other learners in accordance with access and equity
- learning resource centres
- mediation services or referrals to these services
- flexible scheduling and delivery of training and assessment
- counselling services or referrals to these services i) information and communications technology (ICT) support
- learning materials in alternative formats - for example, in large print
- learning and assessment programs contextualised to the workplace
- any other services that the RTO considers necessary to support learners to achieve competency.
You need to have sufficient educational and support services to meet identified needs of your target market for your initial learner cohort(s).
Learning resources
Learning resources means all the teaching and learning materials used by trainers, including any provided to learners, that aid learners’ acquisition of knowledge or skills. For example, these may include workbooks, PowerPoint presentations, videos, content contained in a learning management system for online learning, lesson plans and handouts. Learning resources may be purchased or developed by the applicant.
You need to possess all learning resources for all units of competency included in your strategies for training and assessment. Your learning resources need to be set up and accessible to suit each location, learner cohort and mode of delivery. Quotes or invoices for the proposed purchase of learning resources are not sufficient.
Facilities and equipment
Facilities means the venue(s) where delivery and assessment takes place. Facilities may be physical or virtual. Where delivery or assessment is partially or fully online, a suitable learning management system needs to be installed, configured and populated with all relevant learning and/or assessment materials.
Equipment means any equipment required for delivery and assessment, as per the requirements of each unit of competency included in the application (including all elective units specified in the strategies for training and assessment).
If you plan to provide face-to-face delivery or assessment, you need to have access to a venue suitable for all training products included in your application, with regard to the training package or accredited course requirements and your intended training and assessment strategy. This may include purchased premises; a current lease; a written agreement to rent a site pending registration; or plans by the applicant to hire premises as required, and as appropriate to the training product and strategies for training and assessment.
If face-to-face delivery will occur, the venue(s) proposed for delivery need to be large enough for the initial cohort(s) and contain suitable and sufficient facilities such as breakrooms or toilets—with regard to any other organisations using the same venue. It needs to have appropriate approval from the local government authority for educational use (where this is a requirement of the local government authority).
Where access to a workplace is required as part of training or assessment, access to a suitable workplace for each training product applied for needs to be arranged and confirmed in writing (where the applicant will provide the workplace for the learner). Alternatively, where a learner needs to (or can) provide a workplace, a formal process needs to be developed to assess whether each workplace is suitable.
If you are seeking registration, you need to have enough equipment (owned or leased) to deliver all units of competency included in strategies for training and assessment.
Assessment system
An assessment system is a coordinated set of documented policies and procedures (including assessment materials and tools) that ensures assessments are consistent and are based on the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence contained in Clause 1.8 of the Standards.
Your assessment system needs to be developed and ready to implement for all units of competency identified in your strategies for training and assessment for all training products included in your application.
Quotes or invoices for the proposed purchase of assessment systems or materials are not sufficient.
Demonstrated ability to remain compliant with requirements as learner numbers increase
You need to be able to demonstrate your capacity to remain compliant with the requirements of Clause 1.3 of the Standards for RTOs 2015 (the Standards) should your number of learners enrolled increase in the 12-month period after your application is approved.
Collection and submission of AVETMISS data
If you are seeking initial registration as an RTO, you need to have already purchased (or created), installed and configured an AVETMISS-compliant student management system or data entry tool that is capable of meeting the requirements of the National VET Provider Collection Data Requirements Policy.
Links to relevant legislation
- The Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015
See Clause 1.3, Clause 1.8 and Clause 7.5
https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2014L01377/latest/text