Auditor-General performance audit report into ASQA tabled in Parliament

The Australian National Audit Office recently audited ASQA’s Effectiveness of Planning and Implementation of Reform and the Auditor-General’s report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday 29 June 2021. The audit provided an independent assessment of the effectiveness of ASQA’s performance in planning and implementing reform along with recommendations and opportunities to improve.

ASQA Chief Executive Officer, Saxon Rice, said she welcomed the Auditor-General’s report into the effectiveness, planning and implementation of ASQA’s reform work.

“We will carefully consider the Auditor-General’s recommendations and opportunities to improve as we continue to strengthen our planning and management of risk. Indeed, the effectiveness of our reform planning and implementation is critical to enable ASQA to achieve our strategic objective to, in partnership with stakeholders, ensure quality vocational education and training (VET). This is so students, employers, governments and the community can have confidence in the integrity of qualifications issued by training providers,” Ms Rice said.

Since the release of the Rapid Review of ASQA's Regulatory Practices and Processes (Rapid Review) on 30 April 2020, ASQA has set out to respond strategically to the report’s 24 recommendations in the context of the changing operating environment for the sector, the breadth of the broader VET reform agenda and other policy settings of the Australian, state and territory governments, including evolving responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Rice said ASQA will continue to engage with the sector and collaborate on the variety of improvements the national regulator is making to regulatory practice to support quality training outcomes.

“Our engagement with the sector is a fundamental aspect of the Rapid Review recommendations to support a shared understanding of expectations and focus on continuous improvement and quality outcomes. We will continue to support and engage with our stakeholders and workforce to ensure they understand and benefit from the reform changes,” said Ms Rice.