Commonwealth and state and territory Skills Minsters have agreed to progress revisions to the Standards.
To facilitate clear and outcome-focussed Standards that go to the heart of quality training delivery, the revised Standards for RTOs comprises of three elements:
the Outcome Standards
the Compliance Requirements (including the Fit and Proper Person Requirements and NRT Logo Conditions of Use Policy), and
the Credential Policy.
This approach reflects early feedback from the sector that that the mix of quality-oriented and compliance and input-focused requirements in the current 2015 Standards causes an undue focus on prescriptive compliance at the expense of good organisational practises that deliver quality outcomes for VET students and employers, and that the way information is set out in the current Standards is complex and difficult to navigate.
The revised structure is designed to better meet the needs of RTOs and regulators and enable a clear focus on quality and integrity in the VET sector and has been tested through previous consultation with the VET sector on the draft revised Standards.
It is important to note the requirements in the draft Compliance Requirements and Credential Policy largely reflect existing requirements drawn from the current Standards.
The Credential Policy
The draft Credential Policy consists of credential requirements for people delivering training and assessment and undertaking validation of assessment. Detailing this information in a policy, rather than a schedule to the Outcome Standards, is designed to:
clarify requirements,
enable greater detail in the document to support understanding, and
make it easier for the requirements to be updated without amending the Standards for RTOs (for example to reflect future training product updates) while still retaining their enforceability under the NVETR Act.
The Credential Policy is referenced within the draft Standards for RTOs in requirements relating to validation of assessment and trainer and assessor competencies. The requirements within the Credential Policy must be complied with by RTOs and will operate alongside the Outcome Standards and Compliance Requirements as part of the framework that RTOs must adhere to in order to obtain and maintain registration.
The content of the draft Credential Policy largely reflects existing requirements drawn from the current 2015 Standards for RTOs. The current Standards inbuild on the changes introduced in March 2024, which were designed to reflect credentials from the latest release of the Training and Education (TAE) Training Package, among other changes. Further detail on the early changes is available at www.dewr.gov.au/standards-for-rtos
The Credential Policy is structured into three sections:
Credentials for the delivery of training and assessment (for all training products other than those from the TAE Training Package)
Credential requirements for the delivery of training and assessment for training products from the TAE training package, and
Credentials for validation of assessment.
The Compliance Requirements
The draft Compliance Requirements set out conditions that RTOs must meet to obtain or maintain registration. The content of the Compliance Requirements reflects administrative and process-driven requirements drawn from the current 2015 Standards for RTOs, with some amendments to make requirements easier to navigate, and some changes to better support integrity. It is envisaged that compliance against these requirements would be tested in a different way than against the Outcome Standards, given the more binary nature of these requirements.
The draft Compliance Requirements are structured around three key themes:
Information and transparency, including requirements related to marketing and advertising and management of VET student information
Integrity of nationally recognised training products, including requirements relating to AQF certification, transition of training products, and use of the Nationally Recognised Training Logo, and
Accountability, including third-party arrangements, fee protection measures and other requirements.
There will be two Schedules attached to the Compliance Requirements instrument to incorporate the Nationally Recognised Training (NRT) Logo Conditions of Use Policy, and the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPRs). Please note this draft contains no changes to the current FPPRs, and minimal changes to streamline the NRT Logo Conditions of Use Policy. Please refer to the Summary of Key Changes fact sheet for further details.
Development of the Compliance Requirements and Credential Policy
The approach to the Compliance Requirements and Credential Policy was workshopped with states and territories and VET regulators during the early stages of developing the draft revised Standards for RTOs, following initial consultation with the sector.
This revised structure was then conceptually tested through public consultation from November 2022 to January 2023, as a part of the broader consultation on the revisions to the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015, and reinforced through piloting activities with the sector in late 2023.
The draft versions of the Credential Policy and Compliance Requirements have more recently been tested and refined with states and territories, VET regulators, RTO peak bodies, and other stakeholders.
Have your say
We are now seeking feedback from the sector more broadly through a survey on the draft Compliance Requirements and Credential Policy, to ensure the purpose is understood, the documents are clear, and any substantive issues with how RTOs might meet the requirements are identified.
Your feedback will inform refinements to the draft Credential Policy and Compliance Requirements to enable them to be finalised alongside the Outcome Standards for RTOs. www.dewr.gov.au/standards-for-rtos for further information about the process for finalising and implementing the revised Standards.
The draft documents are available at the above webpage, along with a summary of key changes for your awareness. Please ensure that you have read the documents and the contextual information on this page prior to completing the survey.
The survey will close at 11:59pm (AEST) on 20 October 2024.