RTO Audits

We conduct internal audits against the standards for RTOs and new applicants and registered RTOs for compliance and quality.

Audits for initial registration

Becoming registered as a registered training organisation RTO is a complex process. As a deliverer of nationally recognised training, each RTO must meet a range of mandatory requirements to ensure that it can deliver training and assessment to the high standards expected by students, and by Australian industry and employers.

Your initial registration application will undergo a rigorous assessment process to ensure your organisation is able to comply with (and remain compliant with) the required standards. On average, applications for initial registration take between seven and nine months to assess - if you are fully prepared to become an RTO and if you have submitted a complete application to ASQA.

Before submitting an application for initial registration, you must:

• Develop a thorough understanding of the requirements of registration
• Ensure your organisation is eligible for registration with ASQA, and
• Be prepared to demonstrate the financial viability of your organisation

Our service includes an internal audit to review your current practices against standards using the ASQA Audit tool found on the ASQA website. (We recommend that you hire an experienced consultant who will have an external perspective of your RTO.

General Policies and Procedures Manual

Student Handbook/Trainers Handbook

• Conduct a second internal audit against the new standards following an update of the policies and procedures
• Develop a mapping document of the current standards against the new draft standards to be used for updating your policies and procedures and conducting your second internal audit
• Map your current policy and procedure manuals against the new standards using the mapping document
• Update and rewrite your current policies and procedures to the new standards
• Undertake a full review of whether your policies and procedures are relevant to what you actually do; are they still current and relevant to how you actually conduct your RTO?

Review your TAS's

(Training and Assessment Strategies)

• Undertake a review of all your Training and Assessment Strategies. Identify whether they are still current and relevant to how you deliver and assess, if not, update to reflect how you currently operate
• Undertake industry consultation through focus groups, surveys and meetings with key personnel who are responsible for recruiting the students you have trained
• Update TAS's to include the industry consultation you have undertaken. Include in the TAS how training has been adjusted to meet industry and target market needs

Include Volume of Learning into your TAS, which should include face to face sessions, self-paced learning, work placement, distance learning, etc., Ensure that you allow sufficient time for students to develop their skills.

Validate your Assessment Tools

• Develop an assessment validation schedule that includes all the units for each qualification to be validated over a one-year period.
• Before you conduct assessment validation, ensure that you have a staff member or contractor available who meets the following requirements:
• Has vocational competencies and current industry skills relevant to the assessment being validated
• Has current knowledge and skills in vocational teaching and learning; and
• Holds the training and assessment qualification or the assessment skill set
• Validate your assessment tools against the AQF and training package requirements
• Involve relevant employers and industry representatives to participate in validation
• Implement new standards
• Attend workshops and undertake professional development in the new Standards, including the ASQA workshops

Marketing

• Review all your marketing materials, ensuring that information on all courses is readily available to assist the client to make an informed decision
• Ensure your website meets the AQF and NRT logo requirements and only includes qualifications currently listed on the Scope of Registration
• All course flyers meets the AQF and NRT logo requirements and only includes qualifications currently listed on the Scope of Registration
• Course flyers includes all fee information, so as the client can make an informed decision prior to course commencement
• Partnerships/Sub-contracting (if applicable)
• Review all partnering arrangements, including contracts
• Ensure that partners understand their responsibilities to comply with the standards. If you do not already, you may want to add a policy and procedure manual just for partnerships
• Make sure the RTO has sufficient strategies and resources in place to systematically monitor partners to ensure that they are compliant, this may include annual or six monthly audits and validation of assessment tools
• Notify the Regulator of all partnerships or subcontracting arrangements
• Review your mechanisms for ensuring students are informed about

Partnering/Subcontracting arrangements, so that they can make an informed choice before enrolling into a course. This includes a review of all marketing materials that the partner uses to ensure that it recognizes the RTO as the organisation that will be issuing the qualifications

If you are considering registration with ASQA, you must be prepared to meet the following requirements for registration:

• Compliance with all components of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Quality Framework:
• Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 -find out more about the new Standards
• Australian Qualifications Framework
• Fit and Proper Person Requirements (the requirements are now part of the Standards)
• Financial Viability Risk Assessment Requirements 2011
• Data Provision Requirements 2012