Know your RTO obligations for 2021

Know your RTO obligations for 2021

ASQA has published an update and helpful checklist to help you stay on top of your RTO obligations and reporting requirements for 2021.

You can download ASQA’s 2021 RTO obligations checklist here.

If you need help with meeting your RTO’s obligations or reporting requirements, contact Audit Express on 1300735541.

 

FREE Professional Development Session

FREE Professional Development Session

SOLD OUT

Registrations for this event are currently closed as we have reached full capacity. Thank you for your interest. The VET Development 2018 PD Calendar will be launched soon, check out their website in the coming weeks www.vdc.edu.au.


FREE Professional Development Session!

Audit Express has teamed up with the VET Development Centre to deliver a one off FREE Professional Development Session titled ‘VET Professional Development – How much is enough?’

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This session will cover off on the most common questions that we receive about VET Professional Development, including:

• Understanding of what VET PD is
• What sources are acceptable for PD
• How to quantify
• Establishing an acceptable framework and plan for PD

As 2017 winds up, it is really important that Trainers and Assessors start planning their continuing professional development (PD) for the year ahead (2018) as VET practitioners.

As part of the Registration Standards, an RTO must ensure that all trainers and assessors undertake PD in the fields of the knowledge and practice of vocational training, learning and assessment, including competency-based training and assessment.

In this webinar we will explore what VET PD is, what forms of VET PD could be acceptable, how to quantify VET PD and explore some examples of best practice. Participants will also receive a complimentary 2018 VDC PD Planner.

At the end of this webinar, participants will gain:

​• An understanding of what is required of Trainers/Assessors in maintaining their VET Professional Development
• Insight into what they should do in the lead up to 2018 in planning their Professional Development.
• Participants will also receive a complimentary 2018 VDC PD Planner

You can find out more information, and you can register for the live webinar by clicking here >>> http://www.cvent.com/events/webinar-vet-professional-development-how-much-is-enough-/event-summary-6a4ab97a10ea49999cdaef0fd453c186.aspx

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Audit Express are proud sponsors of the 2017 CCA Annual Conference

Audit Express are proud sponsors of the 2017 CCA Annual Conference

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CCA 2017 Conference Community Education: Investing in our Future

Audit Express are proud to be sponsoring the 2017 Community Colleges Australia (CCA) Annual Conference, which is to be held in Melbourne on 25-27 July.

This years conference theme is ‘Community Education: Investing in our Future’ which recognises the importance that education plays in people’s lives. The CCA Annual Conference is the premier event for Australian adult and community education providers, and is always hosted at an impressive venue with a great line up of speakers. The 2017 conference will be held at the award-winning conference venue ‘Citadines on Bourke‘ and the Conference Opening function and Annual Awards Dinner with both be held at the ‘Hotel Windsor‘, one finest 5 star venues in Melbourne, “the world’s most liveable city”.

The Hon Karen Andrews MP, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills will open this years conference, which has an impressive line-up of keynote speakers and presenters including: (just to name a few)

  • The Hon Gayle Tierney MP, Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Corrections
  • Susan Pascoe AMCommissioner, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
  • The Hon Michael Lavarch AO, Commissioner – Risk, Intelligence and Regulatory Support, Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
  • Professor Rodney Maddock, Monash Business School, and President, Economic Society of Australia, Victorian Branch
  • Peter Noonan, Professor of Tertiary Education Policy, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, Melbourne
  • Lynn Glover, CEO (Director) Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority
  • Kira Clarke, Lecturer in Education Policy, Centre for Vocational & Education Policy, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
  • Dr Laurie Chesley, Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Grand Rapids Community College, Michigan USA
  • Dr Roberta Teahen, Associate Provost & Director of the Doctorate in Community College Leadership, Ferris State University, Michigan USA
  • Toni Cavallaro, Manager, National Collections Branch, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)
  • Dr Robbie Lloyd, Community Relationships Manager, Port Macquarie Community College
  • Wendy PerryManaging Director, Workforce BluePrint
  • Kevin Ekendahl, our very own CEO of Audit Express, who is presenting on the Importance of Student Satisfaction in the Australian VET Sector

For more information read the 14 reasons why this year’s conference is a “must-attend” event.

Register for this years CCA conference before the 12th of June to receive an early bird discount, click here >>> http://cca.edu.au/what-we-do/2017-annual-conference/#registration

Community Colleges Australia

Community Colleges Australia

Audit Express, proud sponsors of the 2017 CCA Conference

Audit Express

Audit Express proud to sponsor Community Colleges Australia PD and networking event

Audit Express proud to sponsor Community Colleges Australia PD and networking event

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The team at Audit Express are proud to be teaming up with our friends from Community Colleges Australia (CCA) to sponsor their upcoming Community Education Conversations Professional Development and Networking Event, which is to be held in Melbourne on Friday 12th May 2017.

There is an action packed agenda with a range of topics to be covered including:

Setting the scene: Julie Neeson, Southern Grampians Adult Education and Community College, Hamilton

Auditing in the new age – a presentation by Audit Express

Update on Skills First, by a representative of the VIC Department of Education and Training

The special case for community education providers in rural and regional Australia: challenges and opportunities, Dr Don Perlgut, CCA CEO

Community RTOs in Victoria: History, Scope, Scale, Success Factors and Prospects, By Dr Kaye Bowman, former Director of Research at NCVER and VET consultant

Foundations Skills Training Package: where are the consultations up to? Have your say – a session with Tim Rawlins, PwC Skills for Australia

What you need to know about the Commonwealth’s new VET Student Loans program, even if you will never use it

Community education providers and local and regional economic development roundtable discussion – come prepared to share your experiences

A new national community education infrastructure program – what’s happened since the last one in 2009?

Entrepreneurship and social enterprise

For more information about the event you can click here to download the Community Education Conversations flyer.

Cost:

This event is free for the members of Community Colleges Australia (CCA).
The cost for non-members to attend is $100 (plus GST).

If you are wanting to attend this event please keep in mind that spaces are limited!
You can reserve you space by emailing: admin@cca.edu.au

 

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Changes to ASQA audit process. Is your RTO Audit Ready?

Changes to ASQA audit process. Is your RTO Audit Ready?

Recently ASQA has announced a series of changes to its audit model and audit processes. Are you Audit Ready?

Head in the sand

Don’t put your head in the sand!

For your convenience we have summarised the changes to ASQAs Audit Model for you. [emaillocker id=6291]

  • ASQA will now publish its regulatory decisions
    From 1 July 2016 ASQA will publish information on its websites about decisions on RTOs shortly after decisions are made.  If you fail at audit, this will now be published and publicly available.
    Click here to view the list of ASQA regulatory decisions
  • ASQA has changed its decision making processes 
    From 1 August 2016, if ASQA finds ‘highly concerning’ non-compliances at audit, the Commissioners of ASQA can now make a joint decision on the outcome of an audit and any sanctions, penalties or fines that may be applied. It is important to understand that if the ASQA Commissioners make a joint decision, you cannot appeal and respond directly to ASQA anymore. This decision can only be reviewed by an external authority (typically the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) ). In this instance, the RTO cannot apply for an internal ASQA reconsideration of the decision.This is a real game changer. If your RTO does not get it right at audit, ASQA can essentially throw the book at you on the spot and you will have less opportunity to rectify your non-compliances directly with the regulator.  If your audit is significantly non-compliant you risk needing to appeal ASQA’s decision directly with the AAT.
  • ASQA has changed its audit process
    When ASQA is conducting audits based on identified risk, including audits conducted as a result of complaints. ASQA will provide the RTO with a compliance audit report, and if non-compliance is identified ASQA can either:

    • issue the RTO with a written direction, requiring you to take a certain action
    • issue the RTO with a ‘Notice of intent to impose administrative sanction’, or
    • in exceptional circumstances, impose one or more sanctions on the RTO without prior notice.

    If ASQA identifies highly concerning non-compliances at audit the RTO can now be issued with a ‘Notice of intent to impose administrative sanction’. RTOs will then have up to 20 working days to respond to the notice and submit any supporting evidence before a decision is made.

    This is also a real game changer. The current process allows an RTO the chance to respond to non-compliances and provide evidence of compliance after an audit. At that stage if ASQA was still not satisfied they would then issue the RTO with a ‘Notice of intent to impose administrative sanction’ allowing the RTO an additional 20 days. RTOs will now have significantly less time to rectify their non-compliances following a non-compliant audit outcome. Instead of having in some cases a few months to rectify non-compliances RTOs may now only have a few weeks at best.

    It is not all doom and gloom though. If ASQA identifies non-compliances at audit that are deemed to be not of a serious nature, ASQA may now issue the RTO with a written direction to address the non-compliances within a specified period and to maintain evidence of doing so. Is such cases RTOs will not be required to respond or provide evidence of rectification to ASQA. This is a good step towards less red tape and regulation.

  • ASQA is developing a new audit model [WATCH THIS SPACE]
    ASQA has announced that it is currently in the process of reviewing its approach to auditing RTOs and is developing a more risk-based approach that will focus more on student experience and the actual practices and behaviours of RTOs. We also suspect that the quality and sufficiency of both learning and assessment material will be a focus for the regulator moving forward. The team at Audit Express have called on this for quite some time now and we welcome the regulators efforts to take a more risk-based approach to its regulation of RTOs.Keep your eyes out over the next month as more information regarding the new audit model will be published and ASQA will start to implement their new model later this year, with full implementation by early 2017.

For more information on changes to the ASQA Audit Process you might like to check out the latest ASQA Update.

 

The best way to make sure your RTO is Audit Ready and that it meets the requirement for RTOs to submit an annual declaration of compliance with the Standards for RTOs is to undertake an annual internal audit of your RTO with the support of a reputable independent internal auditor.
It is crucial that you are fully aware of your RTOs strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. Most importantly you should be fully aware of the quality of the training products across your full scope of registration.

If you need help to make sure your RTO is compliant and Audit Ready get in touch with the team at Audit Express. [/emaillocker]