Changes to VET Fee Help | RTOs to be banned from charging students for withdrawing before census.

The awaited changes to VET Fee Help are here.

The Australian reports that today Federal Training Minister Simon Birmingham will announce a crackdown on aggressive recruitment practices among RTOs.

From the 1st of July, training providers will be banned from fining or charging “administrative’’ fees for students who decide to withdraw from a course of study before the census date. Training providers will also be banned from marketing courses as “free’’ or “government-funded’’.

The Australian has quoted Senator Birmingham… [emaillocker id=6291]

  • “We want every incentive for training companies to enrol stud­ents for the purest of reasons,’’
  • “Some students are being enrolled for the wrong reasons: purely to access government-provided loans without providing quality training. Nobody should be taking out a VET Fee-Help loan for any reason other than undertaking high-quality training that will enhance­ their employment prospects.’’
  • Students must be told they will have to repay their loan in instalments once they earn $54,126 a year. “It’s a loan and there is every expectation it should be paid back during the course of your working life,’’

We applaud Senator Birmingham’s stance on the matter and the changes being made. This simple yet effective change is likely to clean up some of the worst practices that we have seen across the sector with VET Fee Help over the past few years.

The team at AuditExpress are forecasting a significant increase to the regulation and scheduling of audits of both VET Fee Help RTOs and those RTOs with State based funding contracts in the 2015/2016 financial year. The time to check your compliance is now.

You can read the full Australian article here >>>
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/training-colleges-to-be-banned-from-fining-drop-out-students/story-e6frgcjx-1227413423177?login=1

You can read Senator Birmingham’s full press release here >>>

http://www.senatorbirmingham.com.au/Latest-News/ID/2748/Withdrawal-fees-banned-for-courses

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AuditExpress present on ‘Compliance with Marketing in VET’.

AuditExpress present on ‘Compliance with Marketing in VET’.

 

AuditExpress present at Circulus & Fairfax Media Networking Event on ‘Compliance with Marketing in VET’.

Audit Express Director Matthew Dale presents at Circulus and Fairfax Media VET Networking Event.

Audit Express Director Matthew Dale presents at Circulus and Fairfax Media VET Networking Event.

 

Director of AuditExpress, Matthew Dale presented at Circulus Education & Farifax Media VET Networking Event held last night in Melbourne. [emaillocker id=6291]

A massive thanks to the teams at both Circulus and Fairfax Media for organising such a great event, with close to 150 guests turning out to network and discuss improving overall quality and compliance in the Australian VET Sector.

In case you missed the event or did not get the chance to take down any notes, here are the key messages from Matthew’s presentation on how you might comply with with marketing requirements for RTOs.

 

 

 


1. Know your standards

  • Take the time to sit down and work through your RTO Standards and Funding Contracts or Agreements
  • Identify the marketing requirements from document and make it standard practice to understand how it all fits in place with your RTO
Know the standards and contracts relevant to your RTO. Understand the marketing requirements of each standard and funding contract.

Know the standards and contracts relevant to your RTO. Understand the marketing requirements of each standard and funding contract


2. Take a systematic approach to marketing

  • Implement an approval process for marketing in your RTO
  • You might like to use a one page approval form to record the staff that have proof read draft marketing material and checked for compliance
  • Use a marketing checklist to verify that draft marketing material meets your RTOs compliance requirements
  • Maintain a marketing register to record all advertising and marketing in your RTO. I recommend recording everything… even your RTOs social media updates

How to comply with marketing requirements.


3. Become an RTO known for implementing best practice

  • Ensure that your RTOs approach to marketing is structured and well documented.
  • Implement an internal approval process
  • Maintain a marketing register
  • Develop a social media strategy
  • Consider what digital compliance means to your RTO
Take a Best practice approach to marketing in VET.

Take a Best practice approach to marketing in VET.

 

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Standards for RTOs 2015: Not an April Fools Day Joke

Standards for RTOs 2015: Not an April Fools Day Joke

Audit Express
Today may be April Fools Day, but make no mistake this is no joke or laughing matter. The Standards for RTOs 2015 should be implemented into your RTO by now, in fact the deadline for full implementation is today. [emaillocker id=6291]

The message is simple; the New Standards are not equivalent, they are notably different to the SNR and AQTF. Do not put your head in the sand, if your RTO has not fully implemented the Standards into your RTO yet – you have a problem and the time to take action is now.
Head in the sand
If you require assistance with implementing the Standards for RTOs 2015 into your organisation contact the friendly team at AuditExpress 1300735541 [/emaillocker]