by Matthew Dale | Sep 20, 2015 | Audit Express, Best Practice, Funding Contract, Internal Auditing, Registered Training Organisation, Victorian Training Guarantee, VRQA
Registered training organisations (RTOs) with Victorian VET Funding Contracts should brace themselves for the pending changes to the Victorian VET funding model.
Training providers that hold a current Victorian VET Funding Contract, (also referred to Victorian Training Guarantee or VTG) are expected to have new conditions imposed on them tomorrow (21/09/2015). The much tighter restrictions and contractual obligations are expected to be in-line with the recent Victorian VET Funding Review that was led by Bruce Mackenzie. Nineteen recommendations were made, all of which are expected to be fully implemented by the government. Other changes also include: [emaillocker id=6291]
- Strengthening the department’s ability to conduct face-to-face reviews and investigate students’ complaints.
- Launching an education campaign to help students make more informed choices about courses.
- Lifting the quality of trainers and assessors by creating a list of approved providers.
The contract changes come at a significant time, with expressions of interest for RTOs wanting to obtain a Victorian government 2016 VET funding contract opening tomorrow (21/09/2015).
For the RTOs holding current funding contract, the time to
comply and demonstrate
best practice is now! With the (2015) funding contracts for about 174 RTOs will expire at the end of this year, and more than 400 other RTOs (2014-2016) 3-year funding contracts will expire at the end of 2016. Make no mistake, the
Minister Steve Herbert has every intention of not renewing the contracts of sub-standard training providers.
If you require assistance with understanding and implementing changes to your RTOs Victorian VET Funding Contract please contact
AuditExpress on
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![Funding Contract Compliance and Audit Readiness.]()
by Matthew Dale | Jan 27, 2015 | ASQA, Certificate 3 Guarantee, Funding Contract, Future Skills Fund, Industry Skills Fund, Internal Auditing, Registered Training Organisation, Skilled Capital, Skills for All, Skills Fund, Smart and Skilled, Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015, Uncategorized, User Choice, VET Fee Help, Victorian Training Guarantee, VRQA
If your Registered Training Organisation (RTO) delivers training with access to government funding, ask yourself the following two important questions:
1) Is your RTO compliant with the requirements for each of its funding contract(s) ?
2) Is your RTO audit ready ?
With government funding for the VET Sector receiving recent significant media attention in relation to poor quality training providers, low completion rates and concerns around the practices of some RTOs using the VET Fee Help scheme, the time to check your RTOs contract compliance is now! [emaillocker id=6291]
See the following articles:
• http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/audit-flagged-for-vfh/story-e6frgcjx-1227178735160
• http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/concern-as-online-vet-course-completion-drops-enrolments-rise-20150116-12r4tx.html
Far too often RTOs reach out for help with compliance only days or weeks before they are due to receive an audit from the regulator or the relevant government department. This leaves little time to conduct an internal audit and even less time to take action on addressing any non-compliances. We see the best outcomes at audit when an RTO has a systematic approach to conducting regular internal audits across its entire operation.
With government funding contracts available across all states and territories it can be difficult for RTOs to keep up to date with the maze of compliance requirements, here are just a few examples of government funding that RTOs can now access across Australia:
If your RTO is delivering training with access to government funding and wants to take a best practice approach to its management and operation, you should be conducting an internal audit of your RTOs compliance in-line with the contractual requirements of each government funding contract at least every 12 months.
It is always best to take an holistic approach to conducting internal audits, whereby you systematically review your RTOs policies, procedures, business processes, records, student management system, student files and staff files. Following the audit you should identify any gaps, areas for improvement, strengths and non-compliances. Also, be sure to build an action plan to document any rectification work that may need to be carried out to achieve full compliance.
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