THE VET SECTOR THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FROM COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
ISSUE 6 SEP 2018
COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
The VET industry is in a transition period and compliance obligations should be a top priority for all RTO’s. It is imperative as an RTO that you stay on top of all your regulatory requirements. ASQA’s recent decisions show us that they are being hard on ensuring that all compliance is paramount. To continue to excel in this environment it is important, that as an RTO, you remain compliant at all times with all ASQA, Industry and Regulatory Bodies requirements. As always, we welcome your feedback. Write to us at info@caqa.com.au or call 1800 266 160.
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE RTO SPACE (PART 3) In this third and final part of our “compliance and quality assurance,” articles, we are continuing to discuss compliance and quality assurance requirements, standards, expectations and the differences between them. How does quality assurance differ from compliance? It can be overwhelming trying to keep track of all your organisation’s compliance obligations. That’s why many businesses put programs in place to ensure they can meet their obligations and identify any potential breaches of law, regulations or standards. These programs are often called quality assurance or quality control. Quality assurance may include documenting your RTO processes and practices, having a specific organisational structure, or putting in place policy framework that guides how your registered training organisation operates. These give your RTO a systematic approach to meeting its professional and legal obligations. While every business is different, there are some general standards that businesses can be certified in, as developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Although not always essential, following these ISO processes can bring trust and confidence to your staff and clients. Therefore, when differentiating between quality assurance and compliance, you can consider meeting VQF requirements to meet compliance needs and ISO to meet the quality needs of your organisation.
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE RTO SPACE (PART 2) Putting in place quality assurance measures can benefit your business by:' Ensuring you identify potential compliance issues and resolve them quickly Reducing your risk of missing any compliance obligations Improving how your RTO is run and giving your employees more certainty over how to do their job Reducing your risk if your RTO is subject to any legal issues or claims Increasing the efficiency of your RTO because you will be spending less time working out how to do things or fixing mistakes. Quality assurance is part of running a well-managed registered training organisation. Do I need to do both compliance and quality assurance? Compliance is not something you can choose to do; it’s legally required by bodies like ASIC. While quality assurance is not demanded by law, it is good business practice to put programs in place to help you meet your compliance obligations and run your business. Sometimes, Industry stakeholders may even ask your RTO to have quality assurance programs in place.
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
DIFFERENT PHASES OF ASSESSMENT AND LEARNER VALIDATION PROCESSES (PART 1) In this article, we will discuss different phases of validation processes that you should be
following in your RTO to ensure you meet regulatory requirements and industry expectations. Validation of RTO assessment resources You must validate all your assessment resources to ensure they meet the principles of assessment, rules of evidence, training package requirements, regulatory guidelines and Industry expectations. Explanation of assessment validation: Validation is a process of checking that the assessment tools, methods, judgements, evidence and processes to ensure that the training product meets: Principles of Assessment – i.e. valid, reliable, flexible and fair Rules of Evidence – i.e. valid, authentic, current and sufficient The judgment made by the trainer/assessor is benchmarked with colleagues or industry experts There is sufficient evidence to support the judgment of the trainer/assessor Whether the requirements of the Training Package or accredited course have been met. Typical benchmarks used during the validation process include: National training package which are developed by Skills Service Organisations (SSOs)/ Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) and can be found on the training.gov.au website. Units of competency which consist of competency standards and need to be unpacked so that those validating the assessments can compare the actual competency against the tools being validated. Industry standards and consultation will vary, and these standards form the basis of the skills and knowledge required to perform work roles. AQF Guidelines and Framework Information provided to candidates, assessors and third parties Legislation relevant to the assessment such as privacy, health and safety, anti-discrimination, copyright law and so on. Continue reading at next page > The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
DIFFERENT PHASES OF ASSESSMENT AND LEARNER VALIDATION PROCESSES (PART 1) Validation occurs through different stages: Stage 1: Validation before assessment judgements i.e. pre-validation of assessment resources Validation before assessment judgements are made; look at the design of the assessment activities, if it meets the training package requirements, how the instructions for tasks or questions are presented and the benchmarks against the learner performance. This is where the mapping is undertaken. You review the assessment tool templates in detail to ensure they are compliant and meet regulatory standards and Industry requirements. Stage 2: Validation during assessment Validation during assessment is looking at the actual benchmarking answers or performance the learner has provided, and making a judgement with another assessor, either together or separately. This often is coordinated within assessors who undertake training and assessment of the same vocational area. This process was also known as moderation and always remember prevention is always better than the cure, therefore, any issues identified at stage 1 or stage 2 should be eliminated as soon as possible and gaps should be filled with gap-analysis to ensure your organisation is bullet-proof. The requirement in the Standards to undertake validation of assessment judgements (post validation) does not prohibit your RTO from undertaking moderation activities, or any other process aimed at increasing the quality of assessment. Stage 3: Validation post assessment (i.e. post validation) Validation post assessment concentrates on the learners’ performance and their responses to questions, the actual assessment decision that was made, the task and processes that align to the assessment, any feedback from students, and the reporting processes. The purpose of this post-assessment validation is to verify the validity and consistency of assessment decisions to bring assessment judgements and standards into alignment. It is a process that ensures the same standards are applied to all assessment results within the same Unit(s) of Competency. It is an active process in the sense that adjustments to assessor judgements are made to overcome differences in the difficulty of the tool and/or the severity of judgements. It aims to ensure assessors have a common understanding of the unit requirements. It involves checking that your assessment tools have produced valid, reliable, sufficient, current and authentic evidence, enabling RTO to make reasonable judgements that the training package requirements have been met. To be continued… The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
ASSESSMENT ISSUES THAT MAY IMPACT YOUR RTO AUDIT (PART 1) It is important to look into ASQAs 2017 report that shows:
Around 72% of RTOs FAIL audit on Assessment Approximately 50% of those FAIL to be able to rectify their assessment tools on resubmission under the OLD audit mode According to the new audit model: There may be NO opportunity to rectify critical non-compliances Initial registration clients with critical non-compliances are unlikely to get an opportunity to rectify and potentially would be unable to reapply Registered RTOs risk sanctions, conditions, or even worse cancellations for critical noncompliances on the first audit There are a number of assessment-related issues that may affect your audit outcome. You should ensure your assessment resources meet the following criteria: Assessment resources have sufficient and clear information regarding what, when, how, where, why for your assessment template and all assessment tasks and activities. Assessment resources have robust benchmarking and/or trainers guide. Assessment resources are allowing the trainer/assessor to assess the skills and knowledge of students through different assessment tasks over a period of timeto ensure “consistency” and “sufficiency” Each and every question and assessment task has very clear guidelines around what is expected from the students in terms of both “quantity” and “quality” You have customised the off-the-shelf resources according to your RTO needs and requirements and not using them “as-it-is” Your assessment resources are written by Industry experts with subject matter experts and are “Industry-relevant” and “current” Your assessment resources address all requirements of the training packaging rules Your assessment resources have detailed and valid performance checklists/observation checklists for assessing and observing the students before, during and after any skill assessment activity or workplace task Your trainers and assessors gather sufficient, valid evidence for competency assessment Your organisation offers appropriate simulated environments for conducting assessments The authenticity of assessment, particularly in distance and online delivery is established and maintained The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
LEARN FROM THE INDUSTRY LEADERS
The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
DO YOU NEED COMPLIANCE HELP?
The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
THE BEST RESOURCES IN THE MARKET
The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
THE VET NEWS New course accreditation application lodgement fee On 6 July 2018, ASQA introduced an application lodgement fee of $500 for all initial and renewal applications submitted for course accreditation by ASQA. At time of lodgement, a completeness check of the application will be conducted to review: Sufficiency of evidence demonstrating industry support Sufficiency of evidence demonstrating an established need for the course to be nationally recognised Evidence of consultation with the Skills Service Organisations The course document has been developed in accordance with the requirements of the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2012, including the units of competency against the Standards for Training Packages, and All sections of the form completed and witnessed. ASQA will provide written advice on the outcome of the completeness check. Regulatory decisions update ASQA has made recent regulatory decisions. Read them here USI RTO Bulletin 10 - 31 August 2018 The Unique Student Identifer's RTO Bulletin was released on 31 August 2018. Read more
The VET Sector I CAQA Publications
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
THE VET NEWS Successful tuition protection program to expand The Tuition Protection Service (TPS) will be expanded to protect VET Student Loans and non-university higher education FEE-HELP students from the closure of training facilities. Read more TAFE welcomes new strong protection for students TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) today welcomed the federal government’s decision to introduce a new scheme to ensure that students taking out loans for training and study can shift to a new provider if their current one shuts down. Read more
DISCLAIMER The information in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only, it is generalist in its approach. The information presented in this newsletter is not legal advice or a legal opinion, and it is not intended to be tailored to the specific circumstances of any particular case and should not be relied upon as such. Persons should seek professional legal advice before acting upon any of the information in this newsletter.
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COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA)
THE VET SECTOR
OUR COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE SERVICES Our reputation has been built on delivering quality
VET and Higher Education consultancy services at affordable prices with exceptional service. We have clients Australia wide and a talented, experienced team of in-house compliance consultants with over 90 years of combined experience. We will work with you to create a customised solution that works for your RTO training and education business. We pride ourselves on delivering quality VET services in an efficient and affordable manner. Our services include consultation in several areas: RTO & CRICOS Higher Education Validation of assessment and learner resources Development of assessment and learner resources ISO 9001 E-Learning ELICOS Audit and Compliance Business Analysis Delegation RTO’s VET Student Loan Risk Management For more Information, please visit www.CAQA.com.au/servicesWe offer help and support to all RTO’s and Higher Education Providers (HEP). Our services can assist in registering and establishing a reputable RTO/HEP, maintaining compliance with AQTF or NVR, internal auditing or even assistance managing RTO/HEP administration. Please go to our website (www.careercalling.com.au) for more information and feel free to call (1800-266-160)or email (info@careercalling.com.au) us if you think we can help you!
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Compliance and Quality Assurance (CAQA) Resources has developed the most up-to-date assessment and learner resources for the following courses: ELICOS General English – Level 1 General English – Level 2 General English – Level 3
English for Academic Purpose Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Accounting FNS30317 Certificate III in Accounts Administration FNS40217 Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping FNS50217 Diploma of Accounting FNS60217 Advanced Diploma of Accounting
Information Technology ICT50115 Diploma of Information Technology ICT40115 Certificate IV in Information Technology ICT60115 Advanced Diploma of Information Technology
ECEC CHC50113 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Building and Construction CPC50210 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) CPC50308 Diploma of Building and Construction (Management) CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building) Community Services CHC52015 Diploma of Community Services CHC43115 Certificate IV in Disability CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
Painting and Decorating CPC30611 Certificate III in Painting and Decorating Hospitality Management SIT50416 Diploma of Hospitality Management SIT30816 Certificate III in Commercial Cookery SIT40516 Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery For more information, please visit www.caqaresources.com.au