The Official Magazine from COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (CAQA) SECTORVET6thEdition
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 2 Regards, General Manager Career Calling International 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 ASQA’srequirements.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 yourWritefeedback.tomeat info@caqa.com.au or call on 1800-266-160 ManagerGeneralfromMessagethe
6TH EDITION 3 The (PartinQualityCompliancebetweendifference&AssurancetheRTOSpace-3)
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 Therefore,clients. 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.
n 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?
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance I4
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.
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Quality assurance is part of running a well-managed registered training organisation. Do I need to do both compliance and quality assurance?
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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 Reducingjobyour 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.
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.
6TH EDITION 7 Different Phases of Assessment & Learner (PartProcessesValidation-1)
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance I8
• Legislation relevant to the assessment such as privacy, health and safety, antidiscrimination, copyright law and so on.
AQF Guidelines and Framework
Validation of RTO assessment resources
• Industry standards and consultation will vary, and these standards form the basis of the skills and knowledge required to perform work roles.
•
• 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.
The judgment made by the trainer/assessor is benchmarked with colleagues or industry experts
• Wh ether the requirements of the Training Package or accredited course have been met.
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:
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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.
• Rules of Evidence – i.e. valid, authentic, current and sufficient
• Information provided to candidates, assessors and third parties
Typical benchmarks used during the validation process include:
• There is sufficient evidence to support the judgment of the trainer/assessor
• 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.
• Principles of Assessment – i.e. valid, reliable, flexible and fair
n 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 post assessment (i.e. post validation) 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.
6TH EDITION 9 VALIDATION OCCURS THROUGH DIFFERENT STAGES
Validation before assessment judgements i.e. pre-validation of 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
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.
VALIDATION
STAGE 1 : VALIDATION BEFORE ASSESSMENT
STAGE 2 : DURING 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.
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 10 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
→ Registered RTOs risk sanctions, conditions, or even worse cancellations for critical non-compliances on the first audit
• Your assessment resources are written by Industry experts with subject matter experts and are “Industry-relevant” and “current”
• 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”
• Your assessment resources address all requirements of the training packaging rules
According to the new audit model:
• Assessment resources have robust benchmarking and/or trainers guide.
• Your trainers and assessors gather sufficient, valid evidence for competency assessment
• The authenticity of assessment, particularly in distance and online delivery is established and maintained
→ Initial registration clients with critical non-compliances are unlikely to get an opportunity to rectify and potentially would be unable to reapply
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There are a number of assessment-related issues that may affect your audit outcome.
You should ensure your assessment resources meet the following criteria:
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→ There may be NO opportunity to rectify critical non-compliances
Assessment resources have sufficient and clear information regarding what, when, how, where, why for your assessment template and all assessment tasks and activities.
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”
• 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
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• You have customised the off-the-shelf resources according to your RTO needs and requirements and not using them “as-it-is”
Your organisation offers appropriate simulated environments for conducting assessments
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THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 12 Learn from the Industry Leaders
6TH EDITION 13 Do You ComplianceNeedHelp?
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 14 THE RESOURCESBEST IN THE MARKET
6TH EDITION 15 VET Sector 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
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
For more information, please visit here;
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.
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 16 USI RTO BULLETIN 10 - 31 AUGUST 2018 The Unique Student Identifer’s RTO Bulletin was released on 31 August 2018. For more information, please visit here;
SUCCESSFUL TO EXPAND
TUITION PROTECTION PROGRAM
Forfacilities.more information, Read more; TAFE WELCOMES NEW STRONG PROTECTION FOR STUDENTS
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Our ServicesAssurance
Compliance & Quality
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.
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 18 OUR SERVICES INCLUDE CONSULTATION IN SEVERAL AREAS: For more Information, please visit www.CAQA.com.au/services We 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! RTO & CRICOS 1 2 1197531046812 ISO BusinessELICOS9001 Analysis VET Student Loan Validation of assessment & learner resources HigherE-LearningEducation Audit & DelegationComplianceRTO’s Risk Management Development of assessment & learner resources
6TH EDITION 19 CAQA Resources New training and assessment resources
THE VET SECTOR | CAQA - Compliance & Quality Assurance 20 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
6TH EDITION 21 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
Talk To Our Experts Now ! 1800 266 160 2/10 Lawn Court, Craigieburn, VIC 3064 Australia www.caqa.com.auinfo@caqa.com.au © 2013 - 2021 CAQA Resources by Career Calling International. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer: The information in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and it is generalist in its approach. The information presented in this newsletter is not legal advice or 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 and compliance advice before acting upon any of the information in this newsletter.