Issue 59 - February 2021

Hello and welcome to 2021

The beginning of 2021 has already been met with challenges – a 5-day lockdown, bushfires north of Perth and in the South West and floods in the north of the State. We are thinking of all those affected by these recent events.

For RTOs, the year is looking no less busy than last year - on the horizon RTOs have much to keep them occupied, not only training and assessing learners, engaging with industry and supporting staff, many will also have an eye on the national VET Quality Reform agenda including RTO Standards, national training product design and industry engagement.

TAC continues to develop strategies to keep our stakeholders informed about the work of the Council and support RTO compliance, with a particular focus on the RTO audit experience. Based on the outcomes of the recent TAC biennial RTO and Stakeholder Survey, 80% of respondents perceived audits to be worthwhile experiences, and for RTOs surveyed following a site audit last financial year, 100% agreed that the audit experience added value to the RTO business. RTOs said that TAC audits provided:

• improvement opportunities
• support RTO efforts in continuous improvement
• validate that the RTOs practices and tools were of a good standard
• provide clarity in interpretation of the Standards, and
• where non-compliances are identified, auditors are able to explain the reason for these non-compliances.

To provide additional information to RTOs about the audit experience, particularly if an RTO has yet to be audited or hasn't been audited for some time, the TAC website has been updated to provide key information about the audit process. Details about the audit webpages are provided below. We recommend RTOs familiarise themselves with this information.

What's in this edition?

• TAC Education program
• Focus on quality - Demystifying the Audit Process
• Reminder - Third Party Arrangements
• Streamlining of Training Packages
• Other important updates

TAC Education Program - upcoming events

February

23 - REGIONAL WORKSHOP Albany

1. Designing RTO training & assessment strategies
2. Making an assessment decision

March

9 - Managing and amending RTO scope (*NEW topic)

19 - The Course Accreditation Process

30 - Design and Development of an Assessment System

Click here to view the full TAC Education Program schedule and/or register for an event:

The full list of Education Program recordings and resources is available on the TAC Website

Focus on quality - Demystifying the Audit Process

Audits provide an RTO with valuable information about the quality of its training, assessment, client services and the management systems it uses to meet its regulatory obligations and achieve quality outcomes. 

To help provide clarity and demystify the audit process, the TAC website has been updated to include a new section on TAC’s audit approach.

We encourage you to browse the website to access this new information contained in the following four sections:

Reminder - Third Party Arrangements

Clause 8.3 of the Standards for RTOs outlines the requirement for RTOs to notify TAC of any written agreement entered into for the delivery of services on its behalf. RTOs need to notify TAC within 30 calendar days of the agreement:

• being entered into or commencing (whichever occurs first); and
• the agreement coming to an end.
• RTOs are reminded to review their scope of delivery in the RTO Portal regularly and ensure that where a party is providing a service on their behalf that this is listed against the training product.

RTOs should notify TAC of any changes by completing the ‘RTO3 Notification of Third Party Agreement’ form which is located under the Application Forms tab in the RTO Portal.

The Council has published the following Fact Sheets on Third Party Arrangements:

• For RTOs - provides guidance to RTOs about what constitutes a third party arrangement and RTO responsibilities regarding third party arrangements; and
• For The Third Party – provides the third parties with information about obligations under these arrangements.

If you would like to discuss current or potential third party arrangements, please contact the TAC Secretariat directly to discuss specific arrangements via email tac@dtwd.wa.gov.au or by phone 9224 6510.

Streamlining of Training Packages

On 15 February 2021 all training products that did not have enrolments in the past three years were deleted from training.gov.au.

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) agreed to delete 975 units of competency and 46 qualifications. A full list of the units of competency and qualifications deleted is available on the AISC website.

All RTOs are encouraged to review these lists to identify any training products that they may have on scope. Once these training products are deleted RTOs will no longer be able to enrol any students into those units of qualifications. Should any instance arise where a student is enrolled at an RTO in a deleted unit or qualification, they will be able to continue their study and be recognised for this, provided they complete within the identified teach out period.

Other important updates

TAC YouTube Channel

Stay up to date on all new content by subscribing to the TAC YouTube channel

Total VET Activity Data for 2020

Total VET Activity (TVA) is a mandatory national reporting requirement for RTOs.

TVA refers to the collection and reporting of data that complies with the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard (AVETMISS).

AVETMISS is a national data standard that ensures consistent and accurate capture and reporting of VET information about students.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is the custodian of the standard.

The collection window for direct reporting of TVA to NCVER of 2020 AVETMISS fee-for-service activity will open on 2 January 2021 and close on 26 February 2021. For more information, click here.

State Training Plan 2021 -2022

The State Training Board's State Training Plan 2021-2022 was endorsed by the Hon. Sue Ellery, Minister for Education and Training on 23 December 2020.

The plan identifies eight strategic priorities for Western Australia, to guide the State Government’s investment in the vocational education and training sector over the next two years. It focuses on the wide-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies strategies to support the State’s recovery response, including the WA Recovery Plan and the Review of Skills, Training and Workforce Development. 

Logistics & Defence Skills Council

The Logistics Training Council (LTC) has recently rebranded to embrace Defence and Defence Industries under their remit and are now known as the Logistics & Defence Skills Council (LDSC).

Skills Reform Consultation

Following on from the recent launch of www.skillsreform.gov.au, the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment has released a number of new surveys seeking views on Quality Reform. These surveys are available at:

• Training Experience Survey (closes 15 March)
• RTO Standards Survey (closes 15 March)
• RTO Quality Survey (closes 15 March)
• Supporting VET Workforce Quality Survey (closes 15 March)
• Industry Engagement and Qualifications Reform (closes 1 March)

Locked Bag 16, Osborne Park DC 6916

P 08 9224 6510

E tac@dtwd.wa.gov.au

W tac.wa.gov.au