Issue 61 - April 2021

Welcome to Ms Anne Driscoll, New Chairperson of TAC

At the beginning of April 2021, the Training Accreditation Council welcomed Ms Anne Driscoll as the new Chairperson of TAC following her appointment by the Minister for Education and Training, for a period of five years. Anne replaces outgoing Chairman, Mr Ian Hill.

Anne brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having recently concluded her tenure as Director General of the Department of Training and Workforce Development.

Anne’s knowledge of the VET sector at both State and national levels, together with over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership positions across government including as Director General Department of Commerce and Commissioner for Consumer Protection, will compliment and contribute greatly to TAC’s regulatory role.

TAC would like to congratulate Ms Driscoll on her appointment and wish her well in her new role with TAC. 

What's in this edition?

• TAC Education Program
• Focus on quality - Issuing Certification
• 2021 WA Training Awards
• New TAC Fact Sheets
• Transition Extension
• Other important updates

TAC Education Program - upcoming events

May

12 - Making an Assessment Decision

17 - Managing RTO Complaints and Appeals

June

4 - Preparing for Audit

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 - Issuing Certification

To maintain the integrity and national recognition of training products, AQF certification must be consistent with Standard 3 and Schedule 5 of the Standards for RTOs. To assist RTOs, TAC has developed a new Fact Sheet titled ‘Issuing Testamurs and Statements of Attainment’ which provides sample templates for a testamur, Statement of Attainment, and Record of Results.

AQF certification documentation must be issued within 30 calendar days of the learner successfully meeting the requirements of the training product in which the learner is enrolled, and providing all fees have been paid. Specifically,

• learners who have completed all units or modules in a qualification must be issued with a testamur and a Record of Results;
• learners who have completed one or more units/modules (but not a full qualification) must be issued with a Statement of Attainment; and
• to ensure learners can access records of certification issued to them, RTOs must retain records of qualifications and statements of attainment issued for 30 years. The TAC Fact Sheet on Record Management provides further information on record retention.

AQF certification documentation should be issued directly to the learner, not to another party such as an employer.

Certification provides learners with proof of their competence to employers (or potential employers) and obtain any industry licences or workplace or occupational accreditation, where relevant.

It is also important to utilise the TAC, Nationally Recognised Training (NRT) and AQF logos correctly when issuing certification. A TAC Fact Sheet is available to explain specific guidelines on when and how these logos should be applied.

The ability for a certificate to be easily copied and used illegally is a significant risk for the VET sector. Your RTO must have mechanisms in place to reduce fraudulent reproduction of its certification. Protect your RTO’s reputation by ensuring strong measures are in place to reduce the fraudulent reproduction of qualifications and Statements of Attainment. See the TAC Users' Guide for steps that can be taken to reduce the chance of fraudulent activity.

2021 WA Training Awards

The Council is proud to support the 2021 WA Training Awards and encourages all RTOs to promote the awareness of the Awards within their organisations and colleagues within the VET sector. 

The Awards recognise and reward individuals and organisations that have excelled in VET – from apprentices, trainees and vocational students, to training professionals, training providers and employers committed to the training and development of their staff.

There are a number of award categories and people and organisations from across Western Australia and from all areas of training are encouraged to nominate for the Awards.

For more information and to apply for the awards visit the WA Training Awards website. Applications close on Friday 23 April 2021 and the Awards will be announced at a presentation ceremony to be held in Perth on Friday 17 September 2021.

The 2021 WA Training Awards are coordinated by the Department of Training and Workforce Development and the State Training Board.

New TAC Fact Sheets

Fact Sheets provide training providers with more detailed information and guidance on the Standards for RTOs. The full suite of TAC Fact Sheets is available on the TAC website.

New and revised Fact Sheets include the following topics:

• Issuing AQF Qualifications and Statements of Attainment (new)
• Marketing and Advertising (revised)
• TAC, NRT and AQF Logos (revised)
• Transition and Teach Out (revised)

Transition Extensions

Clause 1.26 of the Standards for RTOs states the time allowed for RTOs to transition to new training products. Upon request from stakeholders, TAC may consider and approve an extension to the transition period for training products where it can be demonstrated that there would be a genuine disadvantage to students or industry without the extension.

A list of training products where TAC has approved an extension to the transition period is available on the TAC website.

Other important updates

Streamlining of national training products: Revised lists of products for deletion

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) agreed in December 2020 to the immediate deletion of a number of training products from the national vocational education and training (VET) register.

Since this meeting, the AISC has received representations from industry in relation to a number of products that either have enrolments, or which are anticipated to have utility over the short to medium term. As a result there was justification for reinstating a small proportion of training products previously agreed for deletion into the national training system. The full list of units and qualifications that are to be reinstated is available to download here.

VET Qualifications Register for Secondary Students 2022 School Year

The VET Qualifications Register for Secondary Students has been updated by the Department of Training and Workforce Development for the 2022 School Year.

The Register provides schools and RTOs with industry advice to guide the selection and delivery of qualifications to secondary students.

This advice is provided to enable schools, RTOs and parents to help students choose industry supported qualifications and delivery options which are more likely to lead to successful outcomes, including completing qualifications and effectively transitioning into further training or employment.

The updated register can be downloaded here.

Digital Transformation Expert Panel - Phase A Reports

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) established a Digital Transformation Expert Panel to advise on workforce and vocational skills needs, and opportunities arising from Industry 4.0 and evolving technologies such as robotics, drones and remote operation systems. 

The Panel's Phase A reports are now available to download.

Manage copyright protected course materials easily with FLEX

Copyright Agency is appointed by the Australian Government to administer the Statutory Education Licence for text and image. The Statutory Education Licence is a blanket licence under the Copyright Act that allows RTOs to copy and share both hardcopy and digital third party text and images for educational purposes without obtaining individual approvals from the copyright owners.

To assist RTOs in managing their copyright compliance, Copyright Agency has developed a complementary platform called FLEX – a cloud-based repository which allows you to store and share third party book and journal excerpts under the Statutory Education Licence more easily and quickly. The FLEX platform works with your existing learning management system, and is automatically available to all RTOs who have a Statutory Education Licence agreement in place with Copyright Agency.

Learn more about FLEX here or register for an upcoming webinar.

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