Welcome to the new year and the Council’s first edition of the TAC Update for 2024.
This year is shaping up to be a very busy year already, as the Council continues to focus on regulatory activities, quality issues, and the national reform agenda.
The draft revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations (draft Standards) which aim to strengthen learner outcomes, foster innovation, and enhance flexibility within the VET system, were released by the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in October 2023 for piloting and feedback. As the Council and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) prepare for their planned commencement from 1 January 2025, this will present opportunities and challenges as collectively, we start to think about the revised requirements and implementation.
For RTOs to navigate how the changes impact their business operations including training and assessment, support for learners, RTO workforce and governance, having a clear understanding of the content of the Standards, their interpretation and evidence requirements will be very important. Once the final version has been released in the latter half of 2024, the Council will offer a range of education program opportunities to further support RTOs as they transition to the revised Standards.
The Council recommends that RTOs continue to develop their familiarity with the proposed changes and stay informed of any updates. Further details about a TAC webinar on the draft revised Standards is provided later in this update.
TAC Education Program
Upcoming Events
TAC has moved its Education Program registration platform from Eventbrite to Humanitix. Humanitix is an easy to use system which will be integrated with the Professional Development Calendar on the TAC website.
Register now for our upcoming events. You can also be alerted to new events by following TAC’s Event Page on Humanitix.
- 15 April 2024 - Draft Revised Standards for RTOs
- 10 June 2024 - Assessment Validation
Webinar Recordings
View the TAC Education Program to access professional development opportunities, support and guidance materials and access previous webinar recordings and resources.
You can also watch any of the 60 videos available on TAC’s YouTube channel.
Focus on Quality: Re-issuing Certification
The protection of qualifications in the VET sector is core to the integrity of the sector. There are measures in place to assure this integrity throughout a learner’s engagement, from enrolment through to issuing certification.
One such measure is the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Issuance Policy which guides certification in the VET sector by outlining the requirements for issuing testamurs for qualifications and statements of attainment.
The policy acknowledges that there are circumstances in which an RTO may be required to issue a replacement testamur or statement of attainment, for instance where the original certification has been damaged or lost. When this is required, the issuing RTO is responsible for authentication and verification of the original certification prior to replacement certification documentation being produced. This could be achieved by reviewing the RTO’s register of all AQF qualifications /statements of attainment that the RTO has issued. Once verified, the RTO is able to issue a replacement certification.
When replacement certification has been issued, it is advisable for the RTO to record that this has occurred. Ideally the RTO will be able to distinguish between the original and replacement certification. Issuing a new unique certificate number is often one of the fraud control measures used by RTOs and a simple way to record that replacement certification documents have been issued.
Further information can be found in the TAC Fact Sheet: Issuing Testamurs and Statements of Attainment.
AVETMISS Reporting
Total VET Activity (TVA) is a mandatory national reporting requirement for RTOs.
RTOs are required to collect and submit full AVETMISS data on all nationally recognised training where there is a responsibility for issuing a statement of attainment or qualification.
All publicly funded data reporting is submitted directly to the Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD), the State Training Authority (STA) in WA via current Resource Allocation Program for Training (RAPT) reporting requirements.
All other data (i.e. non publicly funded data) is reported directly to NCVER. The window for reporting 2023 AVETMISS data directly is now open and closes on 29 February 2024.
More information is available:
- TAC Fact Sheet: RTO Reporting Requirement
- NCVER RTO hub
Move to electronic registration and accreditation certification
This is a reminder that from 1 January 2024, all RTO registration certificates and course owner accreditation certificates issued by TAC will be in digital format. The certificates will be included in your organisation's official documentation from the Council upon approval, and sent to you via email.
If you require a hard copy of the certificate, the electronically provided version is printable.
Catch up now on TAC’s latest podcast
TAC's Podcasts can be listened to on most podcast apps, YouTube or on the TAC Website.
TAC Talks Shorts Ep 17 – Fraudulent Certificates
Fraudulent certificates can affect the reputation of your RTO and undermine the quality of the VET sector. This episode provides information on safeguarding your qualifications and mitigating this risk by boosting certificate security and verifying incoming certificates.
Updated Fact Sheet
The Fact Sheet: Awarding Credit has been updated to include answers to the following frequently asked questions:
- Can I award credit for an equivalent unit when that unit’s pre-requisites have changed or are not equivalent?
- What happens if the new unit is equivalent to a unit from a different training package?
- Do I still provide credit if the transcript provided by the student indicates that the unit they currently hold was obtained through a credit transfer process?
Transition extensions
At the January 2023 meeting, the Council agreed to extend the transition period for the following training product until 22 January 2025:
- AHC30416 Certificate III in Pork Production
View the full list of training products approved for an extended transition periods.
The Council may consider requests to extend the transition period of a superseded training product when certain conditions apply. Further information is available on the TAC Website.
Other important updates
National Skills Passport
The Department of Education and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations are seeking consultation on the proposed National Skills Passport.
A National Skills Passport has the potential to help with education and employment decisions. It could help workers promote their qualifications, upskill and reskill, and help businesses find staff with the right skills. People who participate could view and share evidence of their skills and qualifications in a trusted, seamless, and integrated digital system.
More information is available on the Department of Education website with consultation closing on 18 February 2024.
Implementing Respect@Work
In response to addressing and responding to workplace sexual harassment, the Department of Communities has published its Implementing Respect@Work WA State Government Progress Report 2023. The report highlights, among other measures, the inclusion of clauses in relation to harassment and discrimination in the draft revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations, as contributing to the fulfillment of Recommendation 11.
The full report can be viewed on the Department of Communities website.
An update to the Australian Skills Classification is now available
This update features new and improved occupation profiles, skill statements for specialist tasks, detailed descriptions for technology tools, and updates to emerging and trending skills flags.
Information about this update and the Classification’s methodology is available under the downloads tab of the Jobs and Skills Australia website.
Unique Student Identifier (USI) on the myGov platform
The Unique Student Identifier (USI) has been added as a linked service in myGov.
Students who have linked their USI account to myGov, don’t have to log in to the USI Student Portal separately to view or share VET transcripts, or to retrieve and provide USI numbers to RTOs.
Jobs and Skills Australia
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has released the following consultations:
- Early Childhood, Education and Care Capacity Study - Closes 30 Jan
- 2024-25 work plan development consultation - Closes 24 Jan
