Stages of Accreditation and Reaccreditation

This first stage of course accreditation is about establishing the industry, industry sector, enterprise and/or community need for a new course. It involves:

• Identifying the intended outcomes of the proposed course in broad terms by determining the industry and/or community functions it will cover; the functions and competencies it will cover; the scope and breadth of the course; any statutory, licensing or regulatory requirements; and future directions such as changes in technology and skill requirements.
• Conducting market research to establish the feasibility of the course by identifying the possible extent of market demand and the potential size of the employment market for graduates of the proposed course.
• Industry consultation undertaken in the course development stage must demonstrate industry need for the proposed course.
• There is an expectation that consultation and support for a course is sought from a range of industry stakeholders that are independent of the course owner and have a stake in the outcomes produced by the proposed course. Evidence may include letters of support and validation of outcomes against industry skill requirements.
• Ensuring the proposed course does not duplicate the outcomes or title of existing training package qualifications.
• Searching  www.training.gov.au, to establish if units of competency already exist that could be used in the proposed course and to ensure that the course does not duplicate the outcomes or title of existing training package qualifications.

Industry bodies can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• enterprise/industry clients, eg. employers
• group training organisations
• industry organisations
• industry regulators
• Skills Services Organisations
• industry training councils 
• unions

During Stage 2 the details of the course, including the intended skills and knowledge outcomes, training and assessment structures and pathways should be identified. The course specification must:

• accurately and realistically reflects the needs of industry, potential employers or community
• provide the skills and knowledge outcomes required by the industry or community
• meet the needs of learners most likely to enrol in the course
• provide the most flexible course structure to meet both industry and learner needs
• enable the recognition of course units of competency or other learning outcomes.

The intended skill and knowledge outcomes of the course can be identified through consideration of:

• relevant industry or educational standards
• occupational analysis, skills audits, data on emerging technology and industry trends
• manuals, operating procedures, textbooks
• position descriptions and role statements
• job function analysis and job advertisements.

Research should build on knowledge gained during the research and consultation phase to confirm the target group and demographics of likely participants, such as gender, age, cultural background, language and education level. This will assist in determining the most appropriate mode of delivery.

Consider contacting the relevant Jobs and Skills Councils (JSC) as part of your industry consultation.

If you wish to use modules in your accredited course, please complete the ACC3 Application to Develop Modules form, and submit to TAC before progressing with the application.

This stage is to design the course and prepare documentation for the course accreditation submission.

The ACC1 Application for Course Accreditation or the ACC2 Application for Course Reaccreditation are the forms that must be completed and submitted to TAC to seek accreditation or reaccreditation of a course. 

There are a number of documents that must be submitted to TAC when seeking to accredit a course and be accompanied by comprehensive supporting evidence. 

The ACC1 and ACC2 specify the essential course information for accreditation/reaccreditation and should always be completed first.

When completing the ACC1/ACC2 course owners must ensure that the information and supporting evidence demonstrates that the course meets the requirements of the Standards and that the course is based on an established industry, education, legislative, enterprise or community need.

The ACC1/ACC2 do not contain detailed guidance and instructions on the information to be provided. Instead the ACC Course Accreditation Guide and ACCREACC Course Reaccreditation Guide have been developed addresses the requirements for each section and must be followed to ensure accreditation applications address all requirements.

The ACC1/ACC requires course owners to include the following attachments:

• Attachment A Stakeholder Details: Provide details of all parties consulted throughout the process, including those engaged to:
  • establish the need for the course; 
  • contribute to the development, review and/or validation of the course; and 
  • support for the course being submitted.

The details of ITC and JSC consultation is requested in Attachments C and D listed below.

• Attachment B Research Undertaken: Provide details of the research that has been undertaken to ensure that there are no existing training products on the national register (TGA) that are suitable to: meet the identified need; or the required outcomes of the proposed course; and there is no duplication of nationally endorsed training products by the proposed course, its units of competency and/or modules.
• Attachment C Engagement with WA Industry Training Councils: Demonstrate that consultation has occurred with a Western Australian Industry Training Council (ITC).
• Attachment D Engagement with National Jobs and Skills Councils: Demonstrate that consultation has occurred with a Jobs Skills Council (JSC).
• Attachment E Alignment with the Australian Qualifications Framework: Provide justification for the proposed alignment to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) if the accredited course is a qualification.
• Attachment F Supporting Evidence Checklist: Complete the checklist to ensure that all evidence is included in the submission.

In addition to the ACC1/ACC form, course owners will be required to complete and submit an ACCTEM1 The Accredited Course Document. The ACCTEM1 provides the legal specification of the course as required by the Standards and must specify the full details of the course including the course outcomes, course structure and rules for course completion including all units of competency and/or modules; assessment requirements, delivery specifications, pathways and articulation, and monitoring.

The document specifies the requirements for RTOs delivering the course in the future and provides information related to the development of strategies for training and assessment and meeting the required course outcomes.

If accredited, the ACCTEM1 will be watermarked as the official version of the accredited course.

Course owners may also choose to complete and submit the ACCTEM2 Qualification Outline Document.  The ACCTEM2 is modelled on qualification information for Training Packages on the TGA and provides stakeholders with succinct information as a marketing alternative to using the ACCTEM1 with potential clients.

Submit all course accreditation application documents and supporting evidence via email to: taccourseaccreditation@dtwd.wa.gov.au. (Contact TAC if there are any difficulties submitting the files).

The accreditation submission is assessed by the TAC Secretariat against each of the AQTF2021 Standards for Accredited Courses.

Timelines for accreditation depends on whether the application complies with the Standards for Accredited Courses. If deemed compliant by the auditor (accreditation reviewer), the application will be submitted to the next available Council meeting for consideration.

If the application is non-compliant, course owners will be given a period of 20 days to provide additional evidence to the accreditation reviewer to address the non-compliances. The application will be submitted to the Council for consideration when the non-compliances have been addressed.

More information is available in the Accreditation Application Process Flowchart

Accreditation is generally granted by the Council for a period of five years, unless special circumstances warrant a lesser duration​.

When course accreditation is granted, the Council will provide the copyright owner with a letter and certificate specifying the details of the accredited course. The approved accreditation documentation is watermarked and returned to the course owner. The course is also allocated a national code and listed on the National Register www.training.gov.au. Please note that reaccredited courses will be allocated a new national code.

Only registered training organisations (RTOs) are able to deliver accredited courses. If an RTO has accredited a course that  it intends to deliver, the RTO must apply to its registering body to add the accredited (or reaccredited course) to its scope of registration via an RTO2 Amendment to Registration application form.

Course owners who are not RTOs will need to consider either registering to become an RTO or making arrangements with an already established RTO to deliver the course.

Course owners are required to identify ongoing monitoring and evaluation processes at the time of developing the course. 

Over time, feedback from students, graduates, industry and employers may indicate a need for change. There may be changes to workplace practices or new technology may be introduced. Regulatory/licensing or legislative requirements may change. National policy relating to assessment and/or delivery may also change. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation provide opportunities for a review of the currency and relevance of the course and identify improvements to the course.

Course owners are required to inform TAC of any changes to the course arising from ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Some changes are minor and do not affect the course outcomes. Other changes are significant and alter the course outcomes, which may require the reaccreditation of the course.

The ACC4 Application for Amendment to an Accredited Course​ form must be used to advise TAC of proposed changes to an accredited course.

TAC conducts a survey of course owners to confirm that evaluation of courses has been conducted and any superseded and/or deleted units have been removed or updated. The survey will be forwarded to course owners on a biennial basis.