Standards for Training Providers Victorian TAFE Association   Pam Caven Director Policy & Stakeholder Engagement, TAFE Directors Australia 11 September 2014  

There are three themes that underpin the proposed standards: On 3 April 2014 Commonwealth and State Ministers agreed to a reform agenda that included a revision of the NSSC standards On 25 June the Hon Ian MacFarlane MP Minister for Industry released revised RTO and VET Regulator Standards for public consultation There are three themes that underpin the proposed standards: Industry responsiveness Quality training and assessment Cutting red tape

Ministers supported an “effective risk-based regulatory system” that rewards high performing vocational education and training providers” and deals effectively with poorly performing providers standards that are outcome rather than input focused.

TDA’s response to the Standards   welcomed “an effective risk-based regulatory system”, not one size fits all, that rewards high performing training providers supported in principle the emphasis on industry responsiveness and quality in training and assessment argued however that the proposed standards would not achieve the desired quality outcomes & may well impose a new set of administrative imposts on RTOs with cost implications argued the devil is in the detail and in auditor interpretation.

Two standards were of particular standards were of particular concern: Cert IV TAE –a missed opportunity to assure quality of teaching & assessment. Trainers who are providing the training should have as minimum a Diploma & logically some experience as a trainer and assessor in their own right.   Validation – proposed validation of assessment was blanket and not risk based Two standards were of particular concern:

TDA’s principles for the Standards   Standards should be clearly written and measurable -most of the proposed standards are not clearly written, nor are they measurable. All standards should be self sufficient and stand alone- many of the proposed standards require cross referencing to other standards and/or schedules and this may lead to multiple non compliances for the same issue The standards should be focused on outcomes- the proposed standards are much more focused on process. Implementation of the standards should, at worst, be cost neutral- the proposed standards will impose considerable extra costs on providers Any definitions of quality training and quality training providers should be clear and overt – the proposed standards leave such definitions in the hands of ASQA auditors.

Thank you… pcaven@tda.edu.au