The Australian Skills Quality Authority announces its regulatory strategy through to 2021

ASQA sets-out areas it will address and specifies five courses for quality review.

Chief executive Mark Paterson says, “regulatory activity will remain focused on responding to the most significant risks in a sector largely made up of quality providers.

“Notwithstanding claims to the contrary, ASQA does not impose regulatory sanctions for minor administrative or technical non-compliance. All of ASQA’s regulatory activity, including audits, investigations and reviews of specific training areas or products is informed by our assessment of risk that Registered Training Organisations or potential RTOs represent – ASQA dos not conduct regulatory activity unless we have determined a potential threat to quality.”

Mr Paterson’s statement follows MP Andrew Laming’s bucketing of ASQA’s regulatory practise in the House of Representatives last week (CMM August 2).

Priority areas for ASQA include:

* trainer and assessor capability, “the quality of trainers and assessors is directly linked to the quality of teaching and assessment and therefore student outcomes across the entire VET sector

* VET in schools, “stakeholders continue to raise concerns about the quality of delivery and outcomes, industry relevance and employer engagement

The training regulator also names courses prioritised for quality review until 2021. They are;

* HC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support, “since the establishment of the NDIS some stakeholders have raised concerns about the potential for providers to indirectly exploit students”)

* CHC50113 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, “poor workplace management and lack of confidence in the job readiness of graduates”

* TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, providers using third parties

* CPCCWHS1001 Prepare to work safely in the construction industry,

* BSB50215 Diploma of Business, unease that qualification does not meet industry needs