Compliance is vital for RTOs to continue doing business. Many RTOs don’t always pass their ASQA RTO audits, which can be a costly mistake. In non-compliance, the RTO can be fined, suspended, or deregistered.
RTOs are expected to conduct regular investigations of their RTO’s systems, procedures, and verifications to comply with the regulatory requirements and to diminish serious threats such as RTO punishments or cancellation of registration.
How to prepare for an RTO Audit?
The best way to be ready for an RTO Audit is to follow best compliance practices frequently. Your RTO must hold certain regulations, operations, and systems. You ought to guarantee you have high-quality learning resources, your trainers and assessors possess are qualified and so on.
- Identify the areas to be audited
- Create an audit calendar
- Prepare an audit checklist
- Record and analyse audit findings
- Create an action plan
How To Stay Compliance?
To ensure that your RTO complies with all the necessary regulations, it’s crucial to audit your resources regularly.
Here are some tips from the experts at VET Resources to help you prepare for the RTO audit and what you can do to prepare to audit your RTO resources to meet compliance requirements:
- Break internal audits into more manageable parts rather than attempting to take them on in one go. Divide them into small pieces as if you were eating a bite-sized snack.
- Contextualise your RTO Resources: It’s important to contextualise your RTO resources. So, they stay relevant to the qualifications and units of competency you offer. It means ensuring that all materials, such as training plans, assessment tools, and learning resources, are up-to-date and meet the requirements of the current version of the Training Package.
You must not rely upon or assume that your RTO resource provider knows your student cohort as you do. If the appropriate contextualisation isn’t in place when you present them for review at an audit, you will be reprimanded by the auditor and deemed as non-compliant.
When it comes to assessment tools, contextualisation is predominant; in addition, make sure that the verbs given in the description are used in the assessments – this will guarantee their accuracy. To help you, we’ve created a handy contextualisation guide for you. You can read it here – Easy guide to Contextualise your assessment tool and learner resources.
- Educate your team: Having the best RTO resources is not enough to meet your learners’ needs if the trainers do not possess the necessary skills and knowledge. At times, the standards of assessment or qualification may denote specific baseline requirements that assessors must fulfil; other times, this kind of detail may not be included. Ensure your assessors are well-informed about all the course material and the assessment materials. It could necessitate a training program, and you ought to have a review system in place to guarantee that all the assessors meet the necessary benchmark level.
- Understand your regulator’s expectation: Even though it can be challenging to predict what an auditor will observe due to the individual perspective of the auditor (we have heard stories of the same unit passing or being denied based on the different auditors), ASQA does let you know about it in advance. An Audit Tool Template for VET and CRICOS is available online to view or download. This will show what evidence ASQA asks for, allowing you ample time to get ready to pass your audit.
- Document everything: Documentation is the key to success regarding RTO audits. Make sure that you have a system in place to document all your processes and procedures, from enrolment to assessment and results. This will help you demonstrate that you comply with the standards and regulations set by ASQA.
- Review your resources: It is essential to review your RTO resources regularly to ensure they are up-to-date and meet the requirements of the current version of the Training Package. This includes training plans, assessment tools, and learning resources. Ensure all materials are accurate and relevant to the qualifications and units of competency you offer.
- Monitor your compliance:Monitoring your compliance is an ongoing process. You should regularly review and update your policies, procedures, and resources to ensure they are up-to-date with the latest standards and regulations. Additionally, you should also keep track of any changes in the industry or Training Package that may affect your RTO resources. This will help you stay ahead of any potential audit issues and ensure that you remain compliant.
RTO Audit Assistance
At VET Resources, we provide an unbiased and precise overview of your RTO’s compliance status. Our analysis uncovers any non-compliance and weaknesses in your RTO’s delivery that could cause future violations and highlight opportunities for advancement.
Disclaimer:
The information presented on the VET Resources blog is for general guidance only. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the information. VET Resources is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Always consult a professional for advice tailored to your circumstances.
