The Revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations are made up of:
- Outcome Standards
- Compliance Requirements
- Credential Policy (this document)
All RTOs are required to comply with this policy, in addition to the Outcome Standards and the Compliance Requirements.
Overview
The draft Credential Policy and Compliance Requirements largely reflect requirements drawn from the current Standards for RTOs. Where changes are proposed to existing requirements, these are outlined below.
This policy outlines relevant credentials for trainers and assessors undertaking particular training and assessment activities or roles. This policy forms part of the Revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations (Standards for RTOs) and must be read in conjunction with the Outcome Standards and the Compliance Requirements.
The corresponding Outcome Standards have been referenced throughout this policy for ease of reference. Further to the credentialling requirements set out below, the Outcome Standards set out additional requirements relating to individuals undertaking certain training and assessment activities. Recognising there are various standards within the Outcome Standards that contain credentialling requirements, and as such this policy cannot be read as a standalone list of credentialling requirements.
Guidance
The draft Credential Policy sets out the credential requirements for people delivering training and assessment and undertaking validation of assessment. This largely reflects existing credential requirements from the current Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (the Standards), which were last updated on 1 March 2024.
Further information on the early changes to the Standards for RTOs is available at Early Changes to the Current Standards for RTOs - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government.
The Credential Policy has provided an opportunity to further refine the credential requirements of persons delivering training, assessment, or validation, and to clarify areas which were unclear based on the sector’s feedback on the early changes.
All individuals delivering training and assessment will continue to be required to meet requirements in the Standards around holding relevant industry competencies, skills and experience, maintaining an understanding of current industry practices, and undertaking professional development to maintain current skills in training and assessment.
In addition to reflecting existing requirements, the following further changes are proposed in the draft Credential Policy:
- Enabling individuals who hold the 2010 version of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110) to deliver training and assessment without needing to hold the two additional units of competency in addressing adult language, literacy and numeracy skills and designing and developing assessment tools.
- While recognising that previous changes to the Standards in 2016 requiring qualification upgrades caused burden and expense to the sector, this change is designed to alleviate the sector’s concerns around mandatory upgrades and help ease workforce pressures by enabling those holding the 2010 version of the qualification to re-enter the workforce without completing additional units.
- This would also support greater alignment with the latest version of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40122), given that the updated versions of the additional units are no longer core units in the qualification.
- To ensure currency of skills and quality training for those with the older qualification, the Standards would still require all trainers and assessors to undertake professional development to ensure current skills and knowledge in training and assessment, and to hold relevant industry competencies, skills and knowledge.
- Expanding the term ‘diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education’ to ‘diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training’, and inclusion of a definition to provide greater clarity and address existing confusion around this term identified in consultation feedback. This will help clarify that persons with vocational education and training qualifications can deliver training and assessment.
The draft Credential Policy is also designed to provide clarification in areas where consultation has shown that this is needed. This includes:
- clarifying that RTOs must ensure the credentials held by trainers and assessors are relevant to the context they are working in,
- reinforcing the requirement for trainers and assessors to have industry competencies, skills and knowledge, and
- clarifying the role of the person providing direction, including where they are providing direction to industry experts.
Online Guidance Hub
Further information on the Revised Standards is available in the Online Guidance Hub.
