Changes to registration

RTOs can add new units of competency, qualifications, or nationally accredited courses to their current scope of registration by applying to TAC through the  RTO Portal. 

RTOs cannot offer, deliver or assess any of the proposed qualifications, units of competency, or accredited courses until the amendment application has been approved by TAC.

RTOs must pay a fee when applying for an amendment to scope.  Refer to the TAC fees and charges schedule at the following link for details:  TAC fees and charges

To add TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment there are specific evidence requirements. For further information click here.

Overview of application process

When your application is received, a desktop review will be undertaken to determine if further information is required. A risk assessment will determine whether an audit is necessary.

Qualifications, units of competency or courses added to an RTO's scope of registration without an audit being conducted may be subject to audit at any subsequent audit of the RTO.

The below flowchart and webinar provides further details of the process for an amendment to registration application.

Audit process

For further information about the audit process for amendment to registration applications please see the TAC Audits page and the:

 Preparing for Audit webinar

Delivery of Skills Sets

Skill Sets are a grouping of one or more endorsed units of competency from a training package which meet a specific licensing/regulatory requirement or a defined industry need. Skill sets can be a responsive and flexible tool to meet industry needs without the requirement for students to complete a full qualification.  Students can use units of competency gained as part of a skill set as credit towards qualifications at a later stage. 

Skill sets can be a non-endorsed component of training packages such as TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set or can also be developed by industry bodies or stakeholders to meet government priorities and/or local industry need, such as the WA State Government's Business Ready skill set.

Delivery

Skill sets are not listed on an RTO's delivery scope.  To deliver skill sets, RTOs need to ensure that they have all unit/s of competency that make up the skill set on their scope of registration either explicit* or implicit*, and that the units are reflected in the RTO's learning and assessment strategy. 

*Units of competency on an RTO's scope of registration can either be:

• explicit - units of competency listed individually; or
• implicit - core or listed elective units of competency contained within a qualification.

Where an RTO does not have all the units of competency on scope that make up the skill set, the RTO will need to apply to add the unit/s of competency to their scope of registration through the RTO Portal and meet the requirements of the amendment to scope process.

Superseded Units

RTOs can only use superseded, removed or deleted units of competency, from their implicit and explicit scope, in a skill set whilst they are within the transition and teach out period.  Once the transition and teach out period has expired, RTOs will need to add the replacement unit of competency to their explicit scope by applying to TAC through the RTO Portal.

To access the RTO Portal see the link below:

 RTO Portal Login

Standalone delivery of imported units of competency

If an RTO has a qualification on its scope of registration, that RTO can offer, deliver and issue statements of attainment for units of competency that are listed in the packaging rules for that qualification, these units of competency are on the RTO’s implicit scope.

Units of competency that are not named as core or listed electives in the packaging rules for that qualification (i.e. imported units), cannot be offered on a standalone basis. These units must be added to an RTO's explicit scope of registration separately.

Changes to training package products (qualifications and/or units of competency) are defined as either 'equivalent' or 'not equivalent'.

Equivalent training products

When a new or revised training package is released, TAC identifies all qualifications and units of competency that have been determined as being ‘equivalent’ to the superseded product. Equivalent products will be automatically added to your scope of registration without requiring an application or a fee.

TAC will work as quickly as possible to ensure the new products are placed on your scope when a revised training package is released on the National Register www.training.gov.au. You will be advised by email once your scope has been updated.

You are required to review the training package changes that have occurred and make the required resource adjustments. You should continue to deliver the superseded product until you are ready to deliver the new equivalent product within the 12 month transition period.

If you do not wish to have the new, equivalent product on scope you can choose to opt-out through a simple application process. There is no fee for this.

If you have removed the new equivalent product from your scope of registration, but want to add it again within 12 months of the new product being published on the national register, you can apply to TAC to add this product without being charged a fee. If you apply to add the new equivalent product more than 12 months after its publication, this is counted as an application to add a new item to scope and the relevant fee will apply. 

Please note this policy does not apply to accredited courses.  An application to amend scope must be submitted to TAC to add any accredited courses to your scope. Relevant fees apply.

Not equivalent training products

When a new training product is deemed to be 'not-equivalent' to the superseded product TAC considers this adding a new item to scope.

The new training product can be added to your scope by applying to TAC through the RTO Portal. 

A risk assessment will determine whether an audit is necessary.

The standard fees apply when applying to add the new item to scope.  Refer to the TAC fees and charges schedule at the following link for details: TAC fees schedule. 

Further information on training products is available at:

 Fact Sheet: Training Product Equivalence

 Understanding Training Packages webinar

 Clips: How to keep up to date with Training Package changes

Transition Arrangements

Learner transition and teach-out

When a training product is superseded all learners training and assessment should be completed or the learners should be transferred into its replacement within 12 months from the date the replacement product is released on the national register.

If a qualification is no longer current and has not been superseded all learners training and assessment must be completed within 2 years from the date the qualification was removed or deleted from the national register.

Further information is available at: 

 TAC Fact Sheet: Transition and Teach Out

 TAC Talks Podcast - Ep9 - Transition Arrangements

Applications to extend transition periods

The Council will, from time to time, consider requests to extend the transition period of a superseded training product. The Council will only consider requests:

• From RTOs or industry groups (not learners);
• For a specific superseded training product or products;
• For a specific cohort of learners (e.g. plumbing apprentices currently enrolled in a specific qualification that has been superseded);
• That demonstrate the cohort of learners would be genuinely disadvantaged if the application were not approved; and
• Accompanied by evidence of support from the Jobs and Skills Council of the training product and where applicable, support from the State Training Authority (e.g. where trainees/apprentices are affected) and the Department of Education (where school students are affected).

If a request to extend the transition period is approved, the approval will be published on the Council's website. The arrangement will apply to all RTOs scoped to deliver the training product, regardless of who made the request.

Requests should be sent to the Manager Regulation via tac@dtwd.wa.gov.au.

To view the list of training products approved for extended transition, click here.  

RTOs that wish to remove qualifications or units of competency from scope can submit an amendment to scope application via the RTO Portal. 

There are no fees for removing items from your scope of registration.

The method of calculation for an RTOs annual fees is based on the scale and scope of a provider’s operations. For this reason, RTOs are encouraged to continuously review their scope of delivery to ensure that fees are not charged for qualifications that have expired or that the RTO no longer wishes to deliver. In some instances this will result in a reduction of fees payable and ensure that the information held on the national database training.gov.au is a true reflection of the RTO’s operations.

The below clip provides step by step instructions on how to complete this form.  

  TAC Clips - Completing an RTO2 Amendment to Registration Application Form via the RTOPortal.

You can change your RTO’s contact details using​ RTO Portal by completing an RTO4 Notification of Change to RTO Details Application.

If you wish to deliver in Victoria or overseas you should indicate the state or country in the relevant section of the application form

Please note that RTOs delivering nationally recognised training on Christmas Island must be registered with the​ Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

Change of legal entity

For information about changing the legal entity, please refer to TAC's Policy on Change of Legal Entity of an RTO. 

A request for a change to the RTO's registered business (trading) name or addition of a new trading name must be accompanied by a copy of the Business Name Extract showing details of the registration number and the proprietor of the name.

When an RTO changes its operations in relation to providing delivery and/or assessment services, the regulation of that RTO will transfer between TAC, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) or the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) as determined by the RTO's operational change, noting the transfer cannot occur until non-compliance issues, outstanding fees, and/or any other regulatory matter is resolved.

RTOs registered with ASQA that change delivery and/or assessment services to domestic students in Western Australia and/or Victoria only, means the RTO can no longer be regulated by ASQA and will be required to transfer to TAC or the VRQA.

Equally, an RTO registered with TAC that intends to offer training and assessment services in other States or Territories (other than Western Australia and Victoria), or to international students on a student visa must advise TAC prior to the change occurring. This change in business circumstances means that the RTO can no longer be regulated by TAC and will be required to transfer to ASQA.

To initiate a transfer from TAC to ASQA or VRQA, you are required to complete the RTO8 Advice of Intention to Transfer to ASQA Form and submit to TAC with evidence that supports the request, including letters of support from clients.

The TAC Secretariat will consider the information provided to determine if the RTO no longer meets the requirements to be registered with TAC. If this is established, and there are no outstanding regulatory issues, the advice of the RTO's intention to transfer will be submitted to ASQA or VRQA for consideration.

TAC will continue to regulate the provider until the ASQA or VRQA makes its decision on the application to transfer.

Note RTOs must monitor ongoing eligibility of the RTO to remain regulated by either TAC, ASQA or VRQA.