Stages of Accreditation and Reaccreditation

This first stage of course accreditation is about establishing the industry, industry sector, enterprise and/or community need for a new course. It involves:

• Identifying the intended outcomes of the proposed course in broad terms by determining the industry and/or community functions it will cover; the functions and competencies it will cover; the scope and breadth of the course; any statutory, licensing or regulatory requirements; and future directions such as changes in technology and skill requirements.
• Conducting market research to establish the feasibility of the course by identifying the possible extent of market demand and the potential size of the employment market for graduates of the proposed course.
• Industry consultation undertaken in the course development stage must demonstrate industry need for the proposed course.
• There is an expectation that consultation and support for a course is sought from a range of industry stakeholders that are independent of the course owner and have a stake in the outcomes produced by the proposed course. Evidence may include letters of support and validation of outcomes against industry skill requirements.
• Ensuring the proposed course does not duplicate the outcomes or title of existing training package qualifications.
• Searching the National Register www.training.gov.au, to establish if units of competency already exist that could be used in the proposed course and to ensure that the course does not duplicate the outcomes or title of existing training package qualifications.

Industry bodies can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• enterprise/industry clients, eg. employers
• group training organisations
• industry organisations
• industry regulators
• Skills Services Organisations
• industry training councils 
• unions

During Stage 2 the details of the course, including the intended skills and knowledge outcomes, training and assessment structures and pathways should be identified. The course specification must:

• accurately and realistically reflects the needs of industry, potential employers or community
• provide the skills and knowledge outcomes required by the industry or community
• meet the needs of learners most likely to enrol in the course
• provide the most flexible course structure to meet both industry and learner needs
• enable the recognition of course units of competency or other learning outcomes.

The intended skill and knowledge outcomes of the course can be identified through consideration of:

• relevant industry or educational standards
• occupational analysis, skills audits, data on emerging technology and industry trends
• manuals, operating procedures, textbooks
• position descriptions and role statements
• job function analysis and job advertisements.

Research should build on knowledge gained during the research and consultation phase to confirm the target group and demographics of likely participants, such as gender, age, cultural background, language and education level. This will assist in determining the most appropriate mode of delivery.

Consider contacting the relevant Jobs and Skills Councils (JSC) as part of your industry consultation.

If you wish to use modules in your accredited course, please complete the Module Approval Form and submit to TAC before progressing with the application.

This stage is to design the course and prepare documentation for the course accreditation submission.

The ACC1 Application for Course Accreditation or Reaccreditation form specifies the essential course information that is to be provided to the TAC Secretariat for accreditation or reaccreditation. The submission must include a completed course document and all units of competency included in the course. There should be sufficient supporting evidence to demonstrate compliance with the AQTF2021 Standards for Accredited Courses.

The course accreditation submission also provides the background information for RTOs that will be delivering the course to develop strategies for training and assessment.​

Accreditation application forms and​ templates can be accessed from this page.

The accreditation submission is assessed by the TAC Secretariat against each of the AQTF2021 Standards for Accredited Courses.

Timelines for accreditation depends on whether the application complies with the Standards for Accredited Courses at External Review. If deemed compliant by the auditor (accreditation reviewer), the application will be submitted to the next available Council meeting for consideration.

If the application is non-compliant, course owners will be given a period of 20 days to provide additional evidence to the accreditation reviewer to address the non-compliances. The application will be submitted to the Council for consideration when the non-compliances have been addressed.

More information:

Accreditation is generally granted by the Council for a period of five years, unless special circumstances warrant a lesser duration​.

When course accreditation is granted, the Council will provide the copyright owner with a letter and certificate specifying the details of the accredited course. The approved ACC1 Application for Course Accreditation or Reaccreditation form and course documents are watermarked and returned to the course owner. The course is also allocated a national code and listed on the National Register www.training.gov.au. Please note that reaccredited courses will be allocated a new national code.

Only registered training organisations (RTOs) are able to deliver accredited courses. If an RTO has accredited a course that  it intends to deliver, the RTO must apply to its registering body to add the accredited (or reaccredited course) to its scope of registration.

Course owners who are not RTOs will need to consider either registering to become an RTO or making arrangements with an already established RTO to deliver the course.

Course owners are required to identify ongoing monitoring and evaluation processes at the time of developing the course. 

Over time, feedback from students, graduates, industry and employers may indicate a need for change. There may be changes to workplace practices or new technology may be introduced. Regulatory/licensing or legislative requirements may change. National policy relating to assessment and/or delivery may also change. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation provide opportunities for a review of the currency and relevance of the course and identify improvements to the course.

Course owners are required to inform TAC of any changes to the course arising from ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Some changes are minor and do not affect the course outcomes. Other changes are significant and alter the course outcomes, which may require the reaccreditation of the course.

The ACC2 Application for Amendment to Accredited Course​ form must be used to advise TAC of proposed changes to an accredited course.

TAC conducts a survey of course owners to confirm that evaluation of courses has been conducted and any superseded and/or deleted units have been removed or updated. The survey will be forwarded to course owners on a biennial basis.