PROVIDER ROUNDTABLE REGULATORY ACTIVITY & KEY ISSUES: 1 JULY SEPTEMBER 2013

Transcription

1 PROVIDER ROUNDTABLE REGULATORY ACTIVITY & KEY ISSUES: 1 JULY SEPTEMBER 2013

2 ASQA Regulatory Activity: 1 July September 2013 National Overview The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) was established to streamline the regulation of Vocational Education and Training (VET), increase consistency across the States and Territories, and address emerging quality concerns. The National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (NVR Act) and related legislation provide the framework that enables ASQA to undertake its functions. From 1 July 2011, ASQA assumed responsibility for the regulation of approximately 2,000 providers, as well as the accreditation of VET courses, in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Western Australia. The Victorian and Western Australian governments did not refer their VET regulatory powers to the Australian Parliament to enable full VET regulation by ASQA in their jurisdictions, therefore ASQA only has regulatory responsibility for those providers in Victoria and Western Australia that enrol international students, or that operate in a Territory or a State other than Victoria or Western Australia. Subsequently, ASQA also assumed responsibility for VET regulation in Tasmania, South Australia, and Queensland following the referral of relevant powers to the Australian Parliament. ASQA assumed responsibility for the regulation of VET in Tasmania on 15 February 2012, in South Australia on 26 March 2012, and in Queensland on 29 June As at 30 September 2013 ASQA was responsible for the regulation of 3,948 of the 4,749 Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) nationally, this represents some 83.1% of the total national provider market as shown in Figure 1. The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) and Western Australian Training Accreditation Council (WA TAC) regulate 9.5% and 7.4% of the national training provider market respectively (Figure 1). Figure 1: Regulators Market Share of Registered Training Organisations (30 September 2013) VET Regulators - Provider Market % VRQA 9.5% WA TAC 7.4% ASQA 83.1% 1

3 The numbers of RTOs has remained relatively steady with a small decrease in overall provider numbers nationally since the establishment of ASQA. The heavy concentration of RTOs on the east coast (as shown in Figure 2) reflects historical activity and population density. It should be noted however that while the numbers are a raw count of individual RTOs, they do not reflect the size of the business of those providers. Figure 2: ASQA Regulated Registered Training Organisations by State (30 September 2013) RTOs Regulated by ASQA - State / Territory Distrobution TAS 2.3% VIC 15.6% WA 4.7% ACT 3.1% NSW 28.3% SA 6.9% NT 1.4% QLD 37.6% National Regulatory Activity: 1 July September In the period 1 July September 2013 ASQA received 15,370 applications from training organisations. As at 30 September 2013 some 13,953 (90.8%) of these applications had been finalised. The NVR Act enables ASQA to conduct a compliance audit of a national VET regulator registered training organisation (NVR RTO) at any time, to assess whether the organisation complies with its requirements under the Act. Further, the Act requires ASQA to apply a risk management approach to performing such regulatory functions. Other than audits conducted to assess a registration application, ASQA conducts audits to: Monitor an NVR RTO s ongoing compliance following approval of initial registration Monitor an NVR RTO s compliance on identified risk exposure grounds Investigate the substance of complaint allegations ASQA completed 2,406 audits between 1 July 2011 and 30 September Outcomes of the 2,406 completed audits were that 1,585 (65.9%) were compliant; 573 (23.8%) were non-compliant; and 248 (10.3%) were discontinued or awaiting a decision from an ASQA Commissioner. 1 Regulatory activity data in this report includes all decisions made by ASQA regardless of the outcomes of any subsequent review processes (e.g. ASQA reconsideration, Administrative Appeals Tribunal etc). 2

4 This audit activity led to ASQA making 508 decisions to refuse applications between 1 July September 2013: 99 refusals of initial applications to set up a new NVR RTO (out of 498 completed applications); 99 refusals to re-register an existing NVR RTO (out of 1,041 completed applications); and 310 refusals to add a new course to a provider s registration (out of 12,146 completed applications). This means that almost 10% of applications from existing providers to re-register are being refused by ASQA, and almost 20% of applications from organisations seeking to establish a new provider are also being refused. In the same period ASQA made 347 regulatory decisions to: cancel (46); suspend (44); give written notices of intention to cancel/suspend (220); and impose another type of administrative sanction (37). This means that since ASQA s inception 409 decisions have been made to cancel/suspend (90) registration; give written notice of intention to cancel/suspend registration (220); or refuse the re-registration of an RTO (99). These 409 decisions have affected a total of 228 individual NVR RTOs (given an NVR RTO can have more than one decision made against it). State / Territory Breakdown of Regulatory Activity: 1 July September 2013 Applications: Received and Completed In the period 1 July September 2013 ASQA received 15,370 applications from training organisations. As at 30 September 2013 some 13,953 (90.8%) of these applications had been finalised. On a State / Territory basis this equated to: State / Territory Received Completed % Completed ACT % NSW 4,671 4, % NT % QLD 3,262 2, % SA % TAS % VIC 4,284 3, % WA 1, % National Total 15,370* 13,953** 90.8% * The national applications received total includes 12 applications that are not assigned to a State/Territory. ** The national completed application total includes 10 applications that are not assigned to a State/Territory. 3

5 Almost 80% of the applications received by ASQA come from NSW, QLD & VIC. Across all States and Territories the percentage of completed applications compared to received applications is broadly consistent. Decisions to Reject Applications ASQA made 508 decisions to reject applications between 1 July September 2013: 99 rejections of initial applications to set up a new RTO; 99 rejections of applications to re-register an existing RTO; and 310 rejections of applications add a new course to a provider s registration. On a State / Territory basis these rejections equated to: State / Territory Rejected Applications % National Total ACT 8 1.6% NSW % NT 3 0.6% QLD % SA % TAS 7 1.4% VIC % WA % National Total % The vast majority of rejection decisions (90.2%) affected providers in NSW, QLD & VIC. This is unsurprising given that the majority of applications also come from these three States (i.e. almost 80%) At the National level this means that almost 10% of applications from existing providers to become reregistered are being rejected by ASQA, and almost 20% of applications from people seeking to establish a new provider are being rejected. Regulatory Decisions To 30 September 2013 ASQA made 347 regulatory decisions to, cancel (46), suspend (44), or give written notices of intention to cancel/suspend (220). ASQA also made 37 decisions to impose another type of administrative sanction. 4

6 On a State / Territory basis these regulatory decisions equated to: State / Territory Regulatory Decisions % National Total ACT % NSW % NT 3 0.9% QLD % SA % TAS 6 1.7% VIC % WA % National Total % As with decisions to reject applications, the vast majority of regulatory decisions (82.7%) affected providers in NSW, QLD & VIC. Again, this is unsurprising given that the majority of applications (and RTOs) come from these three States (i.e. almost 80%). 5