News
A rapid review of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has been announced. We are sharing the details of the review with this article.
Two recent national reviews have focused on the VET sector, including the role of ASQA – the 2019 Expert Review of Australia’s VET System (the Joyce Review), and the 2018 review of the National VET Regulator Act 2011 (the Braithwaite Review). Both reviews identified the need for ASQA to reform elements of its regulatory approach, in particular, its engagement with the sector and its educative approach.
While in recent years ASQA has focused much of its regulatory effort on the poorest performing providers, and removing them from the market, there is now an opportunity to strengthen ASQA’s focus on building capability and fostering excellence across the VET sector.
ASQA Reform
On 30 October 2019, the Australian Government announced $18.1 million towards the reform of ASQA to support the fair, transparent and effective regulation of the VET sector, and high-quality student outcomes. The reform is intended to:
Informing the reform
To inform the detail of the reforms, the department has engaged a regulatory expert to undertake a rapid review of ASQA’s regulatory practices and processes, and make recommendations for specific changes in line with best practice governance, regulation and engagement.
The rapid review will:
The review is scheduled to be completed by early February 2020. Following the review, the reforms will be implemented over a 12-18 month period of change management.
Consultation
Recent reviews have sought feedback from the sector on the role of ASQA in regulating the VET sector. This feedback has informed the scope and focus of this rapid review and will be closely considered by the regulatory expert.
The department welcomes any additional feedback from stakeholders relevant to ASQA’s internal regulatory practices and procedures. In providing feedback, stakeholders are encouraged to consider the following questions:
Feedback should be sent to ASQAreform@employment.gov.au by COB Friday 17 January 2020. This feedback will be provided directly to the regulatory expert engaged to undertake the review.
Reference: ASQA Reform