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Victorian Qualifications Authority (National
Registration) Bill
Victorian Legislation Parliamentary Documents
Circulation Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
General
The main purpose of the Act is to provide for Victoria to participate in a
national scheme of registration for organisations that provide training and
assessments in vocational education and training and further education.
The national scheme also provides for accreditation of vocational education
and training and further education courses and qualifications. The Victorian
Qualifications Authority will be required to investigate all applications for
registration and accreditation for vocational education and training and
further education having regard to the national standards. The Authority will
continue to register those matters on the existing State Registers and also
arrange for the details of those courses and qualifications to be recorded on
the National Register
Clause Notes
Clause 1 sets out main purpose of the Act, which is to amend the
Victorian Qualifications Act 2000 ("the Act") to provide for a
national scheme of registration for training organisations and for
vocational education and training courses and qualifications.
Clause 2 provides that some clauses of the Bill will come into operation
on the day after the day the Bill receives the Royal Assent; the
remaining provisions will come into operation on a day or days to
be proclaimed and if a provision does not come into operation
before 1 July 2005, it comes into operation on that day.
Clause 3 inserts various definitions required for the national scheme of
registration into the Act.
Clause 4 amends the functions of the Victorian Qualifications Authority
("the Authority") to include national registration and the conduct
of audits of organisations registered or to be registered on the
National Register.
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Clause 5 inserts a new section 20A in the Act requiring the Authority to
maintain information on the National Register about vocational
education and training. The National Register is the National
Training Information Service where information about registered
training organisations and accredited courses is recorded by all
Victorian Legislation Parliamentary Documents
jurisdictions participating in the national scheme.
Clause 6 inserts new section 21 (5), (6) and (7) in the Act to provide for
applications to have a vocational education and training or further
education course registered on the State and National Register
and the conditions to be met for the Authority to consider those
applications.
Clause 7 inserts new section 22 (2), (3), (4) (5) and (6) in the Act setting
out the criteria the Authority must use to determine if a
vocational education and training and further education course
is suitable for accreditation. It also states that these courses
must be placed on the State Register and that if a course is not
accredited the applicant must receive a written report of the
decision. The new provisions also prescribes a maximum
accreditation period of 5 years for vocational education and
training and further education courses.
Clause 8 inserts a new section 22A in the Act to clarify the conditions
under which a vocational education and training or further
education course which was accredited by the Authority may be
cancelled and states that the person who applied to register this
course must be notified of the cancellation.
Clause 9 amends section 23 of the Act to provide for making applications
for registration on the State and National Registers.
Clause 10 inserts a new Division 2A (sections 23B to 23R), providing for
national registration in Part 3 of the Act.
· new section 23B limits the application of the new
Division to vocational education and training and
further education. It also provides that if there is any
inconsistency between the requirements for State
registration and national registration that the national
requirements will apply.
· new section 23C provides that once the details of a
training organisation or an accredited course are
recorded by any State or Territory on the national
register, it is registered nationally without any further
State based approval processes or requirements being
placed upon a course for recognition or upon a
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registered training organisation ("RTO") for
registration.
· new section 23D provides that an application for
registration must be in the approved form and that the
Victorian Legislation Parliamentary Documents
applicant must give the Authority any information
required to decide the application.
· new section 23E requires that certain criteria and
standards are met and that a compliance audit is to be
conducted before the Authority may approve an
organisation for registration. It also provides for the
Authority to impose reasonable conditions on the
registration and that the training organisation's principal
place of business is in Victoria or that the majority of its
training delivery is in Victoria.
· new section 23F enables the Authority to specify all of
the conditions that an RTO must comply with under its
registration. Although the section specifies that the
Authority must comply with the standards for
registration under the standards for RTOs which form
part of the Australian Quality Training Framework it
states that the conditions are not limited to these
standards. Current requirements of the Act will also
apply. It also provides that the conditions specified in
this section do not apply if the applicant for registration
is transferring from another State.
· new section 23G provides that registration of an RTO
may be for a term up to 5 years and that it may be
renewed if application is made before the expiration of
registration.
· new section 23H provides for the Authority to be able to
amend, on application by an RTO, the organisation's
details, including the courses they are registered to
deliver, and only requires an audit to the extent the audit
is relevant to the amendment.
· new section 23I provides for the maintenance of the
details on the National register by Authority of the
training organisations it has recorded on the register.
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· new section 23J provides for the Authority to impose a
restriction on a registration, suspend the registration or
part of the scope of registration, or cancel a registration,
if the registration was obtained because of incorrect or
misleading information or the RTO has contravened a
Victorian Legislation Parliamentary Documents
condition of its registration. The new section also states
the grounds under which the Authority may amend the
registration of training organisation registered by
another jurisdiction but delivering training in Victoria.
It also states that any restrictions imposed by the
Authority on providers registered by another jurisdiction
only apply in Victoria.
· new section 23K enables the Authority to initiate the
transfer of an RTO's registration to another jurisdiction
if the organisation's principal place of business or
majority of its operations occur in another jurisdiction.
· new section 23L provides a definition of the effect of a
suspension in terms of what an RTO may and may not
do if a suspension is imposed.
· new section 23M requires the Authority to alter the
details on the National Register if any restrictions are
imposed on an RTO.
· new section 23N enables the Authority, if it registered a
training organisation, to be able to conduct a
compliance audit of that organisation.
· new section 23O allows the Authority to audit an RTO
operating within its jurisdiction where the RTO is
registered by another State or Territory registering body.
It also specifies the conditions under which this audit
may be undertaken .
· new section 23P enable audits to be conducted
according to national standards. However, failure to
comply with these standards does not matter if it does
not substantially affect the outcome of the audit.
· new section 23Q states that a provision for a compliance
audit under the new Division 2A does not limit the
power of any registering body to inquire into the
activities of an RTO or training organisation.
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· new section 23R provides for a person to exercise a
function or power in Victoria at the request of the
Authority to investigate whether an RTO registered by
another jurisdiction is compliant, or at the request of the
other jurisdiction's authority in relation to a training
Victorian Legislation Parliamentary Documents
organisation registered by it or an applicant for
registration.
Clause 11 inserts a new section 33A in the Act to enable the Authority to
disclose information to other registering authorities and to
provide protection to its officers in doing.
Clause 12 limits the existing offences in the Act so that there is no
duplication under the new offences created for national
registration by clause 12.
Clause 13 inserts a new 26A and 26B creating offences under the national
system for a person to falsely claim to be an RTO operating
within its scope of registration or to falsely claim that a course
is on the national register.
Clause 14 inserts a new Part 6 which provides for transitional provisions
for the new national registration system. Any details that were
already recorded on the National Register immediately before the
commencement of the new provisions continue to be recorded
and form part of the new national registration system.
Clause 15 amends the Vocational Education and Training Act 1990.
· Sub-clause (1) amends the definition of "registered
training organisation" to reflect the new national
registration scheme.
· Sub-clause (2) inserts a new section 56(1A) to require
training agreements for apprenticeships and traineeships
to be substantially the same in form and content as the
agreements agreed nationally.
Clause 16 is a statute law amendment to repeal section 41 and Schedules 1
and 2 of the Victorian Qualifications Authority Act 2000
which are redundant.
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