The Australian | 14 June 2013
A Senate estimates committee has been told that the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the national vocational training regulator, has deregistered or refused to re-register 127 providers since it commenced operations almost two years ago.
This comprises about 8% of the 1600 Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) audited so far. Another 1000 RTOs are currently being assessed or have been “earmarked for audit”, chief commissioner Chris Robinson told the Senate Economics Legislation Committee.
Of less than 300 RTOsaudited so far in Victoria – where ASQA regulates only about half of the providers – nine have had their registrations cancelled or suspended and another 21 have had applications for renewal knocked back. Many others have also been sanctioned in other ways, such as being denied permission to teach more courses or operate more campuses for international students.
Robinson said colleges generally faced closure only if they failed to meet standards associated with the “core business” of training.
“Most of them would involve … very poor delivery strategies and implementation, poor assessment, or teachers without appropriate qualifications. Usually it’s all of those things.”
