About the Standards for VET Accredited Courses

When deciding whether to grant an application for the accreditation of a course, ASQA considers whether the course meets the Standards for VET Accredited Courses and the Australian Qualifications Framework.

The purpose of these Standards is to ensure that, when making decisions to accredit a course, renew accreditation, or cancel of a course, ASQA considers whether the course:

• meets industry, education, legislative, enterprise or community needs
• provides appropriate competency outcomes and a satisfactory basis for assessment
• meets national quality assurance requirements, and
• is aligned to the appropriate level of the Australian Qualifications Framework where it leads to a VET qualification.

As the world of work and community interests evolve, VET accredited courses are developed to respond to changing skills requirements, especially in new areas and emerging industries. Where new job roles or tasks require skills and knowledge not covered by existing training package qualifications, an individual or organisation may develop a VET accredited course to fill the gap by providing nationally recognised, job relevant training.

The Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 (the Standards) play an important role in ensuring VET accredited courses provide high quality, nationally consistent outcomes for students, employers and the community (For more information about how the Standards benefit the VET sector, see Appendix 2).

The Standards set out how a course needs to be designed and developed to be approved for accreditation by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

Course accreditation

ASQA accreditation of a course gives students, employers and the community confidence that:

• complies with the Standards and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
• will provide students with vocational skills that can lead to employment in a recognised vocation
• has support from industry and peak bodies that recognise the need for training to address a skills gap.

National accreditation

The Standards are endorsed by the Skills National Cabinet Reform, comprising Australian state and territory ministers with portfolio responsibility for skills issues in their jurisdiction. Accrediting entities are ASQA as the National VET Regulator, Victorian Registration Quality Authority and Training Accreditation Council Western Australia.  Accreditation means that the course qualification is nationally recognised in all states and territories and can be issued by training providers, with the course on their scope of registration.