in focus 22 March 2010
National Monday Update Issue:
Representing members interests
The ACPET National Chair, Kay Ganley and I spent much of last week in Canberra meeting MPs, Senators, peak bodies and senior government officers to discuss a range of issues impacting on our Members. We delivered a strong, consistent message about the urgent need for policy certainty, coordinated and coherent action and recognition of the significant commercial impact being felt by members and their staff.
These meetings were used to reinforce ACPET’s commitment to quality education and sustainable business models, specifically in relation to:
- the vital importance of industry leadership in responding to the Baird Review, particularly in relation to transparency, student welfare and consumer protection
- the economic advantages of expanding demand driven funding in Higher Education and VET
- the need for swift action on decreasing the regulatory and compliance costs for business
Meetings such as these with all sides of politics will continue right up until the election and detailed policy positions will continue to be developed with the input of members.
What’s on our mind this week?
- AQTF 2010
In the absence of any formal notification to the contrary, one must assume that AQTF 2010 will be implemented sometime in the next 9 days following COAG’s December endorsement of strengthened standards for existing RTOs and new standards for RTOS registering for the first time for implementation by March 2010.
I encourage all members to become familiar with the standards and consider the value of internal audits in preparation for the publication of User Guides endorsed by the National Quality Council. However, be wary of the promise of seminars or templates that claim to deliver compliance with AQTF 2010 in the absence of formal government decision on the evidence and practices required to demonstrate this compliance
User Guides are expected to be available by mid-year and I expect that the implementation date for AQTF 2010 will be delayed until information is available to guide RTOs and regulatory bodies.
- CRICOS re-registration
For CRICOS registered providers, you should now have received advice regarding application for re-registration following the passage of the ESOS Amendment Act. Of critical importance is that members are aware of the additional criteria covering “primary purpose”, “capacity to deliver” and the public listing of agents.
The use of a nationally consistent, risk based approach was the key priority for ACPET in responding to the announcement that re-registration would be required and we are pleased that these calls have been heard. We are concerned that members committed to quality education and sustainable business models are not unduly impacted and invite you to provide feedback on your experience to esosreview [at] acpet [dot] edu [dot] au (esosreview (ACPET)). We will collect and collate feedback to use in representing members interests to Government and to ensure our members are afforded fair treatment under this process.
Please do not hesitate to contact me (click to email Andrew [dot] Smith [at] acpet [dot] edu [dot] au (Andrew Smith)) to discuss any of the above or to provide your ideas and input into the ongoing development of the Council.
Andrew Smith
Chief Executive Officer
22 March 2010
Chief Executive Officer
22 March 2010