The QCAA’s performance assessment process aligns with the 2025 Standards for RTOs and ASQA’s revised regulatory approach.
Performance assessments are a comprehensive way to check the school RTO is meeting requirements with the Standards and legislation and gives students and parents/guardians assurance that their education investment has value and purpose.
The QCAA will generally conduct a performance assessment:
- within two years of initial registration, or
- after a risk intelligence activity.
The QCAA assesses the RTO’s performance against the Standards and legislation.
The standards we assess performance against are:
- Outcome Standards (legislation)
- Compliance requirements (legislation)
- Credential Policy
- National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011
The QCAA takes a sampling approach to performance assessments. This means to assess performance we will usually look at some, but not all of the standards and sample evidence across an RTO’s scope of training products. The clauses and training products are known as the ‘scope’ of the assessment.
The QCAA determines the scope of the assessment by reviewing:
- VET student data
- provider profile
- compliance history
- intelligence from other agencies
The performance assessment process includes six key steps:
- Lead assessor contacts the RTO and plans of the scope of performance assessment
- Assessors hold opening meeting with principal and RTO manager to explain process
- Compliance with the standards is assessed by collecting and analysing evidence through:
- information requests
- online or onsite observations
- interviews with principal, RTO manager, trainers and assessors and students
- Closing meeting is held with principal and RTO manager to explain findings to date
- Lead assessor prepares performance assessment report that identifies met and not met outcomes
- Lead assessor contacts the RTO manager to share outcomes of assessment and outline the next steps in the process.
The QCAA has been given guidance from ASQA that their templates are to be incorporated into this regulatory assessment activity.
All correspondence between the school RTO and the QCAA for a performance assessment is completed through the VET application on the QCAA portal.
Note: There are no fees for performance assessments.
- Last updated:
- 11 November 2025
