RTOs must apply to renew their registration prior to the registration expiry date.
To renew your school RTO’s registration:
- complete the renewal application in the QCAA Portal. After receiving the application, the QCAA VET team will:
- review the application
- assign an auditor who will arrange a time for an audit
- request preliminary audit evidence that your school RTO will need to submit by email a designated date, including
- a TAS for each qualification on the scope
- all trainer and assessor profiles
- a Five-year validation plan
- confirmation of policies and procedures your school RTO uses to ensure compliance at all times
- prior to audit, email you the following documents to complete and return
- an Audit organisation form that outlines the procedures for the audit
- a CEO verification form
- participate in the audit on the agreed date.
During the audit, the auditor will interview:
- the principal
- the RTO manager
- trainers and assessors
- other RTO officers, e.g. data entry officers
- students.
After the audit, the QCAA VET team will send a report to either confirm RTO registration renewal or outline rectifications required to ensure compliance and allow your school to renew its RTO registration.
Audit reports
The QCAA’s audit reports:
- follow the student-centred audit approach (follow the student journey)
- reference all action your organisation is required to take aligned to the standards and clauses at the beginning of the report
- use an ‘exceptions’ approach (record minimal detail where RTOs have demonstrated compliance).
The QCAA’s audit reports contain:
- an audit report and overall finding
- a summary report by standards and clauses
- a summary report for student interviews (no student interviews for initial audits)
- a remedial action plan (if required)
- a summary report or analysis of student data management and USIs
- a summary report by management practice area
- a summary report by qualification
- an explanation of terms.
In most cases, you will have 20 working days from the date that the audit report is issued to provide additional or amended evidence to demonstrate full compliance. You will have one opportunity to provide the requested evidence.
If you do not provide the requested evidence within the specified timeframe, your application to renew registration may be rejected or the QCAA may take regulatory action in relation to your registration, e.g. by suspending or placing conditions on your registration.
Feedback on the audit process
You will also have an opportunity to give feedback on the audit process. The QCAA will review this feedback and use it to improve the audit process and ensure audit consistency.