ASQA strategic message book
Purpose
When ASQA communicates externally, it is critical that we speak with clarity, consistency and
confidence about who we are, what we do, and how and why we do it.
Regulatory best practice dictates that regulators, like ASQA, are transparent and responsive
communicators that are open and consistent in their engagement with stakeholders, including
industry, government and the broader community.
Maintained by the Communications and Media team within Governance Support and
Parliamentary, this document draws on key external publications, including the Corporate Plan
and Annual Report, to provide two sets of standard messaging – shorter and longer – for use for
external purposes.
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Key messages – shorter
Who we are
We are Australia’s national vocational education and training (VET) regulator.
What we do
We regulate providers that deliver VET qualifications and courses to students in Australia or
offer Australian qualifications internationally, providers that deliver VET courses to overseas
students, and certain providers that deliver English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
Students. We also accredit VET courses to make sure nationally approved standards are met.
Why we do it
We ensure quality VET so that students, industry, governments and the community have
confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers, and that
students are protected from any practices that come at the expense of their ability to gain the
required competencies.
How we regulate
Our regulatory approach is based on risk and aimed at achieving quality education outcomes
that balance the interests of the VET sector and students.
Why we take a risk-based approach
We recognise that we can’t mitigate every risk, so we use a rigorous process to determine the
highest priority risks and how to respond to them – and this is where we allocate our resources.
Our regulatory risk priorities
Our regulatory risk priorities provide the sector with full visibility of where we have identified
concerns and what we are focused on if engaging with providers on regulatory activity.
The VET reform agenda
Our approach to regulation continues to evolve, and we recognise the pace, scale and
complexity of ongoing reform and the important role we play in helping shape the regulatory
framework.
Our dual mandate
We have a dual mandate – to protect and enhance quality VET, and protect students and the
reputation of VET nationally and internationally, by holding providers to account to meet their
responsibilities.
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Key messages – longer
Who we are
We are Australia’s national vocational education and training (VET) regulator.
We operate within a framework of legislation. This includes the
National Vocational Education
and Training Regulator Act 2011, the VET Quality Framework of standards and requirements of
providers, the Standards for VET Accredited Courses, and legislation relating to education
services for overseas students.
What we do
We regulate providers that deliver VET qualifications and courses to students in Australia or
offer Australian qualifications internationally, providers that deliver VET courses to overseas
students, and certain providers that deliver English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
Students. We also accredit VET courses to make sure nationally approved standards are met.
Our core activities are to register providers of VET, accredit courses that may be offered by
registered training providers, use data, intelligence and complaints to inform our regulatory
priorities, monitor the quality and compliance of services provided by registered providers, take
compliance action where registered providers are not meeting requirements, and conduct
education programs and actively engage with our stakeholders.
We have powers to detect and prosecute individuals or entities who falsely issue qualifications,
who advertise as an RTO without a registration, or provide training outside of their scope of
registration.
Why we do it
We ensure quality VET so that students, industry, governments and the community have
confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers.
Through this, we deliver on four key government priorities: safeguarding student welfare and the
quality of VET, fostering a world-class VET sector through regulatory action, collaborating with
other agencies to enhance the quality of VET and support students, and improving our overall
performance.
How we regulate
Our regulatory approach is risk based, and aimed at achieving quality education outcomes that
balance the interests of the VET sector and students.
Our regulatory approach is best practice, which means that in addition to being risk based and
data driven, we are transparent and responsive in our communication and implement our
regulation in a modern and collaborative way with partners and stakeholders.
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While we have very clear expectations of the sector and the standards they must uphold at all
times, we also promote a culture of continuous improvement by the sector through provider self-
assurance.
We apply that same approach to continuous improvement internally and adopt a whole-of-
system perspective, continuously improving our performance, capability and culture so our
people and operations can deliver on our outcomes.
Why we take a risk-based approach
We recognise that we can’t mitigate every risk, so we use a rigorous process to determine the
highest priority risks and how to respond to them – and this is where we allocate our resources.
We must manage risks proportionately and maintain essential safeguards while minimising
regulatory burden. This means we have to constantly weigh up the efficiency and cost-
effectiveness of our regulatory actions. We aim to do this by leveraging data and digital
technology to support providers to both comply and continuously improve.
Our regulatory risk priorities
Our regulatory risk priorities provide the sector with full visibility of where we have identified
concerns and what we are focusing our regulatory activity on in the year ahead.
We apply a range of regulatory approaches to treat these areas of risk, with a variety of actions
planned to mitigate these risks over the coming year.
The VET reform agenda
Our approach to regulation continues to evolve, and we recognise the pace, scale and
complexity of ongoing reform and the important role we play in helping shape the regulatory
framework.
One of our key drivers is supporting government’s focus on ensuring the VET sector is
responding to the skills and labour needs of the Australian economy. A high-quality VET sector
and ensuring students receive the skills and training necessary for secure work and career
opportunities is critical for a prosperous society and securing Australia’s future economic
growth.
We value our role in the VET system and support shared responsibility for sector success with
policy agencies, Jobs and Skills Australia, Jobs and Skills Councils and other key stakeholders.
Our dual mandate
We have a dual mandate – to protect and enhance quality VET, and protect students and the
reputation of VET nationally and internationally, by holding providers to account to meet their
responsibilities.
This means we support the overall capability of the sector to deliver quality training through our
education and guidance, performance assessment and other activities, and ensure the integrity
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of the sector through responsive and targeted action, with effective information, intelligence and
data gathering and analysis that we apply to our compliance management, investigations,
surveillance and monitoring activities and, ultimately, take swift action against criminal or non-
genuine behaviour and prevent harm to students.
To deliver on this mandate, we continually review our operating environment and adjust and
adapt our resources accordingly.
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