A review of the national regulator for the vocational education and training sector, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), has commenced with a focus on the regulator's governance, policies and culture.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said excellence in training lies at the heart of the Government's skills agenda.
"The Government's rapid review will inform a 12 to 18 month program of improvements that will ensure regulation by ASQA is transparent and effective," Minister Cash said.
The Morrison Government is investing $18.1 million in a suite of measures to improve regulation of Australia's VET sector. The new funding responds to key recommendations from the Joyce and Braithwaite reports and will enable:
- expanding ASQA's educative role to ensure training providers are aware of, and supported to, understand regulatory requirements
- improving ASQA's regulatory approach to support quality delivery of training
- ensuring audit decisions are transparent and training providers have the right information and support to deliver training best practice, and
- ensuring the national regulator has the data and feedback it needs to identify and remove poor quality providers.
Minister Cash said that while good progress has been made in removing poor quality providers from the sector after the VET FEE-HELP program, the time has come to focus on building capability and continuous improvement.
"Improving the quality of VET will ensure that the sector is equipped to prepare Australian workers with the skills they need to meet the emerging opportunities in Australia's modern economy," Minister Cash said.
