List of documents for SRTO Audit

Ver. 6

Every ACAS program needs these documents. The auditor will check them at audit and may collect simples. If possible, it is advisable to email them to the auditor before the audit in order to speed up the auditor.

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Signed form for the latest version of the agreement

 View latest version of agreement | Form

Strategy form for each course or qualification

Download strategy form

This form includes many different compliance requirements and must be kept up to date.
• It does not need to be changed if it is still up to date, but it needs to be checked annually.
• Make sure the form is the current version because it has been revised frequently.

All advertising literature, including micro-ads

Even small ads are included, because the standards do not set a minumum size ad for compliance. Some other forms of information for prospective students are not ads, such as school handbooks and newsletter articles. Some sites do not issue ads at all, and refer only to the ACAS website information.

If they use photos of people anywhere, check they have signed permission statements from the people depicted.

Course information for students

Note: This section is only required if you use written or recorded material to advertise your program(s). (Some programs only use word of mouth.) Otherwise, student information is placed on the ACAS website.

Course description
This is a written description for students informing them how the whole course will be taught and assessed:
• It is the version of the training and assesment strategy given to students that informs them about the program.
• It may be the same as the advertising literature or prospectus.
• The ACAS website gives the minimum amount of information, unless electives offered vary between groups, or unless locations and schedules vary according to employer.
• It is good practice to incude the purpose of the program and a job description of the role for which students will be trained.
• Some programs issue only separate unit descriptions for each unit. This only works where each unit is a standalone. Students still need information about their whole program.
 
Unit descriptions
• Look at the unit descriptions. Do they inform students about expectations (e.g. what's in the unit, what's the schedule, how they'll be assessed, etc.?
• Some programs combine all unit descriptions into a handbook for the whole course. This is especially effective if the units are integrated into a rather seamless whole.

Staff expertise

Each instructor needs to provide a current Approval to deliver form, and copies of all relevant credentials.
• Use this procedure to categorize your staff and see what credentials are required.
• Note: The Approval to deliver form now includes the staff form.

Download Approval to deliver form.

Delivery materials

The point is to show that the site has sufficient delivery materials for all units offered. Materials will vary greatly according to how the program is delivered, e.g. online, practicum, classroom, outsourced. Your delivery materials must cover all units (and specific unit requirements) that you teach.

You cannot include all training materials in the audit report, but auditors should describe them and go through a sample of at least two units and check that materials cover all requirements. The evidence may vary, for example:
• copies of local materials,
• links to online materials,
• list of contents of commercial materials,
• photograph of the library.

Equipment list

The point is to show that the site has all equipment prescribed as necessary for all units offered.
• If units specify equipment (and most do), make a checklist of all required equipment and do an inspection. Sign the checklist showing what equipment is present and what is missing. To pass the audit, all required items must be present.
• You must also be able to show that you have enough equipment for the number of students.
 
Some units and some whole qualifications do not specify any required equipment.

Assessment materials

Check assessment materials for all units to be offered.

  • Assessment materials must be appropriate for context. It is possible to write good generic tools, although some generic tools might be unsuited to your particular context.
  • Assessment materials will vary greatly according to the kind of delivery, e.g. online, practicum, classroom, assignments.
  • Assessment materials must cover all units offered and all specific unit requirements.
  • Any items for students should use ordinary language or workplace language, not TrainingSpeak gobbledygook.
  • Enclose copies of assessment materials for a sample of two units in the audit report.

See the footnote for a working definition of assessment tools.

RPL assessment tools

A site must be able to offer RPL for all programs it has in scope for all units listed in the Training and Assessment Strategy form:
• If the above tools are unsuitable for RPL, the site needs a separate set of RPL tools.
• ACAS recommends that, where possible, assessment tools should be written to be equally suitable for both taught and RPL students.
• The ACAS website has generic RPL instructions but they might not be specific enough for the course being audited.

Mapping of assessment tools

The mapping must show that assessments cover all unit requirements, but there is is no prescribed format.
• Check that your mapping accurately represents unit requirements. Once correct, these only need to be changed for necessary improvements.
• Mapping should also cover RPL assessment tools if they are separate.

A sample of assessment records

This is not necessary for new programs.
It only applies to programs that have been running under ACAS in the year immediately prior to the audit. Auditors want to see how assessments are done and recorded.

Validations of assessment judgements

 This is not necessary for new programs.
It only applies to programs that have been running under ACAS in the year immediately prior to the audit.
ACAS internal auditors have been instructed to validate assessments, so there might be nothing that you need to do.

Program review

 This is not necessary for new programs.
A list of glitches, risks, and program weaknesses and a plan to make improvements for each one. (The purpose is to show that the program is continually improving c.f SRTO 2.2 b.)

Admission checklists

These are the forms filled in showing the items that you have or will cover when admitting students. (e.g. selection procedures, literacy testing, identifying support needs)

 

Footnote: Definition of assessment tools

For the purpose of ACAS audits (cf. footnote), assessment tools are defined as follows:

  1. A set of written instructions to students.
    1. The unit title and code
    2. Conditions (e.g "in the workplace")
    3. Tasks for assessment / evidence
    4. Criteria for making the assessment.
    5. Anything else specified in the unit as a requirement.
  2. A separate set of instructions for trainers/assessors if procedures and specific assessment tasks are not fully covered in the instructions to students.
  3. Assessment forms for reporting the assessment. (They may be eletronic, or part of a software package.)
  4. Some kind of written mapping to show how assessments meet all unit requirements.
  5. Tools should be clear and specific enough to ensure reliability. (This is often a weak point.)
    1. ASQA prefers a separate marking guide.
    2. A description of proficient performance.
    3. The default in ACAS assessment instructions is to use a second person in the assessment.
    4. Detailed performance criteria (more detailed that than those in the original units).

The Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 mentions Assessement tools but does not contain a definition. An official definition of assessment tools is as follows: