Current legislative reforms to the wa y the Australian Skills Quality A uthority (ASQA) operate s don ‘t go far
enough. Th at’s the view of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak b ody
representing independent pr oviders in the higher educ ation, vocational education, training and skills sector s.
The parliament is curren tly cons idering the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator
Amendment Bill 2019 (Cth) that, acco rding to ITECA ‘s members, is a piece of legislation that won ‘t deliver
the outcomes that ind ependent provi ders are looking for.
Speaking at the ‘2020 V ocational Education and Training Business Summit ‘ today in Sydney, ITECA Chief
Executive, Troy Williams, highli ghted the co ncer ns of the sector.
“ITECA members are looking to work with a regulator that ‘s firmly focussed on protecting students
without creating an overly burdensome compliance burden. To date, ASQA has dem onstrated its capac ity
to be quite inventive at creating red tape that fr us tra tes good providers that have a track -record of
offering students and their employers the quality outcomes they are looking for, ” said Troy Willia ms.
ITECA Chief Executive.
According to ITECA, wha t’s required is a regulatory reform package that addresses the legitimate concerns
of independent train ing provi der s a nd pro perly f oc uses ASQA ‘s activities.
“Ref orm ASQA ‘s regula tory framework is long over due. We need a re gulator that works collaboratively
with the indepe ndent registered train ing organisations to support students. That ‘s what ITECA members
are looking for and what we’ve asked t he Australian Gove rnment for, ” Mr Williams said.
ITECA has welcome d the Australian Government ‘s review of ASQA ‘s performance to support the fair.
transparent and effective regulation of the VET secto r, and quality student outcomes.
“Over the course of more than a y ear, we ‘ve listed to our members and they have made it clear that there
is a trust deficit when it comes to t he regulator. Right now, many ITECA members lack the confidence that
compliance activities will be undertaken i n a transparent or consistent manner by ASQA. Th at’s the advice
we ‘ve given the independent review, ” Mr Will iams.
“ITECA members are looking to thi s review of ASQ A’s performance to provide a clear set of recommendations
on what further legislative reform looks li ke. That ‘s what we ‘re push ing for, ” Mr Williams said
Independent providers support more than 70% of the 4.1 million students enrolled in VET programs
across Australia.
Ends. Media C ontact.
