How to apply for course accreditation

For a new course, you need to establish if there is a need for the course and consult with relevant stakeholders.

For reaccreditation, this will have already been done but you should confirm there is still a need for the course.

Establish a need for the course

The need for new courses may include:

• an established industry, education, legislative, enterprise, or community need
• innovation in industry, such as renewable energy or technological advances
• government initiatives
• vocational outcomes needed for future employment opportunities
• educational outcomes for pathways into further education.

Check for duplication

When you have established a need for a new course, you must check for duplication. Courses cannot get accredited they have the same outcomes as existing courses.

You need to check that the course will not duplicate by title or coverage, the outcomes of an endorsed training package qualification, skill set or accredited course.

You can use existing training package and Crown copyright units of competency in your course. You can’t develop new units that have the same title or outcomes as existing ones.

To check the title and outcomes of:

• Victorian Crown copyright courses, search the State register
• national training packages, search training.gov.au(opens in a new window).

Consult with relevant stakeholders

You must consult with relevant stakeholders to:

• validate your course
• advise on its development
• participate in the steering committee.

Relevant stakeholders may include:

• Jobs and Skills Councils
• industry, enterprise, education or community groups
• employee organisations,
• professional associations
• regulatory or licensing bodies
• curriculum maintenance managers(opens in a new window)

Refer to the AQTF 2021 Standards for Accredited Courses. These standards outline the design requirements.

Course proposal declaration

This declaration confirms that:

• research is complete
• you have identified the vocational, educational or community need for the course
• the course structure and outcomes meet that need
• the vocational, educational or community purpose of the course is not covered by any existing training package or course
• the proposed course does not duplicate endorsed qualifications
• you have consulted with major industry stakeholders
• industry stakeholders agree to advise on course development
• industry representatives will join the steering committee.

You can consult an accreditation adviser when completing your course proposal declaration.

Before completing and submitting this declaration, you must discuss your proposal with us. Contact us on vrqa.accred@education.vic.gov.au or call (03) 9637 2806.

We will tell you if your proposal is inconsistent with the AQTF 2021 Standards for Accredited Courses. If it is, the proposal will not progress and no fees will be charged.

Submit your course proposal declaration and pay the fee

Email your completed course proposal declaration to vrqa.accred@education.vic.gov.au.

A non-refundable fee applies.

We will email you an invoice to acknowledge that we have received your complete proposal.

View our fees.

When you have paid the fee in full, we will review you declaration against the AQTF 2021 Standards for Accredited Courses.

We will then send you a letter of confirmation. You then have 12 months to submit your course accreditation.

Steering committee

You need to form a steering committee. This committee provides advice and approval for course development before you submit it for accreditation.

The steering committee confirms the course:

• contains appropriate content
• achieves the required outcomes
• has a qualification structure that meets the needs of industry, enterprise or community
• meets occupational health and safety
• includes validated skills summaries.

Membership

Most steering committee members must be industry representatives, including the chairperson.

Industry representatives may include members from:

• Jobs and Skills Councils or industry advisory groups
• employer or professional associations
• key peak industry bodies
• stakeholder groups or individuals
• curriculum maintenance managers
• other RTOs or education providers (if appropriate).

The chairperson must be independent and not affiliated with the course owner.

The course owner can have a maximum of 2 members on the steering committee.

Membership must include an accreditation expert and writer. They must know about the standards for accredited courses.

Rules

There must be a record of members:

• contact details
• representation of an industry, community, union, professional organisation or other body
• current position and organisation.

All members of the steering committee must declare any conflict of interest in the development of the course. This must happen at the first meeting of the committee. Record all conflicts of interest in the minutes.

Everyone on the committee must sign the course contents endorsement form. Include the signed form with the course accreditation submission.

There are no set number of meetings, but a minimum of 2 is usually needed.

Include the minutes of steering committee meetings with your course accreditation application.

Develop a course

After the steering committee is established, you can start developing your course.

You need to document:

• course content
• expected skills and knowledge outcomes
• training and assessment structures.

You can use existing units of competency from endorsed training packages to cover the course content or create new ones.

New units of competency

You can develop new units of competency, called enterprise units.

You should do this in close consultation with relevant technical experts and industry practitioners.

Consider consulting an accreditation adviser when designing enterprise units.

Foundation skills summary

You must have foundation skills in your course. If they are not clearly identified, you should complete this summary and include it in your application.

High-risk courses

If a course has the potential to cause physical or mental harm, it can be high risk.

For example, a course requiring the use of equipment that has the potential to cause injury or impact public health and safety.

This guide provides a list of high-risk areas. It will help you decide if your course is in this category.

If your course is potentially high-risk, complete and submit a risk assessment form with your course accreditation form.

Complete the course accreditation template

Use our course accreditation template to complete your submission.

The template specifies what information you must provide and how to present it.

You must also provide the supporting documentation listed in the template document.

The completed template will become your course document and specification.

Your submission must be reviewed before you send it to us.

Approved accreditation adviser review and report

At least one VRQA-approved accreditation adviser must review your submission. This cannot be an adviser who assisted in creating or writing the course.

The adviser will provide a report on the course within 10 working days. Their report will detail any amendments required to meet accreditation standards.

When necessary amendments are made and verified, the accreditation advisers will then sign their report.

If you disagree with the advice from the accreditation adviser and can’t resolve it with them, let us know. We will follow up.

Accreditation panel review

The signed report then goes to an accreditation panel to review your submission.

Accreditation panel membership

The panel must include:

• the accreditation adviser who reviewed the course
• one representative of the industry, education or community sector (the representative can be a steering committee member).

Accreditation panel meetings

You will need to:

• arrange a time for the panel to meet to review the submission
• take minutes of the meeting
• prepare to answer questions about the course.

You should send the submission to panel members at least 5 working days before the meeting.

You should also send them the meeting agenda.

At the meeting, the accreditation panel will:

• review the course accreditation submission against the AQTF Standards for Accredited Courses
• ensure the proposed course title and level complies with the Australian Qualifications Framework issuance policy
• recommend to the VRQA if the course should be accredited
• recommend the period of accreditation (1–5 years).

The panel may recommend deferring accreditation. They will specify the required changes and a meeting date.

The panel chairperson must sign the meeting minutes. Include the signed minutes with your course submission.

You can use this document for your accreditation panel meeting agenda and minutes.

Complete this checklist and attach it to your submission.

Email your application as a zip file to vrqa.accred@education.vic.gov.au.

Submission must be made within 12 months from the date on your letter of proposal confirmation.

Assessment and confirmation of accreditation

We will let you know if your course is accredited

We will assess your submission and confirm in writing if we approve the course for accreditation.

We may seek more information from you before we decide.

If we approve your course, we will:

• assign a course code and unit codes for any new units of competency
• add the course to both state and national training registers.

You must make sure the content of the course stays current and relevant throughout the accreditation period. See Manage an accredited course for more information.