What are Accredited Courses?
Accredited courses refer to courses that lead to a national qualification or statement of attainment. An accredited course with ASQA meets an industry need not currently filled by an existing nationally recognised qualification.
Accredited courses are developed to fill skills and knowledge gaps not covered by a training package. You cannot accredit your course because it addresses an outcome achievable through another learning material.
Accredited courses are:
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Designed specifically to meet the needs of a business or industry
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Posted on training.gov.au, but the details of the qualification, course structure, and units contained within are not publicly available.
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Only accredited if it can be shown that there is a need for the course to be accredited and there is no existing nationally recognised qualification
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Made up of existing national units (wherever possible) and enterprise units
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Only accredited if there is a vocational outcome
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Aligned with Australian Qualification Framework levels
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Accredited for five years and need to be reaccredited within the 5-year period of training in the qualification to continue
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Are copyright owned by an individual or organisation, unlike nationally recognised qualifications which are owned by the Commonwealth government
What is the difference between accredited courses and a training package?
Training packages are designed to meet most of Australia’s training needs and are available for all RTOs. The development of training packages is funded by the government.
The course owner pays a fee to accredit a course, and there are no restrictions on who can develop an accredited course; anyone can.
Accredited courses are specifically developed to fill knowledge & skills gaps that are not covered by existing training packages.
It is not possible for a course to be accredited if an outcome can be achieved through an existing training package.
Accredited courses & training packages are both nationally accredited.
What types of courses can be accredited?
All Qualification types can be accredited by ASQA, including:
Certificate I, II, III and IV
Diploma
Advanced Diploma
Graduate Certificate
Graduate Diploma
Courses that lead to a statement of attainment can also be accredited if the course owner applies for this.
Why use RTO Intelligence?
We will:
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Assist in establishing the need and if an existing course or qualification already exists
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Guide you in the consultation process to ensure that sufficient evidence of industry support
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Guide you through the process, telling you what is required and when
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Take existing training material or work with you to write the accreditation document in the required language and format
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Complete the application and accreditation documents
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Guide you in the process and prepare course accreditation documents for reaccreditation
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Assist in responding to non-compliance in unsuccessful accreditation applications
For more information, call us on 1300 833 424 or
Course Accreditation — FAQs
When does it make sense to accredit a course?+
When no training package qualification meets the need, the skill is industry-recognised, and you have at least 5 years of demand visibility. Below that, customised programs or skill sets usually make more sense.
How long does course accreditation take?+
Plan 9–15 months from kickoff to ASQA approval, longer if industry consultation needs to be built from scratch.
How long is a course accredited for?+
Up to 5 years initially, renewable. Renewal requires evidence of continued industry need and currency.
Can I deliver the course before it's added to my scope?+
No. Accreditation gets the course on the national register; you then add it to your RTO scope through an extension to scope application before delivery.