TRANSPORT SAFETY VICTORIA

TSV Maritime ATP Audit Guidelines

Document no: 4 of 6

June2012

1

TSV Maritime ATP Audit Guidelines

Table of Contents

Glossary

1Introduction

2Scope

3Aim

4Purpose

5Audit Framework

6Range of Audits

6.1Approval Audit

6.1.1Approval Process

6.2Audits

6.2.1Compliance Audit

6.2.2Special Audits

6.2.3Audit of TSV Certificates of Attainment

6.2.4Delivery of Training

6.2.5Client Survey

6.2.6Client Feedback

6.2.7Outcomes of Monitoring Activities

7Complaints Management

7.1Confidentiality

7.2Fairness/impartiality

7.2.1Recreational Boat Operator Training Complaints Procedure:

8Continuous Improvement

9Attachments

10Document Control

Disclaimer

(a)Purpose – This Guideline has been produced by Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) to provide information about the compliance and audit of the Training and Assessment, as atthe date of publication.

(b)No substitute – This Guideline is not a substitute for, and should not be read in lieu of, theMarine Safety Act 2010 (Vic) or the Marine Safety Regulations 2012 (Vic), or any other relevant laws, codes, rules, procedures or policies. Further, the contents of this Guideline do not constitute legal or business advice.

(c)No Warranty – While TSV has used due care and skill in the production of this Guideline,neither TSV, nor any of its employees, agents and consultants make any representation orwarranty as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability for particular purposes ofthe information in this Guideline.

© State Government of Victoria 2012

Copyright in this publication resides with the Director, Transport Safety and the State of Victoria. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

Glossary

Accredited Training Provider, or ATP means the entity accredited by the Safety Director to conduct the Training and Assessment; ATP means the entity accredited by the Safety Director to conduct the Marine Licence Training and the Marine Licence Testing and where the context admits includes its employees, sub-contractors, and agents;
Approved Location means a location listed in this ATP accreditation;
AQTF means the Australian Qualification Training Framework;
Business Days means a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday appointed under the Public Holidays Act 1993 (the “Act”) including any day appointed by the Minister under Section 7 (1) (a) of that Act applicable to the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Business means the business of providing approved training and assessment for Training and Assessment purposes;
Certificate of Attainment meansthe certificate, provided by the Safety Director or issued by the ATP (as applicable), for issue to Eligible Applicants who have passed the Training and Assessment;
Certificate of Competencyor COCmeans the certificate of competency issued by the Safety Director under section 78(1)(a) of the MSA
Code of Practice for the purpose of privacy provisions, means a code of practice as defined in, and approved under, the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic);
Commencement Date means the commencement of the ATP Accreditation as specified in the ATP approval letter;
Commercial Course means the course provided by the ATP in accordance with the requirements specified in the National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) Part D (Crew Competencies)
Confidential Information means all Information which is either directly or indirectly disclosed provided or made available by the Safety Director or TSV to the ATP or acquired by the ATP from the Safety Director or TSV (whether orally, electronically, in writing or by any other means) in respect of or in connection with the training and assessment, whether before or after the signing of this ATP accreditation and includes information pertaining to or connected in any way with the training and assessment, including but not limited to:
(a)Information about the Safety Director or TSV or those involved in TSV's activities, Information relating to the internal management and structure of TSV;
(b)Information concerning documentation, systems, technology and affairs, operations, processes, plans or inventions and product information (whether customers, suppliers or otherwise);
(c)financial, technological, strategic or business information, concepts, plans, strategies, directions or systems;
(d)research, development, operational, legal, marketing or accounting information, concepts, plans, strategies, directions or systems;
(e)technology, source and object codes for computer software;
(f)Information comprised in or relating to any Intellectual Property rights of the State of Victoria, or third parties to whom the Safety Director or TSV owes a legal obligation; and
(g)know-how relating to computer software, financial techniques and products of the Safety Director or TSV;
Eligible Applicant means a person who:
(a)in the case of an applicant for a general marine licence under section53 of the MSA satisfies the age requirement in section 53(1)(a) (i) of the MSA; or
(b)in the case of an applicant for a restricted marine licence under section54 of the MSA, satisfies the age requirement in section 54(1)(a) (i) of the MSA; and
(c)is not ineligible to apply for a Marine Licence,
(d)a person in the case of an applicant for a COC,
and has provided satisfactory evidence of identity to the ATP as outlined in the TSV Maritime ATP Administration Procedures.
Information includes information or data, whether:
(a)written, graphical, electronic, oral or in any other form, irrespective of the form in which it was originally provided;
(b)provided in writing, graphically, electronically, orally or in any other way.
Information Privacy Principles means the principles so identified and set out in the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic);
Intellectual Property includes all intellectual property rights, title to, and interests in any jurisdiction whether protectable by statute, at common law or in equity, including without limitation:
(a)patents, trade marks, service marks, copyright, registered designs, trade names, domain names, symbols and logos;
(b)patent applications and applications to register trade marks, service marks and designs; and
(c)techniques, computer programme code, specifications, rights in circuit layouts, ideas, concepts, know-how, data, inventions, discoveries, developments, trade secrets, information and logical sequences (whether or not reduced in writing or other machine or human readable form),
and includes any improvements, advancements, modifications, discoveries and developments arising in relation to any of these.
Key Personnel means the persons nominated by the ATP to perform the training and assessment and includes Nominated Principals, Nominated Liaison Officers, relevant managers, trainers and assessors and administrative staff;
Law means Commonwealth, Victorian and local government legislation, including regulations, by-laws and other subordinate legislation; judicial, administrative or regulatory decrees, judgments or orders, standards, procedures as amended from time to time;
Marine Licence means a general marine licence or a restricted marine licence granted by TSV
Marine Licence Test means the test provided to the ATP by TSV.
Marine Licence Training means the training provided to Eligible Applicants;
Media Release means a prepared publicity or a news announcement;
MSAmeans Marine Safety Act 2010 (Vic);
MSR means Marine Safety Regulations 2012 (Vic);
National Quality Council means the advisory body of that name, established by the Federal Government that reports to the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education;
National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) means the National Standards for Commercial Vessels Part D Crew Competencies published by the National Marine Safety Committee as amended, repealed or replaced;
Nominated Liaison Officer means the person nominated by the ATP to be the contact person in relation to the provision of day to day training and assessment;
Nominated Principal means the Principal of the ATP who will represent the ATP;
Private Dwelling means a structure that is intended to have people live in it as permanent residence and includes houses, flats or apartments;
Publications means TSV manuals, handbooks, guidelines, procedures documented work practices etc referred to in this ATP Approval .(as amended by TSV from time to time);
PWC means personal water craft;
RTO means a registered training organisation registered by an Australian state or territory recognition authority to deliver training and/or conduct assessments and issue nationally recognised qualifications in accordance with the Australian Quality Training Framework;
Safety Director means theDirector, Transport Safety, a statutory office established under s 171 of the Transport Integration Act 2010 (Vic) together with his delegates and the staff members of TSV authorised to act on his behalf (as the context requires).
Training and Assessment means:
(a)for Marine Licences and PWC endorsement:
(i) the Marine Licence Training;
(ii) the Marine Licence Testing.
(b)for Certificates of Competency:
(i) the Commercial Courses.
Transport Safety Victoria or TSV,means the Department of Transport staff seconded to the Safety Director to support the Safety Director in the exercise of his powers and functions;
VicRoads means the Roads Corporation established under the Transport Act 1983 (Vic);
Working With Children Check has the meaning given in the Working with Children Act 2005 (Vic).

1Introduction

Introduction

Transport Safety Victoria (TSV), is the State’s marine safety agency and is responsible for the administration of the Marine Safety Act 2010 (Vic)(MSA) and the Marine Safety Regulations 2012 (Vic) (MSR). Under the MSA, theSafety Director’s functions includethe issuing of recreational Marine Licences (Marine Licence) and the issuing of Certificates of Competency (COC).

TSV has established two pathways via which the boating public may obtain a Marine Licence. These are:

  • successful completion of a VicRoads Licence Test; or
  • successful completion of formal training and assessment by a TSV Accredited Training Provider (ATP).

To obtain a general or restricted Marine Licence, a person must (among other requirements):

  • provide documented evidence of evidence of identity and age, and
  • undergo any training about the operation of recreational vessels that the Safety Director considers appropriate.

To obtain a COC applicants must provide evidence that they have complied with any prerequisites for the issue of a certificate of competency as specified in Annexure D of Part D of the National Standard for Commercial Vessels. Successfully completing a Commercial Course through an ATP in Victoria will satisfy this requirement.

Under the MSA, the Safety Director is empowered to accredit organisations to conducting training courses for the purpose of satisfying the requirements for the grant of a marine licence or endorsement or COC. This is facilitated by accrediting Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that have demonstrated they have the experience, resources and facilities to deliver training to the requirements of the TSVMaritime ATPTraining Standard.

This guideline forms part of the overall Governance Framework for the engagement and management of ATPs and should be read as part of the package of governance documents that includes:

  1. TSV Maritime ATP General Terms and Conditions
  2. TSV Maritime ATP Letter of Accreditation
  3. TSV Maritime ATP Administration Procedures
  4. TSV Maritime ATP Audit Guidelines
  5. TSV Maritime ATP Training Standards
  6. TSV Maritime ATP Application for Accreditation Form and Guideline

2Scope

ThisAuditGuideline will be applied to initial assessment and ongoing auditing and monitoring of the delivery of Marine LicenceTraining or a Commercial Course by ATPs.

3Aim

The aim of thisaudit guideline isto maintain a consistent standard ofMarine Licenceand Commercial Course training.

4Purpose

The purpose of this guideline is to document TSV’s procedures for:

  • assessing new applications from Registered Training Organisations wishing to become TSVATPs,
  • auditing and monitoring of TSVATPs, and
  • managing identified deficiencies and non-compliance.

It outlines the requirements and procedures for management of applications and ongoing monitoring of training providers against the requirements of theTSV Maritime ATP Training Standards.

5Audit Framework

ATPs’ performance will be monitored through a variety of activities providing a range of opportunities to review compliance in two distinct areas:

  • administration of the training services, and
  • ensuring delivery of training and assessment is compliant with the TSVMaritime ATPTraining Standard and the principles of theAustralian Qualification Training Framework (AQTF) standards for RTOs.

6Range of Audits

TSVmay undertake a range of audit and monitoring activities with the aim of improving training outcomes and compliance with the governance documents. The range of auditing activities have been summarised into seven key categories as listed below:

Category / Trigger / Frequency / By whom
1 / Approval/re-approval Audit / On Application or re-application / Once on application or re-application / TSV or External Consultant
2 / Compliance Audit / As scheduled/risk assessment / Annually, or against a schedule determined by a risk assessment / TSV or External Consultant
3 / Audit of TSV Certificates issued (Desk Top) / Order of TSV Certificates / Each time new certificates are ordered or,
Ad hoc as required / TSV
4 / Special Audits / In response to an identified issue or complaint / Ad hoc as required / TSV or External Consultant
5 / Monitoring of training delivery (Announced and Unannounced). / In response to complaints or anidentified issue / Ad hoc as required / TSV or External Consultant
6 / Client survey / Order of TSV Certificates / On receipt of ATP register of certificates. Random sample of participants from recent training. / TSV
7 / On-line feedback / Initiated by participant / Ad hoc as required / Participant

6.1ApprovalAudit

Applicants seeking to become an ATP for Training and Assessment must submit an application for accreditation and supporting documentation, as outlined in the TSVMaritime ATP Application and Guideline.

The objective of approval audits is to assess training providers’ ability to deliver training. The applicant must:

  • hold current registration on the National Training Information System (NTIS) as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO),
  • have adequate facilities,
  • have qualified trainers and assessors,
  • have in place training resources to deliver to TSVMaritime ATP Training Standards, and
  • have in place management systems to:
  • ensure privacy,
  • verify Evidence of Identity,
  • ensure security of TSV Certificates,
  • maintain a register of TSV certificates issued,
  • manage sub-contractors,
  • ensure records of training and assessment are current, accurate and protected,
  • maintain records of TSV Certificates issued where applicable, and
  • comply with the obligations outlined in the TSVMaritime ATPGeneral Terms and Conditions.

6.1.1Approval Process

  1. TSV will first review the application formto ensure the application is complete and the training organisation has provided adequate evidence for an initial application.
  2. If approved by TSV the applicant will forward the training materials, Training and Assessment Strategy and Lesson Plan to either TSV or an external consultant nominated by TSVwho willevaluate the content against the TSVMaritime ATP Training Standards.
  3. TSV or the external consultant will assess the training materials against the TSVMaritime ATPTraining Standard and audit elements and make a determination whether compliance has been achieved.
  4. When the training materials have been approved TSVmay arrange for an auditor to conduct a site audit to validate that the training provider has the appropriate infrastructure in place to deliver training as per document submitted in the application.

Applicants who do not meet the criteria will be provided with written feedback regarding the area/s of non-compliance.

6.2Audits

6.2.1Compliance Audit

6.2.1.1Methodology

The compliance audits will be conducted in line with ISO 9001:2000 against the TSVMaritime ATP GeneralTerms and Conditions and associated documents as follows:

•TSVMaritime ATP Training Standards, and

•TSVMaritime ATP Administration Procedures.

6.2.1.2Auditors

The compliance audits will be conducted by auditors who have completedAS/NZ9001:2000 Quality Management System Auditor training or are able to demonstrate equivalent competencies.

Where external consultants are engaged to conduct compliance audits TSV will ensure they have:

  • been fully briefed in the requirements of the TSVMaritime ATPGeneral Terms and Conditions and associated documents as listed above, and
  • have signed a confidentiality deed.
6.2.1.3Audit Elements

There are eight essential elements which form the basis for compliance audits. These are:

  1. Advertising and Marketing,
  2. Accuracy and integrity of evidence of age and identity verification,
  3. Security and management of TSV Certificates of Attainment,
  4. ATPStaff,
  5. Management of sub-contractors,
  6. Provision of services,
  7. Vessels/workshops used for training, and
  8. Insurance.

Each essential element contains a number of specific requirements or sub-elements. The details of the audit elements are contained in the attachment entitled TSVMarine Licence Training Provider Audit Elements. This table lists each element and indicates example evidence that may be provided at audit. Please note that these are examples only and indicate a minimum standard. Each AccreditedTraining Provider must develop a management system to comply with the audit elements to suit the individual training provider.

Compliance with each element will be assessed as either:

  • compliant, or
  • non-compliant.
6.2.1.4Non-compliance

All non-compliance issues identified at audit or any monitoring activity undertaken by TSV or their representative must be addressed within nominated timeframes. This Guideline incorporates procedures for managing identified non-compliances (deficiencies).

Audit non-compliance

The actions taken will be as follow:

  1. A summary of the audit findings will be provided to the ATPduring the close out meeting on the last day of the audit.
  2. Where an external auditor conducts the audit, TSV will review the final audit report to ensure non-compliances identified by the auditor are consistent with the requirements of TSVMaritime ATP General Terms and Conditions.
  3. TSV will forward the final audit report to the ATP with a written notification which outlines the requirement to address any identified non-compliance within a specified period (dependent upon the nature of the non compliance).
  4. Within 14 days from receipt of evidence to address the identified issues TSV will forward a written response indicating if the action taken adequately addresses the identified non-compliance.

As outlined in the TSV Maritime ATP General Terms and Conditions, TSV may suspend or revoke accreditation of an ATP where:

  • Significant non-compliance identified at a compliance audit, which is considered a serious breach of TSV requirements,may result in suspension or cancellation of accreditation.
  • Where an ATP fails to address non-compliance within the timeframe contained in the written notice, TSVmay take action to suspendthe training provider from delivering training services until the issue has been satisfactorily addressed. Any training delivered during the suspension period will result in immediate cancellation of accreditation.

Suspension or revocation of accreditation will be implemented according to clauses 21 and 22 of the TSV Maritime ATP GeneralTerms and Conditions.