Group Training Organisations

Policy and procedures

Purpose

The Group Training Organisation Policy and Procedures outlines the Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority’s (VRQA’s) role in regulating group training organisations(GTOs) in Victoria. It is a guide to the VRQA’s responsibilities under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (ETR Act) and the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

This policy and its associated procedures are subject to regular review. Proposed changes to the policy are endorsed by the VRQA Board’s Apprenticeship and Traineeship Subcommittee for approval of the VRQA Board.

Policy statement

Apprenticeships and traineeships drive Victoria’s skills development and unlock employment pathways for learners. The VRQA’s regulation shapes our quality training sector by ensuring employers have the facilities, knowledge and skills to employ and train an apprentice/trainee.

The VRQA approves GTOs as employers of apprentices and trainees in Victoria under the ETR Act and recognises them as GTOs under the Commonwealth’s National Standards for GTOs. The VRQA works in partnership with the Apprenticeship Employment Network (AEN) to co-regulate GTOs. The VRQA has sole responsibility for decisions surrounding GTO regulation and recognition.

Key components

The VRQA GTO policy (the policy)comprises:

  • the policy context
  • regulatory enablers for GTO regulation
  • partnership with the AEN.

Tenure

The VRQA recognises GTOs for a period of up to five years.

Policy context

The policy is consistent with the VRQA’s major organisational and regulatory drivers, including:

  • Ministerial Statement of Expectations in which the Minister for Education and Minister for Training and Skillsoutlines an expectation that the VRQA recognise and monitor GTOs against the National Standards.
  • The VRQA Strategic Plan 2016–18, particularly in implementing government directions and exploring further reform opportunities.
  • The Victorian Government’s continued funding support to GTOs.
  • Commonwealth-State arrangements for group training that requires states and territories to make state-specific decisions about their GTO regulatory regimes.
  • The VRQA’srisk register and risk management process.

General regulatory enablers

In Australia, states and territories regulate employers and apprentices/trainees in relation to their training contract obligations (including employer obligations to provide skilled supervision and appropriate facilities).

GTOs are employers of apprentices and therefore must comply with employer obligations under the ETR Act. Under section 5.5.6 of the ETR Act, an employer must obtain the VRQA’s approval to enter into a training contract with an apprentice or trainee.

Section 5.5.7(2) of the ETR Act specifies four key criteria that the VRQA must take into consideration prior to granting approval to an employer. These are:

  1. the premises in which the apprentice/trainee is to be employed
  2. the equipment and methods to be used in training
  3. whether any person whom the employer uses or intends to use for supervising the apprentice's training:
  4. has the appropriate qualifications, knowledge and skill, and
  5. is otherwise a fit and proper person for the purpose of training
  6. whether the employer is a fit and proper person to employ an apprentice.

Specific regulatory enablers for GTO regulation

The VRQA regulates GTOs against additional responsibilities under the Commonwealth’s National Standards for GTOs. The standards includeinduction and hosting arrangements that are inherent to the GTO model.

To oversee this regulatory responsibility, the VRQA works in a co-regulatory arrangementwith the peak representative body for GTOs, the AEN.

Information sharing

On application, GTOs acknowledge and agree that any information they provideto the AEN or obtained by the AEN in relation to them, may be disclosed to the VRQA for the purposes of the VRQA’s functions and powers relating to GTOs.

The VRQA does not disclose outcomes of financial viability auditsor onsite auditsto the AEN.

Section 2:Procedure for becoming a GTO

The application process

  1. GTO completes the VRQA Application Form for GTO Recognition.
  2. GTO undertakes an online self-assessment of their compliance with the National Standards which generates a score and risk rating.The AEN administers this step and provides the results to the VRQA.
  3. The VRQA undertakes a financial viability assessment of the GTO.
  4. The VRQA determines if the GTO requires an independent onsite audit by reviewing:
  5. self-assessment results
  6. financial viability assessment reports
  7. other information (for example, complaints and information obtained by authorised officers).
  8. If the GTO does not require an onsite audit, the VRQA will advisethat no further action is required and that they have been recognised for a period of five years.
  9. If the GTO requires an onsite audit, the VRQA will commission auditors, consider the audit report and advise the GTO of the proposed next steps (such as no further action; request for rectification; proposed rejection).

Note: Recognition as a GTO in another jurisdiction does not entitle a new applicant to automatic registration in Victoria.

New applicants and GTOs that are not members of the AEN may choose to bypass the AEN online system and deal directly with the VRQA.

Figure 1: GTO application procedure

Cyclical onsite audits

During the five-year recognition period, all GTOs will undergo an onsite audit. The VRQA conducts these audits to confirm ongoing compliance with the National Standards.

Consultation between the co-regulatory parties

The VRQA and the AEN are able to share information about existing Victorian GTOs with AEN membership and new applicants. See Information Sharing inthis document.

The VRQA and AEN have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that sets out the roles and responsibilities of each party in the co-regulatory model. The MoUis published on the VRQA website.

VRQA Group Training Organisations –Policy and Procedures – April 20181