The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (the Act) commenced on Thursday 31 March 2022. This replaces the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984. Stakeholders are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Act and review their safety management system in line with the new legislation. Click here to read an overview of the Act, prepared by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) Announced as National Training Package Assurance Body29/4/2022
The Australian Government recently announced the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) as the independent body to be responsible for training package assurance from 1 January 2023. This independent assurance function, which forms part of a broader suite of Australian Government reforms to the vocational education and training (VET) system, will see ASQA assessing training packages for compliance against standards and policies set by Skills Ministers, delivering enhanced transparency, accountability and confidence, and ensuring training packages are high quality and meet the needs of employers and students.
The function will replace the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC), which will remain in place until 31 December 2022 to ensure continuity and stability of the VET system during transition to the new arrangements. For more information, visit the ASQA website. The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has published a new guide to help course owners understand what they need to do when applying for course accreditation. The guide helps interpret and apply the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework in the course documentation.
Click here to view the Users’ guide. Workforce Australia will be the new employment service delivered by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment beginning 1 July 2022. Workforce Australia will become the front door for government employment and skills services, helping Australians to find and keep a job, change jobs or create their own job. They will also connect employers across Australia with job seekers, and a refreshed network of providers to deliver tailored case management.
For more information, visit DESE’s Workforce Australia website. The Australian Skills Classification, the primary source for defining and discovering the skills that underpin jobs in Australia, has been updated. In its latest release, Australian Skills Classification 2.0, over 500 skills profiles for occupations have been added, bringing the total number to 1100. Over 1000 flags for trending and emerging digital skills that are growing in demand or new to particular occupations have also been identified. Other enhancements include greater coverage of occupations with VET pathways and alignment with the structure of Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
Click here for more information. The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economic (BITRE) is undertaking a review into Australia’s road and rail supply chain resilience to understand which supply chains are of national importance, the risks they face, and how government and industry can work together to mitigate these risks to ensure they remain resilient and fit-for-purpose, now and into the future.
Click here for more information. RTO's delivery sites have now been added to training.gov.au providing learners with important information about where your courses may take place. The Training Accreditation Council (TAC) recommends Training Providers check this (referred to as ‘Delivery Locations’ on TGA) and submit and (RTO4) Change of RTO Details Application through the RTO Portal if any information needs to be updated.
Visit the TAC website for more information. The Training Accreditation Council (TAC) have advised their Focus on Quality: Regulatory Strategy 2021-2023 has identified First Aid units of competency within the HLT Health Training Package as a continued area of focus.
The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) have released a number of new reports including:
• Delivering high-quality VET: what matters to RTOs • VET for secondary school students: a research synthesis • Exploratory analysis of VET market segments |
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