On 26 September 2014, the COAG Industry and Skills Council endorsed new standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and VET regulators, and noted that there was a requirement for further development of qualification requirements for teachers delivering the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. The draft standards were subsequently amended to strengthen requirements for the delivery of this qualification, and the Commonwealth Minister for Industry made the new standards on 20 October 2014 (Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 and Standards for VET Regulators 2015). The new standards strengthen requirements for aspects of the delivery of training and assessment, including responsibility for training delivered by a third party, and governance requirements for RTOs; clarify continuing requirements, including requirements for engagement with industry and validation of assessment; and change the Regulator Standards to facilitate a more risk-based approach to regulating RTOs. In the context of broader national VET reforms, the new standards contribute to addressing employer and other concerns with inconsistency in the relevance and quality of vocational education and training. Specific areas being targeted are the industry-relevance of the development and delivery of training, inadequate skills and knowledge of some VET trainers and assessors, insufficient information for consumers, the complexity of the standards and inadequate enforcement arrangements for poor quality providers. The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) identified likely transition costs for the sector of $32.6 million, but ongoing savings of around $5 million a year. Benefits for trainees and employers are also anticipated. The Australian Government Department of Industry’s VET Reform Taskforce prepared a decision‑making RIS that was provided to the COAG Industry and Skills Council to inform the decision. The RIS was assessed as compliant by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. A consultation RIS was previously prepared by the former Office of the National Skills Standards Council and released for public consultation on 12 March 2013.
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