2025 Standards for RTOs - Skills Education’s Standards Hub 1.5

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Quality Area 1 - Training and Assessment

Quality training and assessment engages VET students and enables them to attain nationally recognised, industry relevant competencies.

Division 2 - Assessment

Requirements

Standard 1.5

Outcome Standard

(1) The assessment system is quality assured by appropriately skilled and credentialled persons through a regular process of validating assessment practices and judgements.

Performance Indicators

(2) An NVR registered training organisation demonstrates:

(a) validation of assessment practices and judgements ensure the assessment system produces assessment judgements that are consistent with the training product and comply with the requirements set out in this instrument;

(b) every training product on the organisation’s scope of registration is validated at least once every five years and on a more frequent basis where the organisation becomes aware of risks to training outcomes, any changes to the training product or receives relevant feedback from VET students, trainers, assessors, and industry;

(c) it utilises a risk-based approach – informed by any risks to training outcomes, any changes to the training product or any feedback from VET students, trainers, assessors, and industry – to determine:

(i) the components of the assessment system for a training product which are to be validated; and

(ii) the sample size of assessments that are to be validated in respect of a particular training product.

(d) in addition to the requirements in paragraph (b), the assessment system for an AQF qualification or skill set from the Training and Education Training Package that enables individuals to make assessment judgements (as specified in the Credential Policy) has been or will be validated:

(i) once the first cohort of VET students with the organisation have completed their training and assessment; and

(ii) by a person who is independent, not employed or subcontracted by the organisation to provide training and assessment, and has no other involvement or interest in the organisation’s operations.

(e) validation is undertaken by one or more people who collectively have:

(i) industry competencies, skills and knowledge relevant to the training product;

(ii) a practical understanding of current industry practices relevant to the training product; and

(iii) one of the credentials for validation specified in the Credential Policy.

(f) the outcome of an assessment validation is not solely determined by a person who has designed or delivered the training or assessment; and

(g) how outcomes of an assessment validation are used to inform changes to the assessment system.

Risks

Not having an appropriate validation plan and system for reviewing the risk of training products, determining the sample size and scope, guiding the validation team and capturing the validation outcomes.
Limited or ineffective validation criteria or sample size to evaluate assessment practices effectively.
Not using validation activities to strengthen and improve your assessment system including to address risks to students and integrity of assessment.
Having insufficient evidence to complete validation effectively – for example, not retaining records of completed student assessments where a training product has not yet been validated.
Not adequately ensuring consistency and principles of assessment are applied to assessment practices in various delivery settings – for example, online delivery; offshore delivery.