My area looks after all things to do with the Training Contract. Everything from the selection process right the way through to the Audits and Enforcement process and we have a special investigations unit, a small team that does investigations if there appears to a big problem with a Provider. Part of the responsibilities include Supervision now which looks after legal issues because we do have a number of challenges from Private RTO's where we've taken action.

Its a reasonably big area now - in the order of about 50 people. We looking after the Enquiries that your teams have about having problems uploading the data and we look after the Payments system as well.

New Funded Course List

So we're selecting courses where we think are quality in the sense that there is a link between a job outcome and the student. Also there is some attention paid to courses where we think that there has never been value. We're also paying higher subsidies for qualifications that reflects the fact that quality does cost money.

Learn Local and Private Providers

For the Learn Locals and Private Providers we go through a rigorous process of selecting people based on the quality of their performance, their compliance and any other information that we've got on them.

We're also doing an initial allocations which means that there is an amount of student places that each provider is given at the start and there is an opportunity to come back and ask for more. In effect, there is a process where that will be approved. So those kind of run away growths in training funding are more controllable within the process that we have.

Targeted Reviews

Targeted reviews and Audits looking at quality dimensions. Has been a shift from funding compliance - do you have the documents, the records, can you show us evidence of participation - to a lot more consideration of quality dimensions around training - was this suitable and appropriate, what did the TAS (Training and Assessment Strategy) look like, what were the assessment materials, what was the training actually delivered and what's that look like.

We've gone through the Quality Blitz. We looked at 62 providers and we've recovered just over forty million dollars. Its also sent a message out to the sector that the Department will quite actively pursue things. We've terminated 20 contracts to date and there are a number of others that are in prospect and we've introduced Performance Reviews.

We're revamping the entire contract intentionally, a very strong contract. It gives the Department a lot of powers to recover money on behalf of the public. We have the ability at one extreme to terminate and then to recover money against where we've got evidence the funding hasn't been applied appropriately. But also things like taking things off the subsidised list for that provider. Quite a lot of powers.

Standard Contract

TAFE don't have initial allocations. Other providers (Private Providers and Learn Locals) in the VET market does. They've either got a standard contract which is an initial allocation of a 1000 student places....

Restricted Contract

....or they're on a Restricted Contract with an initial allocation of 200 student places. The 200 also has a few other aspects to it which are designed to be attractive to Learn Local providers who are quite small. What we've tried to do is find a way to balance the small providers who are intentionally "low growth".

Subcontracting

Subcontracting now needs to be approved by the Department and the basis for approval is genuine specialised and limited need which is there's a genuine identified need and a link between the provider requiring the sub-contracting arrangement. Also that is's quite niche, we're not looking for subcontracting for general qualifications. The idea is that it might be something for a short period of time while the provider who has contracted with, builds up their capability.

Pre-Training Review

Pre-Training review in the audits that we have done is often done is a sort of cursory fashion. The student entitlement basically sits at the heart of this. So a student is using up their entitlement when they come to do training with you or with other providers. So we want to make sure that studendefinitelyely know that they are using their entitlement, that they've had a conversation about is this suitable, is this appropriate, is this the best thing they can do right now, have they had literacy and numeracy testing done, so they need any other support.

All of those things we basically see as essentially in the Pre-Training Review. Where we think the Pre-Training Review hasn't been done effectively there will be the ability for the Department to raise a financial penalty.

Brokers

All providers must disclose the use of brokers on the website. Basically the contract allows the Department to use information RTO's have given us through their participation in the student and employer surveys and allows the Department to publish that information. What we're trying to do is give students more information about the kinds of training they are getting and specific information around brokers and student satisfaction levels.

Evidence of Participation

There is now a requirement for two different points of evidence. There now needs to be one in the first month and one in the last month of delivery of the unit of competency. Those points of evidence needs to be different. The specific types of evidence need to be different.

Relevant persons

There is a restriction on relevant persons, those are people who may have a controlling interest or influencing role in the provider. Where we have terminated a contract with a provider, if we then see that that person, for example, if they are now holding a senior position at another organisation, we would have issues with contracting with that new organisation.

OHS

There is a requirement that when Auditors or other people are on your site fulfilling Department duties, you need to make sure that they are safe and looked after.

Statement of Fees

Statement of fees must be provided prior to enrolment.

Payment Cycle

Requirement to report activity in order to get payment has moved from 90 days to 60 days from the datoccurrence occurance. We need to get a better line of sight around the expenditure on the budget.

There is now an explicit declaration in the contract that says that I understand in entering in this contract there are all sorts of things that could be done under the contract and I will adhere to the requirements that are there.

Online Learning

The standards for online learning need to be published on the website. In addition to the funded courses list there is a set of courses we will not subsidise if they are being delivered wholly - that is 100% online. So if they are an apprenticeship or a qualification with a licensing component it's very difficult to do that 100% online. So there's a list of about 40 or so courses where there is a restriction on delivering them 100% online.

There's a requirement to train trainers so that providers make sure trainers have the appropriate skills to deliver online, there's a requirement that the learning materials are suitable. That Pre-Training Review has an element of digital literacy - does the student have the ability to use a computer, etc. And also that digital literacy is built into the Training and Assessment strategy.

Overview

There is a very detailed approach we take to Provider selection. Providers need to provide a detailed Delivery plan for each qualification they want to delivery which says - what's my best estimate of how many students, whereabouts, what type of students, what mode of delivery, use of brokers in sourcing students, what connections do you have to industry.

That's on top of their finances issues around submission of a capability statement. At the same time we also look at the audit history, the performance history, any complaints, adverse media coverage. We've got a feed in from ASQA and VQRA on the background of Providers.

Eligibility Gateway

There's a process through the Eligibility Gateway - is the Provider based in Victoria, Have they delivered this training before, have we ever terminated a contract with the Provider etc.

Then we look at the finances, look at the history of compliance through some of the audits we have done. In terms of student satisfaction and outcomes we look at those particular issues.

Then we look a range of qualitative and quantitative measures information around the quality of the Provider.

TAFEs have had a higher level plan - tell us what qualifications, what number of students, and which areas. So it's a much more involved process if you are a Private or Learn Local provider.

Selection Panel

A panel go through each of the applications. They make a recommendation on are they quality or not and are these people we want to contract with. Effectively the way that the contracts work is that every Provider has up to 1000 allocations and there is not a cap on the numbers Providers give. What we are asking for is a best estimate of what they can provide.

Optional Funding

There is also a number of optional initiatives that Providers can opt into. We have an approved provider list for:

~Recognition of Prior Learning

~Foundation Skills

~Training and Assessment

Providers need to meet a threshold which is does the Provider have a history in the area, for example can you demonstrate you can deliver quality TAE.