National Audit and Registration Agency (NARA)
NARA’s Role
NARA, the National Audit and Registration Agency, provides audit and registration services for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that operate in more than one Australian State or Territory. These are known as multi-jurisdictional RTOs.
The National VET Regulator
In December COAG agreed to the creation of a new national regulator for the VET sector. The states and territories and the Commonwealth are working together to create the legislation and intergovernmental agreement which will make this happen. The new arrangements will commence in 2011. The new regulator will be a Commonwealth statutory authority. All jurisdictions except Victoria and Western Australia have agreed to refer powers to the Commonwealth to implement the national regulator.A new national VET regulator will be responsible for the registration and audit of registered training providers and accreditation of courses from 2011. On a national basis, all providers wishing to operate in more than one jurisdiction or enrol students in post-secondary educational institutions will be registered through the national regulator.
COAG agreed that a framework for the new body will be agreed by the end of May 2010 with the regulator operational from 2011. It is envisaged that providers that have an existing registration with state regulators will not be required to re-apply for registration with the national regulator. Registration with state regulators will be transferred to the national regulator, subject to normal conditions of registration.
Input from all stakeholders in the VET sector will be crucial to ensuring that the new regulatory arrangements are best practice and will meet the needs of learners, industry and providers. To this end, a range of consultations, hosted by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), will be held in March to discuss the likely approach to the new regulator. In addition to targeted consultations with industry and provider peak bodies, open forums will be held in each state and territory. All with an interest are welcome to attend.
Over the next 12 months, NARA will support DEEWR and the State and Territory Registering Bodies to establish the national VET regulator. During this transition phase, NARA will continue operations as normal.
A copy of the COAG communiqué and the announcement can be found at: www.coag.gov.au.
Further information about the new arrangements and consultation details is available on the DEEWR website: www.deewr.gov.au or email DEEWR at: vetregulator@deewr.gov.au
Transferring to NARA in 2010
Any RTOs considering a transfer to NARA in 2010 will need to consider the possible business implications of such a move, given the transition to the new national regulator from January 2010.Please make sure that you phone a NARA Client Relationship Manager before applying for transfer to NARA in 2010.
RTOs considering transferring to NARA should be aware that the arrangements for the transition of NARA RTOs to the new national VET regulator in early 2011 are still being negotiated.
RTOs should take above information into consideration prior to transferring to NARA in 2010.
Further information on the new national VET regulator is available on the DEEWR website: www.deewr.gov.au or email DEEWR at: vetregulator@deewr.gov.au
Changes to the Australian Quality Training Framework Standards
On 7 December 2009 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed the National Quality Council (NQC) key reforms to the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) Essential Standards for Registration. These important changes strengthen the AQTF while retaining the broad outcomes focus. The changes are:
- Strengthened Essential Standards for existing RTOs
- New Standards for RTOs registering for the first time
Further information, about the AQTF 2010 is available on the NQC website: www.nqc.tvetaustralia.com.au/aqtf_2010
The NARA Difference
NARA provides multi-jurisdictional RTOs with:
- a toll free 1300 phone number (1300 00 NARA or 1300 00 6272)
- a NARA Client Relationship Manager as a single point of contact for all registration processes;
- a list of NARA endorsed Quality Consultants to choose from in preparation for audit;
- an approved audit team comprising a Lead Auditor, team auditors and technical experts (as required);
- NARA auditors and endorsed Quality Consultants who engage in regular fortnightly NARA moderation activities to develop consistency in audit decision making processes;
- free seminars and workshops to promote good practice among RTOs registered with NARA;
- a regulatory focus on the quality of training outcomes and continuous improvement in line with the AQTF 2007 Standards
- innovative IT solutions and a secure website that reduce compliance related paperwork and;
- regulatory transparency, with NARA's annual audit report against the AQTF 2007 Standards for State and Territory Registering Bodies available online for all stakeholders.
Download a copy of NCVER's 2009 report:
- NCVER Audit Report 2009 [777kb]
- NARA response to 2009 Audit Report [396kb]
Who can Register with NARA?
The National Audit and Registration Agency (NARA) operates under delegation from Australian States and Territories. This means that all multi-jurisdictional RTOs can apply to have their registration managed by NARA, except for RTOs based in NSW or the NT, where delegations are yet to be enacted.
Eligibility for NARA Services
In May 2007 the National Senior Officials Committee endorsed the following eligibility requirements.
'Multi-jurisdictional RTOs' eligible to move their registration to NARA are those that are:
- registered on the National Training Information Service (NTIS) as operating in more than one state or territory and provide the registering body with evidence of multi-jurisdictional operations; or
- registered on NTIS as currently operating in its registered jurisdiction only and provide the registering body with evidence showing that it will commence operations in another jurisdiction(s) within six months; or
- a new training organisation seeking registration for the first time and provide the registering body with evidence showing that it will be operating in more than one jurisdiction within six months.”
State and Territory Registering Bodies are responsible for determining if a training provider meets the nationally agreed eligibility criteria to transfer to NARA.
The Victorian government's application form for assessment of eligibility can be downloaded from http://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/vet/narareg.htm
The South Australian government’s transfer form is available for downloading at: http://www.training.sa.gov.au/FormsandTemplates/VocationalEducationandTraining/tabid/112/Default.aspx
NOTE: you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link for Form RTO10.
The Queensland government’s transfer form is at: http://www.trainandemploy.qld.gov.au/resources/training-organisations/doc/request-transfer-registration.doc
The Western Australian government’s transfer form is at: http://www.tac.wa.gov.au/ToolBox_ApplicationForms.html
For existing RTO's the ACT government form is available at http://www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0017/30833/ACT_ARC_ApplicationTransferNARA.doc
For new RTO's the ACT application form is available at http://www.det.act.gov.au/vhe/accreditation_and_registration/registration_of_VET_providers
No form is required for Tasmanian RTOs. For approval of eligibility from the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority to transfer registration to TVET Australia (NARA), RTOs should contact Phil Geeves at the office of the TQA on 03 6233 6354 or phil.geeves@tqa.tas.gov.au.
As a national regulator, NARA provides RTOs with services relating to compliance with the AQTF 2007 Essential Standards for Registration. [see link below]
AQTF 2007 Essential Standards for Registration [194kb]
And, where applicable, The Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000.
Eligibility for NARA Services [329kb]
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