If your RTO fails its initial re-registration audit, you're guaranteed to be seeing a lot more of ASQA that you'd like to. And we all know how truly disruptive to business preparing for an ASQA visit is.
In 2017 ASQA cancelled and/or rejected 151 RTO registrations and renewal applications. In 2018 this number has increased by 49.6% with 129 cancellations and rejections recorded between 1 January and 31 July.
So what does this mean for your organisation? Well, it really is not rocket science; the Standards are not open for ad hoc interpretation and you either get it right or you do not. It really is as simple as that. Since July 2011 RTO compliance has well and truly become a specialisation and ASQA encourages RTOs to use internal audits by external professionals as a valuable tool in ensuring ongoing compliance.
Given that an internal audit is far more cost effective than attempting to appeal an ASQA sanction (not to mention that as an operational cost it is tax deductible) failing to have an internal audit done is not only silly but quite simply, puts your RTO at unwarranted risk.
At Vetprep we get that no two RTOs are the same and different organisations have different compliance processes and auditing requirements. Unlike other compliance consultants, we fully understand that one single audit product will not suit everyone. Get in touch for a chat about which of our audit services are best suited to your RTO's immediate needs.
ACQUISITION AUDITS
Acquisition Due Diligence Audits are crucial to any RTO purchase, merger or acquisition. Just as you need your accountant will conduct due diligence on the RTO's financial operations, you need to perform a forensic due diligence audit on the RTO's current and historic compliance operations.
We have legally trained and degree-qualified auditors who are expert at investigating and uncovering present and historic compliance practices that may not be apparent at a lower level, more generic audit.
Our Acquisition Audit team has helped a number of RTO buyers determine the compliance history of another RTO, before committing to purchase.
Because true peace of mind is far better than relying on general audit outcomes or audit reports provided by the selling RTO.
Unfortunately things are not always as they might appear. 3rd Party partner and/or contractor actions have a direct effect on your RTO's compliance operations and far too often do we see RTOs being sanctioned due to external operations.
VetPrep is the only RTO consultancy in Australia with a forensic auditing team. We have legally trained and degree-qualified auditors who are expert at interpreting and applying the legislation and regulations that apply to RTO operations.
Our Forensic Audit team has helped a number of RTOs avoid disastrous outcomes by conducting forensic audits for them.
AuditPrep is an onsite audit of up to 2 days that includes the review of the 2015 Standards, Data Provision Requirements, AQF Requirements and all other relevant compliance requirements.
A 1-day onsite Compliance Health Check is ideal for ongoing compliance monitoring while our Desk Audits are less complex and focus on the areas that you believe needs investigating.
We are also able to design a Custom Audit for your RTO where you tell us the operational areas that you would like us to look at.
Given that an internal audit is far simpler and more cost effective than attempting to appeal an ASQA sanction, failing to have an internal audit done is not only silly but quite simply, puts your RTO at unwarranted risk.
ASQA has identified certain non-compliance commonalities between RTOs with the 2015 Standards, the most common being the provisions of Standard 1.
With the NVR Act requiring RTOs to submit a renewal application at least 90 days prior to its registration expiry date, your internal audit should be conducted at least 2 months prior to your application submission. This ought to ensure sufficient time to address any areas of concern prior to your re-registration audit.
