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Appeal Processes

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Choose a training provider

Once you’ve decided on your course, you need to find an organisation to provide the training and assessment services you want.

Registered Training Organisations (RTO) comply with national quality standards overseen by each State or Territory Training Authority. RTOs can give you reliable, nationally recognised training. To find one, go to the National Training Information Service (NTIS) website. Or you might want to get some help in finding an RTO at your government Career Information Centre (CIC). Locations for CICs in NSW are below:

Location Street Address Contact Details
Sydney Level One
Sydney Central Building
477 Pitt St Haymarket
Sydney NSW 2000 		Ph : (02) 9209 1661
Fax: (02) 9209 1495
Email: cic.sydney@centrelink.gov.au
Newcastle Entrance to right of the Newcastle Centrelink Customer Service Centre
1st Floor 279 King St
Newcastle West NSW 2302 		Freecall™1800 067 482
Fax: (02) 4985 8696
Email: cic.newcastle@centrelink.gov.au
Wollongong
(East Coast)		 Enter from Wollongong Customer Service Centre
Level 1 43 Burelli St
Wollongong NSW 2520		 Ph: (02) 4251 4230
Fax: (02) 4251 4094
Email: cic.wollongong@centrelink.gov.au

An RTO might be a TAFE or a private training group or a community organisation. Sometimes even your own workplace can be an RTO and a few universities also qualify as RTOs.

You might want to find two or three RTOs in your area that provide the course you are looking for and then compare what recognition services they provide. You might have seen RTO advertisements or internet sites to follow up, or you can use NTIS to search for the qualification that you are interested in. Type in the career you’re interested in e.g. ‘retail’ or ‘plumbing’ and tick the ‘qualifications’ box as well as the State/Territory you are interested in. The search will come up with suggestions for qualifications that might suit you.

Some large RTOs also have very comprehensive websites which tell you about the qualifications they offer as well as their skills recognition services.

If there aren’t RTOs any in your area, look for ones that offer online or distance learning.

New government initiatives have put a greater focus on skills recognition. The onus is now on RTOs to offer recognition prior to enrolment, rather than the student being responsible for enquiring about it.

Here is a checklist (Word document 29KB) you can use to decide which RTO was most helpful when you spoke to them:

Did you receive Yes No

Information before enrolling that

  • was clear and easy to understand
  • included enrolment information
  • explained what skills recognition is
  • included costs involved and what the cost covers
  • included the support available to you
  • included definite timelines for assessing your skills
  • gave you all the information you needed to make a decision.
   

On enrolment (You can ask this before enrolling.)
Does the RTO give you a kit for skills recognition specifically for your qualification. Does the kit include:

  • steps in the recognition process
  • roles and responsibilities of the RTO, assessors and you
  • suggested evidence requirements and how to gather it
  • information to help you assess your skills against the competencies
  • what happens if you are unsuccessful and what to do if you think it is unfair including fees and time limits for appeals
  • how feedback on your assessment will happen
  • all the information you need to gather the evidence you need for assessment.
    
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Appeal processes

If you think anything about the assessment process was unfair, you can appeal it. That means you can request a review of the decision or the process used to make the decision.

In most RTOs, there is a time limit for appeals e.g. 10 days after you received your result. So make sure you find out what the time limit is for your RTO.

There will also be a rule in each RTO for how long after you appeal you should be notified of the result.

Some RTOs also charge a fee for appeals. Ask about that when you check the time limit.

Each RTO will have its own process for appeals. Usually it will be a letter which includes the following details:

  • Your name and contact details
  • The name of the course and the unit in which your application was unsuccessful
  • The reason you think the assessment procedure was unfair and/or the decision was unfair.

Most RTOs should have a staff member, such as a counsellor, who can help you with your appeal.

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