The Smart and Skilled program for 2023-24 and its application process

On this page

Applications for the Smart and Skilled program will open on 1 November 2022. The application process will be open for four weeks.

All existing and prospective Smart and Skilled providers need to apply as part of a new application process in 2023-24.

Overview of the Smart and Skilled program

Smart and Skilled is a NSW Government program that helps people get training in in-demand skills and industries. It’s a key part of the NSW Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. Smart and Skilled gives eligible students:

an entitlement to government-subsidised training up to and including Certificate III
government funding for higher-level courses (Certificate IV and above) in targeted priority areas.

Smart and Skilled contains a number of programs:

Smart and Skilled Entitlement Foundation Skills
Smart and Skilled Entitlement Full Qualifications
Smart and Skilled Entitlement Apprenticeship and Traineeship Qualifications
Smart and Skilled Targeted Priorities Full Qualifications
Smart and Skilled Targeted Priorities Prevocational and Part Qualifications
School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

Approved Smart and Skilled training providers must:

deliver quality training
adhere to Smart and Skilled guidelines and policies
implement fee arrangements and
establish consumer protection processes.

More information can be found on the For Providers – Smart and Skilled page. The NSW Skills List identifies which qualifications are eligible for a government subsidy under Smart and Skilled.

The Smart and Skilled application

Smart and Skilled was introduced in 2015 and has been effective in delivering training in key qualifications. The last time Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) had a broad opportunity to enter Smart and Skilled was in 2017.

The Smart and Skilled application process will ensure that Smart and Skilled providers deliver the best possible offerings to the market and meet industry needs.

Through the Smart and Skilled application process RTOs have an opportunity to continue in, or enter for the first time, the NSW government-subsidised vocational education and training market.

The Smart and Skilled application process will determine which RTOs are suitable for a Smart and Skilled contract and financial allocations for 2023-24.

RTOs that apply will need to demonstrate that they can deliver quality training that meets industry needs and skills shortages.

Applications will be conducted through the new Smart and Skilled application portal. The application process will require RTOs to provide information around:

the eligibility of the RTO, including evidence of financial viability
the operational structure of the RTO
the quality of training provision including:
- teaching and leadership practices
- student-centred approach to training experience
- individualised support for students, particularly students with a disadvantage and/or with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background
the programs, regions and qualifications applied for including
- previous student commencements numbers
- the number of students expected to commence in 2023-24
additional information around assessment practices and innovative approaches to training.

The information provided through the application stage will be competitively assessed by Training Services NSW. The assessment process has been designed to ensure Smart and Skilled funding is aligned to labour market needs and results in a choice of providers for students, while also lifting quality.

An overview of the application questions is provided in the following table, with the application questions split into four different components:

Table of the application questions

Component	Application sections	Intent	Summary of questions
A. Eligibility	Section 1: Smart and Skilled Eligibility	Eligibility check	RTO's registration with ASQA RTO's scope Change of Ownership History of RTO registration History of contract termination RTO personnel and details Subcontracting agreements Ongoing investigations Financial Viability Check, including ASIC approved auditor statements
A. Eligibility	Section 2: RTO Profile	Eligibility check	Any regulatory decision on RTO's scope RTO Type and classification Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ownership Principal business address
B. RTO Operations	Section 3: RTO Operations - Structure	Assessment	RTO's legal entity RTO personnel details Shared ownership with other legal entities Shared resources Third Party arrangements for activities or services ISO 9001 certification
	Section 4: RTO Operations - Teaching and Leadership		Trainers and assessors’ professional development Trainers and assessors’ qualifications Specified Activities for trainers and assessors’ professional development
	Section 5: RTO Operations - Student-Centred Approach		VET Student loans Student administration support Other support services Training cohorts Specialised training and assessment for students Culturally sensitive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander training and assessment Employment support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Needs based training contextualisation Any previous validation of assessment activities for qualifications
C. Market Diversity	Section 6: Market Diversity – Programs and Regions		Apply for Smart and Skilled programs Apply for regions for each Smart and Skilled program Nominate Primary Region Rationale for Primary Region
	Section 7: Market Diversity - Questions per Region		Student commencements in region (last 18 months) Training, assessment, and administration facilities Recent partnerships with specialist organisations Support services for students
	Section 8: Market Diversity – Full Qualifications		Apply for qualifications For each qualification: - How long has RTO been delivering this qualification - Delivery mode - Student commencements in last 18 months - Similar qualifications delivered - Proposed Student commencements in the next 12 months - Proposed Delivery Modes - Proposed Duration of training and assessment - Last review of training and assessment strategy - Relevant licences for training and assessment resources - Validation of training and assessment in the last 18 months
	Section 9: Market Diversity – Part Qualifications		Intention to deliver part qualifications Training packages linked to part qualifications History of delivering part qualifications Delivery Modes Delivery to employed or unemployed people Support provided to unemployed persons Support for employment outcomes Relevance of training Benefit for students
	Section 10: Additional Supporting Information		RTOs assessment practices and any additional information including: - Delivery to a niche market or target student group - Meeting skills demands related to specific initiatives and/or technical industry needs or supporting priority industries to improve competitiveness - An innovative or unique delivery model, and - Other innovation and/or specific initiatives.
	Section 11: Agreement		Agree to Smart and Skilled policies, RTO Standards, laws, and legislations Authority to share and exchange information with other Government agencies Attach insurance certificates Compliant Student Management system for reporting (AVETMISS) compliant data Systems and procedures to report the validated Unique Student Identifier for each Enrolled Student Provide permission for DoE to review Statistical data held by NCVER
D. Agreement	Section 12: Declaration	To seek agreement	Declaration of true and accurate information: - Agreement to comply with the Application Terms and Conditions

The Smart and Skilled application process

The Smart and Skilled application process collects information that will be assessed in three stages: application, assessment, and financial allocation.

1. Application

The application stage is focused on eligibility requirements that RTOs must meet to be considered for a contract. It also collects information that will be used in the assessment and financial allocation stages.

2. Assessment

The assessment stage will use information from the application, and other information held by Training Services NSW, to determine which eligible applicants are suitable to access a contract and be considered for access to funding. Benchmarks will be applied at the assessment stage that must be exceeded in order for the application to proceed to the financial allocation stage. The scoring from the assessment stage will be passed through to the financial allocation stage.

3. Allocation

The allocation stage will use scoring from the assessment stage and other data to determine the RTOs that will be approved to deliver training for each Smart and Skilled program (excluding Part Qualifications), and will also determine the regions, qualifications and, where financial caps apply, the amount of that allocation.

Who can apply

The Smart and Skilled application will be open to all eligible RTOs but there may be different access to programs depending on RTO type (for example currently only TAFE NSW and approved Adult and Community Education providers have access to the Entitlement Foundation Skills program). Interstate RTOs will only be able to apply to deliver training in targeted regions and qualifications identified by Training Services NSW. Training Services NSW will advise the eligibility for programs in early October. At the same time Training Services NSW will advise RTOs whether they are considered an interstate RTO for the purposes of the application and the list of targeted regions and qualifications.

Smart and Skilled market assessment

Training Services NSW is undertaking an assessment of the NSW VET market to ensure alignment to labour market needs and provide students with a diverse range of training options. Information related to the market assessment will be added to this page when available and will:

1. Provide RTOs with an overview of occupational markets (occupations in Smart and Skilled regions) and an assessment of areas of training shortage and possible over-supply to guide planning

2. Set out the eligibility of interstate RTOs to be considered for each occupational market (including qualification and region by Smart and Skilled program)

Smart and Skilled application portal

The Smart and Skilled application portal is a new online application system that provides an end-to-end solution for the processing and managing of all Smart and Skilled contracts. The new system will provide a simple and seamless solution for the Smart and Skilled program including this application process, the corresponding assessment and future contracting.

The Smart and Skilled application portal will use the Australian Government Digital Identity System to verify users. Digital Identity is a safe, secure, and convenient way to prove who you are online. myGovID is the Australian Government’s Digital Identity app.

To access the Smart and Skilled Application portal, you will need:

a Digital Identity with at least a Standard identity strength
to link your Digital Identity to an entity using Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM).

For help setting up a myGovID, visit mygovid.gov.au/setup

For support with RAM, visit info.authorisationmanager.gov.au

For information about Digital Identity, visit digitalidentity.gov.au

A suite of resources and webinars will be made available to help applicants to use the Smart and Skilled application portal.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the Smart and Skilled Program, an RTO must:

be registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
have a scope of registration that includes qualifications on the current NSW Skills List (i.e. the listed of government-subsidised accredited courses and qualifications) or have a skills set or explicitly listed units of competency associated with a qualification listed on the NSW Skills List
pass a financial viability check.

An RTO will not be eligible if it has had:

its registration refused, cancelled, or revoked under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011
its Smart and Skilled Contract or other Commonwealth or State Government funding contract or agreement terminated for non-compliance and/or unsatisfactory performance in the last 5 years.

Eligibility will be checked as the first step in the application process. The Smart and Skilled application system will use data from training.gov.au to assess an RTO’s eligibility.

Before starting a Smart and Skilled application an RTO will also need to ensure that their ASQA registration is up to date, details are current and correct on training.gov.au, and their principal address is the address registered with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). All eligible RTOs, including existing Smart and Skilled providers and all RTOs approved to deliver training and assessment in NSW, are encouraged to apply to become a Smart and Skilled provider for 2023-24.

Current Smart and Skilled providers with a High Performing Provider classification will still be required to apply for allocation purposes. High Performing Providers will only be assessed for allocation purposes and will continue to maintain their current classification status for their contract period.

Interstate RTOs are encouraged to apply if they plan to deliver in priority NSW training areas/market(s) as determined by the Smart and Skilled market assessment.

Assessment process

Training Services NSW will assess applications through a competitive process. An RTO will be assessed on its:

response to eligibility criteria, including evidence of financial viability
operational structure
quality of training provision including its:
- teaching and leadership practices
- student-centred approach to training experience
- approach to individualised support for students, particularly students with a disadvantage or with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background.

Training Services NSW will also assess any additional information provided around an RTO’s assessment practices and innovative approaches to training.

Training Services NSW will use the information from the application but may also use information from other sources. More information will be provided in the coming weeks.

Financial viability assessment

As part of the Smart and Skilled application process, all RTOs will be required to complete financial viability assessments. This will ensure that future Smart and Skilled providers can meet their obligations under the contract to deliver quality training that meets industry needs and skills shortages.

RTOs are required to pay for their own assessments which will cost $385 (including GST) per application.

An RTO will be directed to provide payment during the application process and submit the required financial reports and associated documentation to Equifax Australasia Credit Ratings Pty Ltd (Equifax, trading as Corporate Scorecard) via a secure webpage to enable a financial viability assessment to be properly carried out.

The process requires the following documents:

Audited financial reports for the RTO
A signed Authorised Officer Declaration that the financial viability assessments are a true representation of the RTO’s financial position
Deed of Cross Guarantee if applicable.

All information provided will be treated in strict confidence.

Further information

Further information about the application process will be provided by Training Services NSW in the coming weeks including:

Smart and Skilled application terms and conditions
Smart and Skilled contract operating guidelines and policies
Smart and Skilled application user guides
Classification of RTOs as interstate providers
Information about the market assessment.

Training Services NSW will provide information about the Smart and Skilled application process via Smart and Skilled webinars, Smart and Skilled Updates, Smart and Skilled Strategic Relationship Managers, industry training advisory bodies (ITABs) and other key organisations such as the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) and Community Colleges Australia.

Instructions and user guides for the Smart and Skilled application portal will be added to this page and promoted via the above channels when available. Training sessions on the portal and system will also be run in the coming weeks. If you require further information at this stage about the Smart and Skilled provider application please email Training Services NSW at: smartandskilled.application@det.nsw.edu.au

Frequently asked questions

Have a question? View our FAQ page.