Frequently asked questions - Smart and Skilled program 2023-24

Current Smart and Skilled providers who are unsuccessful in this Smart and Skilled application process will be transitioned out of Smart and Skilled from the end of the 2022-23 financial year but will continue to be funded for continuing students who commence training before 30 June 2023, until completion of their qualification.

Current low performing providers can apply as part of the Smart and Skilled application process, but their low performing status will be part of the assessment process. Smart and Skilled low performing providers will be assessed against the eligibility criteria and will be required to meet or exceed assessment benchmarks, as with all other providers.

Yes. All providers interested in holding a Smart and Skilled contract for 2023-24 are required to apply as part of the Smart and Skilled application process.

Yes. All providers interested in holding a Smart and Skilled contract for 2023-24 are required to apply as part of the Smart and Skilled application process.

Yes. High Performing Providers are required to fill out the application and undergo the Financial Viability Assessment. High Performing Providers will retain their current contract and provider classification, they will only be assessed for the purposes of allocation.

Training Services NSW will continue to make Financial Cap allocations for the Entitlement Foundation Skills (EFS), Entitlement Full Qualifications (EFQ) and Targeted Priorities Full Qualifications (TPFQ) programs. Applications will include the number of commencements in each half of the Activity Period per program, qualification, and region. This information will be used, along with other factors to determine Financial Cap allocations.

Applications will be competitively assessed so existing allocations may change. Training Services NSW will also be assessing training delivery against labour market needs to ensure alignment.

All RTOs will need to provide the number of student commencements for each half of the Activity Period (1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023 and 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2024).

For the programs where Financial Caps apply, i.e. the Entitlement Foundation Skills, Entitlement Full Qualifications and Targeted Priorities Full Qualifications programs, the commencements and other details of their applications will inform the allocation process. RTOs will not request an amount of Financial Cap.

For all programs including those without Financial Caps, the student commencements included in applications will also be used to inform the qualifications approved and for ongoing market management purposes.

RTOs, except for interstate RTOs, will be able to apply for the full range of qualifications, regions, and programs, based on their ASQA scope of registration matching the NSW Skills List. Provider Program Eligibility will determine the programs each provider can apply for.

Yes. An interstate TAFE with a Smart and Skilled contract is required to apply. Further information will be made available to indicate to individual RTOs which markets they can apply for before the Smart and Skilled application process opens.

No. All providers will be assessed against the same eligibility and assessment criteria.

Yes. All eligible RTOs interested in delivering Smart and Skilled subsidised training in 2023-24 can and should apply.

Yes. An interstate RTO can apply for a NSW Smart and Skilled Contract, but this may only be available for particular qualifications, programs, or regions. All providers will need to undergo a rigorous assessment process to be awarded a contract. For more information, read through the NSW Market Assessment information.

Yes. An interstate TAFE can apply for a NSW Smart and Skilled Contract, but this may only be available for particular qualifications, programs, or regions. All providers will need to undergo a rigorous assessment process to be awarded a contract. For more information, read through the NSW Market Assessment information.

Note: The NSW RTO Classification List was updated on 1 November 2022 (Version 1.1). Please check your organisation’s classification.

The classification of an RTO as Interstate RTO has been made using 2020 Total VET Activity data and the RTO address listed on training.gov.au.

If your RTO would like a review of its classification, you will need to demonstrate either:

a) That your organisation’s principal place of business listed on the ASIC register is within NSW, or

b)  If your RTO is based out of NSW, then the assessment of the number/proportion of commencements of NSW students meets the required thresholds to be classified as an Established NSW RTO, or

c) Your RTO is an Aboriginal controlled RTO.

An Established NSW RTO is:

• An RTO that holds a current Smart and Skilled Contract (and is not an interstate TAFE), or
• An RTO with its Principal Place of Business in NSW (as registered by ASIC or NSW Fair Trading), or
• An RTO with its Principal Place of Business not in NSW (as registered by ASIC or NSW Fair Trading) (and is not an interstate TAFE) and
  • The RTO’s yearly enrolments of NSW students is 40 or more, or
  • The RTO’s yearly enrolments of NSW students is 50% or more of the providers total yearly enrolments.

Aboriginal controlled RTOs will also be considered to be an Established NSW RTO.

An Interstate RTO is an RTO that is not an Established NSW RTO and includes interstate TAFEs.

If you are addressing point (b) above, please supply relevant data for 2020 and 2021. 2022 data would also be considered if available. The data you supply should demonstrate how your RTO meets the criteria to be classified as an Established NSW RTO.

All requests for reclassification should be sent to SmartandSkilled.Application@det.nsw.edu.au.

Any employees commencing training from 1 July 2023 who are seeking subsidised training will need to enrol with a Smart and Skilled provider. However, as an employer, you may choose to fund your employees’ accredited training with another RTO.

Students who commence training by 30 June 2022 and continue training into 2023-24 will be funded until completion or they withdraw from training.

For existing apprentices and trainees who commence training by 30 June 2023, the RTO will continue to be funded until students have either completed or withdrawn from training.

Any apprentices or trainees who commence training from 1 July 2023 will need to enrol with a Smart and Skilled Provider to access government subsidised training. However, your apprentices or trainees may undertake accredited training with another RTO.

Training Services NSW may use transition arrangements in some cases if there are concerns about disruption for employers and their students.

RTOs applying through the Smart and Skilled provider application process can submit evidence of employer support.

Training Services NSW will hold a separate briefing for ITABs. ITABs will be kept informed of any updates to the Smart and Skilled application process as they become available.

As always, ITABs are encouraged to support providers to deliver government subsidised training that meets the needs of industry and the objectives of the Smart and Skilled program.

Training Services NSW will determine the classifications of RTOs for the purposes of the Smart and Skilled application process and will communicate that information as soon as it is available.

Providers applying as part of the Smart and Skilled application process who do not have a presence in a particular region will still be able to apply to deliver training in that region. Regional experience will be considered in the allocation process.

If you are an online provider, you are eligible to apply as part of the Smart and Skilled application process if you have on scope qualifications or accredited courses in NSW that are included on the NSW Skills List.

For RTOs that only deliver part qualifications or units of competency Training Services NSW will assess your general organisational capability to determine if you are suitable for a Smart and Skilled contract. If offered a Smart and Skilled contract it will be for part qualifications only and your access to funding limited to the Targeted Pre-vocational and Part Qualifications program that uses a separate funding application process.

There is no pre-determined number of providers. The final number of successful providers from this Smart and Skilled application process will be determined by the volume of training required to meet the needs of the NSW economy and the Smart and Skilled budget.

No. An ISO 9001 certification is not mandatory for this application. 

Yes. RTOs that deliver part qualifications or units of competency will be assessed on general organisational capability. If offered a Smart and Skilled contract, it will be for part qualifications only and access to funding will be limited to the Targeted Pre-vocational and Part Qualifications program. The only part qualification providers who are exempt from applying are current Smart and Skilled High Performing Providers, who will not need to fill out the application form but will still need to undergo a Financial Viability Assessment.

To access the Smart and Skilled application portal, you will need a valid myGovID linked to your RTO. The portal will be fully functional for applications to be lodged from 1 November 2022. The Smart and Skilled application portal link is available on the Smart and Skilled program for 2023-24 and its application process page.

Training  Services NSW will host weekly webinars from 19 October 2022, 12:30 – 1:30pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) where RTOs can ask questions about the Smart and Skilled application process. Regular updates and the links to attend the webinars will  be placed on the Smart and Skilled program for 2023-24 and its application process page. 

Previous Smart and Skilled webinar recordings can be found on the Smart and Skilled webinar information page, along with a schedule of upcoming webinars.

There are some questions in the application where RTOs are asked to submit evidence. RTOs will need to have evidence of training and assessment strategy reviews and validation, as well as proof of ISO9001 certification where applicable. A PDF (Portable Document Format) file is the preferred format.

All RTOs will need to submit the required insurance documentation:

• Workers' compensation and other compulsory third-party insurance as required by law
• Professional indemnity insurance with a minimum limit of $3 million for any one occurrence and in the aggregate for the insurance period
• Public and products liability with a minimum limit of $20 million for any one occurrence.

All government RTOs, including TAFE NSW and Interstate TAFEs, are exempt from undertaking the Financial Viability Assessment as part of the application.

Aboriginal controlled RTOs are classified as established NSW RTOs. These refer to RTOs that are 50% or more Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander owned. All Aboriginal controlled RTOs currently registered with ASQA are eligible to apply for the application. These RTOs can be located on the NSW RTO classification list. Please refer to:  NSW RTO Classification List.

For all third-party arrangements such as subcontracting or brokering, your RTO will need to provide information/details of each service that engages a third-party. Your RTO must supply details of all third-party arrangements in NSW excluding the exceptions identified below.

If your RTO subcontracts an individual as a trainer and/or assessor on a contracting basis and that engagement is directly with the individual, your RTO will not need to supply the Department with the details of that arrangement. However, if the individual is engaged as a trainer and/or assessor via a trust or company structure, your RTO will need to supply details of each arrangement.

If your RTO uses a broker that acts on behalf of a government department or associated government initiative, your RTO will not need to supply the Department with the details of that arrangement.

The part qualifications section of the application assesses your organisation's capacity and capability to deliver part qualifications generally. The application will not ask you to list the specific part qualifications you wish to deliver, but rather, the full qualifications on the NSW Skills List with which those part qualifications are associated. Applying for specific part qualifications occurs through a separate process for contracted Smart and Skilled providers.

The delivery mode categories in Question 8.3 of ‘Mixed mode’ and ‘All training delivery will be online and/or distance learning’ are aligned to the respective definitions in the help text. As per the help text, mixed mode incorporates any training delivery that is a combination of other delivery modes, (e.g., classroom-based delivery and online learning). Similarly, online/distance learning refers to external delivery where the student does not attend a physical delivery location but instead undertakes training at a location of their choosing and using training materials that are provided online or by correspondence. This includes when a student is learning at home either by engaging with self-paced materials or interacting with a trainer in real-time.

The ‘Face to face only (Classroom/work-based delivery)’ and the ‘Enterprise-based’ delivery mode options in Question 8.3 are covered by some aspects of the help text definitions of Face to face delivery and Workplace-based delivery respectively. The main intent of ‘Face to face only (Classroom/work-based delivery)’ is to indicate that training occurs face to face in a classroom environment, whether away from work or at work. By contrast, ‘Enterprise-based’ indicates that training occurs in the workplace and not in the classroom.

RTOs should supply the commencement number on a national level for the qualification. Superseded qualifications can be included in the commencement numbers for the new qualification. However, if the RTO is applying for both the old and new qualifications (and both qualifications appear on the NSW Skills List), then the RTO will need to provide commencement number for each of the qualifications separately.

Question 4.3- Have all Trainers and/or Assessors working for your RTO participated in any of the following activities in NSW in the 18 months prior to the date of this application:

If you are an Interstate RTO, you may tick the options that apply to your home state instead of NSW.

Section 5 - Student-centred approach:

Section 5 requires your RTO to demonstrate your overall capacity to deliver support services to students and your responses for questions 5.1, 5.4 and 5.6 - 5.9 should reflect what your RTO delivers nationwide, if you are an interstate RTO. Your RTO’s responses to Questions 5.2, 5.3 and 5.5 specifically refer to NSW, and will require your RTO to tailor your responses to reflect your capacity to deliver support services to NSW students.

Question 5.9 - For qualifications included in this application, has your RTO undertaken any validation of assessment activities in the 18 months prior to the date of this application?

Your response to this question should reflect the assessment validation activities conducted across the qualifications that your RTO is applying for.

RTOs are not required to register for the portal. They are only required to login to the portal using a myGovID that is linked to the RTO.

The application form will not be accessible to RTOs until the application launch date, which is scheduled for 1 November 2022.

Only RTO administrators (normally the CEO or principal authority of an RTO) or a Training Services NSW admin can upgrade or change a user role. After your RTO’s administrator has logged into the system, they will be able to add or change the roles for additional users. All users of the Smart and Skilled application portal must have their myGovID associated to the RTO. For detailed instructions, consult the Smart and Skilled application portal user guide.

If you are the administrator for an RTO and have been incorrectly assigned a non-administrator role you need to send a role change request to the Smart and Skilled Application inbox and a Training Services NSW administrator will be able to change your role in the system.

Your RTO must be registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) and available on training.gov.au in order to access the application. All users must ensure that their myGovID is associated with an RTO. To do this, you will need to ask the RTO’s RAM manager to link your myGovID with the RTO.

The Smart and Skilled Application portal can only have one email address for each business you are linked to in RAM, so you will need a different email address listed for each authorisation. Follow the "Finding and updating your RAM current business email address" instructions at the link below. You may need the RTO to complete this update for you.

Help: Authorisations | Relationship Authorisation Manager

In order to make changes to your responses to the application questions, you will need to lock each section for editing. Once you have done this, the buttons for question responses will become active. You will then be able to commence responding to the questions.

The administrator is the only user role that can upgrade or change another user role in the Smart and Skilled Application Portal. Normally the CEO or principal authority of the RTO is granted administrator access. Once the administrator has logged into the portal system via their myGovID, they can find detailed instructions on how to change user roles in there Smart and Skilled application portal user guide, along with information about the permissions given to each user type.

However, if the Portal Administrator edits their role to other user roles, they will lose the ability to manage user roles once the change has been submitted. The current portal administrator must ensure there is at least one other existing portal administrator before transferring their portal administrator role to another.

Your RTO's account and level of access in STS Online will not be transferred to the Smart and Skilled Application portal. The Smart and Skilled Application portal runs through a separate system with different levels of access.

myGovID is the Australian Government's Digital Identity app. Set up your myGovID in three easy steps. Download the myGovID app, enter your details and choose your identity strength. For help setting up your myGovID, visit how to set up.

Once you have your Digital Identity, such as myGovID, you need to link it to an organisation using Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). This will allow you to act on behalf of the organisation when accessing the Smart and Skilled application portal.

Find out how to manage authorisations by visiting the RAM Principal Authority page or the RAM Authorised Users and Administrators page.

Uploads for these questions should be included with the Additional Supporting Information (the upload box for Section 11). Supporting documentation for those two questions is optional.

RTOs are required to demonstrate financial viability as part of the application process. In the assessment of financial performance, a view is gathered of the extent to which RTOs are financially viable through assessment of financial statements. This will ensure that future Smart and Skilled providers have the financial resources to meet their obligations under the contract throughout 2023-24. 

For this round of applications, the Department will accept financial statements that have been audited or externally prepared but audited financial statements are preferred. Financial statements submitted will undergo a financial and risk assessment to determine financial viability. 

RTOs are required to submit a minimum of two full years of finalised financial statements of the RTO or the corporate group which it is part of (including the notes to the accounts and the auditor's reports). These must be for the RTO’s latest reported financial year, ending 31 December 2021 or 30 June 2022, and the previous financial year.

Note that non-incorporated RTOs will need to provide details of all directors including date of birth and residential address. 

Financial statements must comprise at a minimum: Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Statement and Notes to the Accounts. All finalised financial statements submitted must meet Australian Accounting Standards. 

Other information will be requested as part of the application process which includes: 

• Total dollar value of all Government subsidised training payments over the last financial year 
• Percentage of subsidised training revenue to total revenue over the last financial year 
• Selecting the State in which your main operating address is located 
• Does your organisation currently have operations in NSW? 
• Details of all sources of funding over the last 12 months 
• Start date of operations (mm/yyyy) required when only one year’s financials are submitted. 

Note that non-incorporated RTOs will need to provide details of all directors including date of birth and residential address. 

All financial reports must be audited. It is not mandatory to have financial reports audited by an ASIC Approved Auditor, however, RTOs are advised that should they be successful in being awarded a Smart and Skilled contract, they will need to have their next set of accounts audited by an ASIC Approved Auditor. RTOs who are Not-for-Profit organisations or Registered Charities would be exempt from using an ASIC auditor.

The Department recognises that some RTOs may not be able to submit audited financial statements by 2 December 2022 when the application closes.

Therefore, if it is not possible to prepare audited statements, RTOs may submit externally prepared financial statements by individuals/organisations qualified to prepare finalised accounts.

The Department considers externally prepared financial statements to bear a higher risk than those that have been audited. If an RTO submits externally prepared financial accounts and is assessed as financially viable, the RTO will undergo an additional due diligence process that will assess overall risk. The Department retains absolute discretion in its assessment of risk as to whether an RTO will be eligible for a contract.

A minimum of two full years of audited financial reports are required for the Financial Viability Assessment. These must be for the RTO’s latest financial year, ending 31 December 2021 or 30 June 2022, and the previous financial year. For organisations that have recently commenced trading, we will accept the latest year's audited financial report. Failure to provide any financial report will result in the RTO's ineligibility for funding.

The Authorised officer declaration must be signed by the Director, Chief Executive Officer, or Chief Financial Officer of the RTO.

All instructions to complete the Financial Viability Assessment will be provided on the Equifax webpage within the Smart and Skilled application portal. RTOs will complete and submit the required information in the Equifax portal. 

$385 including GST plus credit card charge of 1.6% per application. Once paid, you will receive a payment confirmation and tax invoice via email.

The only payment method for the Financial Viability Assessment is via a secure online payment system. Only Mastercard or Visa credit cards are accepted. If you are experiencing difficulties with processing your payment via the website, please contact the support team via email at AURTOHelpdesk@equifax.com.

The portal will direct RTOs to the following link for processing payment.

nswsmartandskilled.corporatescorecard.com.au

A Deed of Cross Guarantee between the RTO and its ultimate parent company, together with proof of registration of the Deed with ASIC, must also be provided. Failure to produce such a Deed of Cross Guarantee as part of this process will result in the Training Provider being assessed as unsuccessful in its submission.

For the Smart and Skilled provider application 2023-2024, all RTOs must be assessed as financially viable. You will be required to lodge the required financial statements as part of the Smart and Skilled provider application process open from 1 November 2022 until 5pm on 2 December 2022. 

Yes. High Performing Providers will be required to undergo the Financial Viability Assessment for this round. 

A declaration of solvency does not meet the requirements of the Financial Viability Assessment. 

An 'Authorised Officer Declaration' form is available on Equifax's website for those RTOs who have paid their Financial Viability Assessment fee as part of the Smart and Skilled application process.

The Department will provide the URL within the Smart and Skilled application portal. You do not need to select the report type. 

For organisations that have recently commenced trading, the latest year's financial report may be submitted. Start date of operations (mm/yyyy) will be required. 

The RTO will not be assessed if it fails to provide any financial report.

Where a trust is operating as a trading trust for the RTO company, we require the audited financial statements for the Trust, but do not require a Deed of Cross Guarantee.

Where the financial reports refer to an entity other than the RTO, the application must be accompanied by a cross company guarantee registered at ASIC. If unable to complete this in time, evidence of payment to ASIC for this must be provided. No other document will be accepted.

The Deed of Cross Guarantee must be submitted along with the financial reports for the Financial Viability Assessment to be completed and must be submitted prior to 2 December 2022. RTOs should not wait for 2 December 2022 to submit their financial reports.

To complete the Financial Viability Assessment, RTOs are required to pay and provide their finalised financial accounts to Equifax. The link to the Equifax portal is: nswsmartandskilled.corporatescorecard.com.au.

Yes, an RTO must upload its documents and pay before the November 30 deadline. We do encourage RTOs to do this as soon as possible. RTOs are required to pay for their own assessments which will cost $385 (including GST) per application plus credit card fee of 1.6%. The Financial Viability Assessment process will not commence until the payment has been received in full.

If the financial audit covers the most recent financial year, there is no requirement to undertake an additional audit for Smart and Skilled Application 2023-24.

From 1 July 2023, Smart and Skilled foundation skills full qualification training will be funded under the Entitlement Full Qualification (EFQ) program – instead of the Entitlement Foundation Skills (EFS) program for all new commencements from the 2023-2024 activity period onwards.

The changes will be reflected in version 13.3 of the NSW Skills List. The 22 qualifications currently delivered as EFS will have an expiry date of 30 June 2023. These same qualifications will see an EFQ program type identified as taking effect 1 July 2023.

The change is intended to improve access to foundation skills training for NSW students and result in simplified and more flexible funding and administration arrangements for providers.

Smart and Skilled eligible registered training organisations (RTOs), excluding non-government enterprise-based RTOs, but including the current EFS approved providers, will be eligible to be apply during the Smart and Skilled application process to be funded through the EFQ program to commence students in foundation skills full qualifications from 1 July 2023.

Funding for foundation skills full qualifications will be allocated through the Smart and Skilled application process which opens for applications on 1 November 2022.

Providers will be able to apply for foundation skills full qualifications as per the rules of the application process. The foundation skills qualifications and funding allocations for the 2023-24 activity period will be incorporated into the Entitlement Full Qualifications program.

This change will be implemented for the start of the 2023-24 activity period and be incorporated into round 1 of the Smart and Skilled application process. There is no change to the EFS program arrangements for the 2022-23 activity period.

All providers (except non-government enterprise-based RTOs) will be eligible to apply to deliver foundation skills full qualifications through the Smart and Skilled application process from 1 November to 2 December 2022, provided they have the relevant qualifications on their scope of registration.

Providers interested in delivering foundation skills full qualifications training should select the relevant foundation skills qualifications from the EFQ program when completing their application for students commencing from 1 July 2023.

Allocations will be determined using the NSW Market Assessment, the results of the assessment of RTO applications, and consideration of the previous EFS Financial Caps allocated and utilised by current Smart and Skilled Providers (where applicable).

Foundation skills full qualification training will remain fee-free for all eligible Smart and Skilled students.

This section covers registered training organisation's (RTO's) terminations, as well as any sanctions, directions and conditions against an RTO, organisations/persons who work with that RTO or against any qualifications the RTO has on scope.

This section asks for details of all the officers as well as the number of training and assessment and administrative staff working for your organisation.

This question is related to third party arrangements, which no longer includes subcontracting, but does include brokering, in line with the Third Party and Brokering approval policy.

Yes, this includes superseded qualifications.

This question is only relevant for those qualifications that did not have student commencements in the last 18 months. RTOs are asked to nominate qualifications from the same Training Package that they have delivered with more than five commencements. The purpose of this question is to determine if the RTO has experience in this industry sector. However, RTOs will only be funded for those qualifications selected in this application.

This question links the part qualifications delivered by the RTO to the full qualification training packages in which they appear.

The type of evidence submitted is at the discretion of the RTO, however it should be in line with ASQA recommendations. Evidence should be no larger than 5mb and may include, but is not limited to, a validation plan for the qualification or an outcome report of the validation process.

For all third-party arrangements such as subcontracting or brokering, your RTO will need to provide information/details of each service that engages a third-party. Your RTO must supply details of all third-party arrangements in NSW excluding the exceptions identified below.

If your RTO subcontracts an individual as a trainer and/or assessor on a contracting basis and that engagement is directly with the individual, your RTO will not need to supply the Department with the details of that arrangement. However, if the individual is engaged as a trainer and/or assessor via a trust or company structure, your RTO will need to supply details of each arrangement.

If your RTO uses a broker that acts on behalf of a government department or associated government initiative, your RTO will not need to supply the Department with the details of that arrangement.

'Years of Experience' relates to the individual's years of experience in a management role.

Training that is arranged by an employer to train and/or upskill employees as part of their job. When answering question 8.4, the response should relate to full qualification delivery (EFQ and TPFQ programs).

The NSW Market Assessment is intended to serve as a high-level guide to the occupational demand and training supply in NSW ahead of the Smart and Skilled 2023-24 Application. It does not replace the NSW Skills List and the qualifications on the NSW Skills List are eligible for government subsidy under NSW Smart and Skilled. The NSW Market Assessment highlights the occupational markets where Training Services NSW is aiming to increase enrolments.

Training Services NSW will consider any application from Established NSW RTOs for any qualification on the NSW Skills List, regardless of whether the qualification is on the NSW Market Assessment. RTOs classified as an Interstate RTO can apply for a Qualification/Region/Program identified in the NSW Market Assessment.

The NSW Market Assessment is underpinned by extensive quantitative analysis of enrolment-level data from the Total VET Activity and Smart and Skilled datasets, occupation level data from the ABS, and inputs from the DoE Shortage Analysis and DPC Shortage Indices. The NSW Market Assessment has also undergone qualitative review by Training Services NSW.

An Interstate RTO (as listed on the NSW RTO Classification List) is limited to only applying to deliver full qualification training in the occupational markets identified on the NSW Market Assessment.

If an Interstate RTO is approved for Smart and Skilled, the Smart and Skilled Contract allows Providers to operate Out of Region, in a limited way (see clause 18.3 of the Smart and Skilled Contract).

Additionally regarding the above question: Particularly where organisations have reached out to our organisation identifying a need for our quality training in regional areas.

Answer: 

Interstate RTOs (as listed on the NSW RTO Classification List) are limited to applying for the occupational markets that are flagged on the NSW Market Assessment for Interstate RTO eligibility. There are currently no exemptions to this.

After 2 December 2022, Training Services NSW will compare the applications submitted to the NSW Market Assessment. As a result of the gap analysis, additional occupational markets may become available to Interstate RTOs to apply for under the second round of applications. Please refer to the Request for under-supplied occupational markets process section for more information.

Training Services NSW will keep the list as it is, and no changes will occur at this time.

Column H of the NSW Market Assessment: “Interstate RTO Eligibility” indicates which occupational markets are open to interstate RTOs with the letter “Y” for Yes.

To be classified as an Established NSW RTO you need to either provide evidence that your RTO has its principal place of business in NSW, or if the principal place of business is outside of NSW, demonstrate that your RTO has trained sufficient numbers of NSW commencements within a calendar year (2020, 2021 or 2022). The criteria can be seen here.

To meet the criteria to be reclassified as an Established NSW RTO, RTOs will need to provide Training Services NSW with the following:

• Student data to demonstrate 40 or more enrolments (in accredited training courses) of NSW students in a single calendar year, or 50% or more of the provider's total yearly enrolments being NSW students.   
• The data for each student must include:
  • a unique student reference or identification number/code,
  • a residence or business address including postcode and state (in NSW),
  • the accredited full or part qualifications including the qualification code and name, or in the case of locally developed skillsets, units of competency
  • the training start date.
• Accredited training activity within a calendar year can make up the 40 enrolments, including full qualifications, part qualifications/skills sets and fee-for-service training. 
• RTOs must also provide an attestation confirming the validity of the data supplied as per the instructions below by reply email. The required wording for this attestation is as follows:

[The applicant] warrants and represents that the information it has provided is:

• complete, true and accurate in all material respects; and
• not misleading in any material way, nor rendered misleading by a failure to disclose other information.

A request to review an RTO Classification must be received no later than COB on 23 November 2022. Only requests which include all information set out above will be considered. No late requests will be accepted.

Under Smart and Skilled, NSW is divided into 15 regions. The breakdown of the regions and postcodes can be found through this link: Regions, Sub-regions and Postcodes.

The Region(s) that an RTO applies for are determined by the location where training is delivered, regardless of the mode of delivery. To be clear, where any component of training includes face-to-face delivery, the region will be the face-to-face delivery location. For any training which is fully online, the region would be where the student is undertaking training. This location would be the residential location, or the workplace location if it is employer-directed training.

For training funded by Financial Caps (Entitlement Full Qualifications and Targeted Priorities Full Qualifications) where RTOs deliver fully online, your organisation should select regions where most students are expected to be located. For example, if your RTO will deliver mostly to students in Region A and may have one-off or small numbers of enrolments from other regions, your RTO should apply for Region A only. The criteria related to Regions and Financial Caps in the Smart and Skilled Contract (see clause 18.3) only apply to face-to-face training, meaning that online training may be delivered to students outside of the region that is allocated the Financial Cap.

For apprenticeships and traineeships training, apply for all Regions where you expect students to either attend face-to-face to training or to access fully online training.

Training that is arranged by an employer to train and/or upskill employees as part of their job. When answering question 8.4, the response should relate to full qualification delivery (EFQ and TPFQ programs).

RTOs who applied for part qualifications only in Cycle 1 will not be included in Cycle 2. The second cycle of applications relates only to full qualifications.

The Smart and Skilled application for 2023-2024 assesses an organisation’s general capacity to deliver part qualifications. RTOs that applied for part qualifications and who are offered a Smart and Skilled contract for 2023-24 can apply for funding of specific part qualifications through a Training Needs Identification process.

Training Services NSW undertook a comparison of the total applications received from RTOs for occupational markets against the NSW Market Assessment.

The Market Assessment combines multiple data sources to identify the types and volume of training to prioritise for the NSW government subsidised VET market for 2023-24. This aims to strengthen the alignment of Smart and Skilled training to labour market needs, maintain a competitive, high quality training market and provide students with a diverse range of training options across all regions of NSW. 

If this gap analysis highlighted that RTO capacity falls short of the level of supply and market diversity determined by the NSW Market Assessment, then Training Services NSW may ask eligible RTOs that submitted an application to bid for additional training opportunities.

Some occupational markets require more RTOs to apply for additional commencement capacity to meet the projected labour market needs. The occupational markets included in Cycle 2 are available here.   

RTOs with the identified occupational markets on their scope of registration, who made an initial application (Cycle 1), will be invited to make a request in Cycle 2. If an RTO has already applied for the identified occupational market(s) in Cycle 1, they will not be able to make changes to the information submitted.

An RTO will be able to make the following changes (only when aligned to the gap analysis results and their scope of registration):

• Add a new program to their application
• Add a new region to their application
• Add a new qualification to their application
• Add new combinations of the above to address the gaps identified

No. Interstate RTOs cannot be reclassified during Cycle 2 of the application process.

Cycle 2 will not allow changes to the information provided in the initial application (Cycle 1).

An RTO will not be able to make changes to their initial application. This includes:

• Region details submitted
• Qualification details submitted
• Organisational details submitted
• An occupational market already included in their initial application, including the commencement capacity requested for that occupational market.

No. It does not mean that any application assessment has been passed. Cycle 2 gives RTOs the opportunity to apply for gaps in occupational markets based on their scope of registration.

The bulk upload template is not available for Cycle 2.

You can submit additional supporting information relating to any new qualifications your RTO is applying for in Section 11. You should submit any documents that demonstrate validation of assessment or a review of your training and assessment strategies for the added qualifications only. Any documents uploaded that do not relate to the new qualifications applied for in Cycle 2 will not be considered during the assessment period.

No. The second cycle of applications will only add to the qualifications or regions already applied for.

After submitting your application, you can view and download the updated PDF with Cycle 2 information via your RTO’s application portal Dashboard.

No, your RTO will not be able to resubmit or make changes to your Financial Viability Assessment submission.

You may apply for qualifications that have been recently added to your scope of registration on training.gov.au if those qualifications have been identified as being part of a market gap in Cycle 2.

When trying to access the portal, you might come across an error that reads “Your connection is not private/ not secure" or the portal may not load instantly. 
If you are receiving this error, you should first try to reload the page and clear the browser cache or cookies.

Otherwise, you can fix this by accessing the site through https://www.rto.nsw.gov.au rather than rto.nsw.gov.au.