Annual Declaration of Compliance

It’s that time of year folks… time to get your annual declaration of compliance in! I’m going to talk to you about standards 2.1, 2.2, 8.4 and 8.6, and what you need to do to get up to date.

Rest assured, this is much more than a simple box-ticking exercise. Did you know that ASQA investigate 5% of RTOs? If you’re one of those, you’ve got to make sure you’re ready. Even if you are not investigated, there are so many good reasons why you should take this seriously. In this episode I’m going to go through how to complete the annual declaration of compliance, and how this is going to help your organisation.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why you should do an annual compliance audit
• Why the annual audit should be combined with ongoing monitoring
• The importance of a continuous improvement strategy
• The benefits of monthly meetings
• How to identify weaknesses in your organisation
• How to do your annual declaration of compliance
• How to conduct an internal audit
• Why it’s dangerous to not take your annual declaration seriously
• How best to deal with ASQA
• How you can benefit from external help from a company like Vivacity
• What you need to do if you’re newly registered
• What happens if you don’t complete the annual declaration of compliance

For more information on submitting your annual Declaration of compliance, go to: https://www.asqa.gov.au/news-events/news/annual-declaration-compliance-open-until-31-march-2021

Transcript

Unknown: 0:03

In this podcast, I'm going to be going through complying and reporting, which is standards 2.1 2.2 8.4 and 8.6. Because this month, we are actually required to submit our annual declaration of compliance. So what does that mean? If you are submitting your annual declaration of compliance, it's not just a simple tick box, it's not where you just tick it and go, yes, I'm compliant in everything. Because what happens is ask, we're actually randomly select 5% of those surveys that are submitted. So the annual declaration of compliance. And from that, though, identify where, where there are artios, who could be non compliant, and they don't necessarily search for the ones that are non compliant. Because what they want to identify is that no, sometimes you will have non compliances. And you need to actually identify that. And the big thing is putting strategies in place for improving those non compliances. And that's what they focus on is how are you improving the practices. And one of the things that you should be doing is conducting an annual audit of your organization to identify where those gaps are. The reporting period is from the first of January to the 31st of December, and it is due at the end of March to be submitted. So what are some of the strategies that you can put in place to ensure that you are compliant for your annual declaration of compliance? So one of the things that I recommend is that compliance should be an ongoing thing that you're managing, it shouldn't be something that you go, oh, okay, I've now got to submit a annual declaration compliance, let's quickly run around and figure out where we are compliant and non compliant. One of the things that we recommend with our clients is that every month, we review a couple of standards, I actually hold a master mind or a master class webinar once a month where I, we have a continuous improvement cycle. And we have a look at the a couple of standards each month. And I explained what are the requirements for complying with that legislation, but also practices and strategies that they can put in place. And with our consult members, they also get all the documentation. So it actually teaches them how to implement the documentation into their RTO. So some of the things that we recommend is we have a continuous improvement strategy which identifies within that continuous improvement strategy. No, who are we collecting data from? So who are the key stakeholders? reviewing that feedback? How are we doing that? How are we adjusting our training and assessment to meet industry needs, and then also holding regular meetings to review that data that we've collected. And that just makes it so much easier than having to do one audit, where you're just really looking diving deep into everything. And then when you do do that one audit is so much easier, because you've already reviewed each of the standards, a couple other standards each month, so it makes it so much easier. So the other key strategy that we recommend to our clients is hold regular meetings. So you should hold a regular monthly meeting. And that monthly meeting is where you're reviewing your standard compliance requirements. The ones that we recommend that you should cover at your standard meeting is no industry consultation. So who did you consult with? What should you learn? And how are you going to improve your practices based on what you learned? The other one is a trainers report. In particular, if your trainer does not attend your monthly meeting, it's providing a report and feedback of how they went in the last month. What was the most challenging student or class that they had? What was the best the most outstanding student or class that they had? Who are what are some suggestions for improvement? Are there any assessment tools that need to be improved or perhaps validated? Is there any changes in legislation that's going to affect the documentation that you're providing as part of your training, so it's a great way for trainers to be able to provide feedback on how they're going with their training and assessment because basically, they're at the coalface of running the training in your organization. The other one is having the opportunity for your team members to be able to provide an opportunity for improvement. So it's feedback that you can get from your students, your trainers and admin, staff, employers, stakeholders, it can be from anywhere and it's where When someone identifies a weakness within your organization, they actually come up with a suggested solution on how to improve that practice as well. So coming with a solution, not just a problem. So it's where you record your WHS incidences, and your complaints and appeals process. So all of these tie together to ensure that you're meeting the requirements of clause 2.1, and 2.2, which is all about continuous improvement, and how are you doing that within your organization. So what we recommend with your monthly meeting is that you schedule a regular day each month, so the same day each month, that could be the first Monday of each month or the second Wednesday of each month. Just as long as you've got it set in your diary, you should hold the meeting if even if it's just a meeting for one. So you get into the habit of having those meetings. And that could include just documenting. Were there any WHS instances, were there any complaints and appeals and just going through that process, record the actual data that's collected? So it's a really good way to formalize the informal industry consultation, so where you have a conversation in the hallway, and on a phone call over dinner, and you formalize that by putting it into your minutes of your meeting of your monthly meeting? And that could that should include who did we consult with? What did we learn and what have we implemented into our training practices. The other one is recording when you have attended any vector professional development. So that's also in the minutes. And this meeting ties together all of your compliance requirements. And it's a great way to provide evidence of holding your monthly meeting, but also collecting that data and recording that data within your meeting minutes. Okay, on to the annual annual sisters check or doing your annual declaration of compliance. So one of the ways that we recommend for not only submitting your annual declaration of compliance, but it's also a way for ensuring that you are compliant at all times is route is conducting an internal audit to ensure that you are complying with the standards. So the procedure that we have for conducting an internal audit is to really identify who should be part of the process, notify the team have a schedule, review minutes from the previous 12 months. So what came up over the last 12 months? And that includes, you know, opportunities for improvement complaints and appeals WHS instances and then how did you act on them. So it's really looking at, you know, validation, your third party arrangements and also then reviewing your legislation. So the plan can be you source all that information and review it all. So you source it, we also recommend that you go on to ask or.gov.au and look at if there's any fact sheets, or any changes that have happened within the the compliance requirements for the legislation and the standards that you're going to be reviewing. review all the other relevant state and Commonwealth legislation that is relevant to your industry sector. And what you're teaching your students complete a full report using the Asquith self assessment tool, which you can download from asco.gov. Today, you and it's a great tool that you can use that makes sure that you cover off each of the standards. And one of the things that I recommend is whilst you're using the score self assessment tool is that you also have the Users Guide to the standards and you're reviewing that at the same time because a user's guide gives you case studies, and gives you ideas of what you should be looking for when you're reviewing and undertaking internal audit. So complete a full report using that tool and then provide that report to the CEO. And then review any non compliances and identify opportunities for improvement that come out of the report. Now one of the things that you can do when you do your annual declaration of compliance is you state that you did do an internal audit. These are the areas that you found there were gaps. And this is the action that you're taking to resolve those gaps that you have identified. And that is sufficient for identifying that you have actually done a full review of your how you're complying with the standards. I see in the future with the vet reform and the lead changes in legislation that this is going to be one of them. The standards that they're really going to be focused on and strengthen in some way, because I think the way it is at the moment, there's too much of a risk of people just flicking through and just going Yes, yes, yes, I'm compliant. Now, the the risk with just ticking? Yes, yes, yes, by the way, is if aspar, do come in and do an audit of your RTO. And they find critical non compliances, they can pull you up on the fact that you submitted a annual declaration of compliance, and said that you were compliant in all those areas. So that's supposed to be what they're doing with that. So it does put your RTO at risk. So this is complying with standard or clause 8.4, which is your annual declaration of compliance. So the annual declaration of compliance opens up mid, mid February. And then and the CEO is emailed the the a unique link for completing the survey. So the annual declaration of compliance. So this unique link is for your RTL only, so you can't go and use someone else's link because otherwise, you'd be completing an annual declaration of compliance for someone else. So it should be for your own, it will go to the CEOs email inbox, and that goes in, that was sent out on Friday the 12th of February. The annual declaration is an online form and is available until the 31st of March. So you have until midnight on the 31st of March to submit your annual declaration of compliance. Now, a question you may have is what if you didn't receive the email from a square. So if you are the CEO, you should be looking in your spam junk folder and check that your address email address is correctly listed on training.gov.u.au. If the address is incorrect, you need to update your email address on ASP. NET to make sure that is going to the correct CEO. You're also can contact us info line to request that ASCO rescind the email. So that is an opportunity that you can do that as well. Now as well, I have put a update on their website. So you can go to the squat FAQ page page, and it tells you all about the annual declaration of compliance and what you need in order to submit. So when you submit your report, you'll have the opportunity to be able to download a PDF, which you can also print or you can get an email to yourself. And I highly recommend that you keep a record of that because that's evidence that you completed your annual declaration of compliance. But there's also a benchmark for your next annual declaration of compliance. So you're benchmarking how you went this year for when you do it again next year? And how have you improved those practices throughout your organization. So the annual declaration of compliance is not only a requirement for you, to submit these as part of the standards, it's also a really good quality improvement process throughout your organization. So it's confirming to ask why that you systematically monitor your compliance and implement preventative and corrective action were considered necessary. So that's what's really important about doing the annual declaration of compliance, the best way to ensure that you are compliant is to undertake an internal audit, or better still is get someone external to your organization such as veracity, who can come in and conduct a systems check of your organization against the standards for artios. And what we do as well, when we come in and do an audit of your RTO is we provide you with an action plan of what you need to do in order to improve those practices. And you can use these as evidence as part of your annual declaration of compliance. So all non compliances should be recorded and ministered at your monthly meeting. So you've got a record of what that you have completed it. Now, what if you were newly registered, so if you're an RTO that were registered before the 31st of December last year, you are still required to submit an annual declaration of compliance. Even if you're registered on the 30th of December, you still need to submit an annual declaration of compliance. So you will be required to do that and you will receive the email to the CEO if your initial registration commenced after the 31st. So you submit you received your registration from you know January February, then you're not required to do an annual declaration of compliance, you will be required to do it next year, though. So even if you're an initial registration and haven't delivered any training, you still need to do an annual declaration of compliance. So how do you complete the annual declaration of compliance form. So first of all, check that email, find where it is and make sure that you've got the link, one of the things that we recommend is do that self assessment first offline, and then use the data that you've collected from that, to enter it into the online form, you can save the form, but you know, with the internet and issues with doing things online, you don't want to lose all of that data that you've entered. So I recommend that you do it on a separate document verse. And then you can even know type it up into the self assessment form, and then copy and paste it over. And that's the best strategy, I believe, for getting prepared for annual declaration of compliance. So what happens if you don't complete the annual declaration? Well, the biggest issue is that is unknown compliance, and it's critically non compliance. So if you do not submit the requested declaration to ask, ask what has the right to take further regulatory action, which puts your art you're at risk of non compliance and possible cancellation of your registration. We have had in the past a large number of artios, we've heard of and seen it, who received an intent to cancel registration from aska, due to them not completing their annual declaration. And this includes, and in particular, caught out a lot of those artios that are not operating at the moment or haven't delivered any training. So if you don't you put your whole RTO risk of cancellation. Can you apply for an extension? No, our school will not give you any extension. For late submission, you've got a whole month to get ready. So you should be submitting it as soon as possible. And you've got that month to complete an annual audit. So you should be prepared. So what do you need to do the best method is get a systems check or get a do an internal audit within your organization, review what you are doing against the policies and procedures within your Policies and Procedures Manual and complete the R square self assessment tool. And then you'll get a record of those when you submit those within your report that you get back. So that's it. So that's the annual declaration of compliance and complying with standard and clauses 2.1 and 2.2, as well as 8.4, which is submitting the annual declaration of compliance. If you have any questions or concerns about that, submitting your annual declaration of compliance, no, by all means get in contact with diversity. We are able to help we could even conduct a systems check of your organization to identify where those gaps may be and how you can improve those gaps within your organization. Also, just a reminder, we have the eight critical drivers to RTO success masterclass, which is run on the first Wednesday of each month. So if you haven't done so I highly recommend that you get on and register for that because we're going to be focusing on one critical driver per month, which is all about the business side of running your RTO not just compliance because we can't survive on compliance alone. Thanks very much. I'll catch you again soon.