Being assessed

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have trained assessors who can assess your skills for courses they are authorised to deliver by their State Training Authority. Some RTOs may require you to enrol in a course before they begin assessing your skills.

Before you start

• Check how much support your assessor can give you. You should feel comfortable asking them questions and discussing any difficulties.
• Find out how long the RTO will take to process your application. About three weeks should be reasonable from when you make your application.
• Give yourself plenty of time to prepare your application. It could take to a few weeks to organise.
• Check in advance about any fees for skills recognition. Some RTOs may charge the usual enrolment fee for the subject or qualification you are seeking recognition for.

Where can you be assessed?

If they need you to demonstrate your skills, your assessor may arrange a venue where you can show what you do. This could be in a classroom or in your own workplace.

The process

The first step for assessment is to apply for skills recognition and provide any physical evidence you've collected. Sometimes, the assessor needs more evidence to make their decision. This might be because:

• the evidence you provided, though strong, did not relate clearly to the units of competency you applied for
• you did not give enough evidence of your skills
• the evidence was not current - you need to show not only that you once had these skills but that you still do
• some of the evidence you provided was inconsistent

The assessor will give you an opportunity to provide more information or demonstrate your skills and will clearly explain what kind of evidence is needed.

Finally, they will give you official notification of the assessment result. If you are successful, this means you will be given one of the following:

• a qualification
• a statement of attainment for one or more units of competency but not for the whole qualification

Appealing

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.