Reaccreditation, amendments, short-term renewal and expiry

What you need to know

The content and outcomes of courses accredited by the VRQA need to be monitored and evaluated. This helps keep the course relevant and current and allows ongoing improvements.

Most accredited courses expire after 5 years, and you need to apply for reaccreditation before that date.

In exceptional circumstances, we may grant a short-term renewal for a maximum of 12 months.

You can apply to make amendments to an accredited course at any time.

The course copyright owner is responsible for communicating approved reaccreditation, renewal or amendments to licence holders and anyone with permission to deliver the course.

Course reaccreditation

To start the application for course reaccreditation, send us a completed declaration form:

We recommend applying for course reaccreditation at least 6 months before the expiry date. This will ensure the course remains valid while we process the application.

Course reaccreditation uses the same process as the initial course accreditation, but we have removed the need to submit preliminary research or a course concept proposal. You complete the declaration form and then proceed to the course development stage.

Amending an accredited course

To amend an accredited course, send us a completed application form:

If the change is minor and does not affect the course outcome, it will generally be approved as an amendment.

Examples of minor changes include:

  • adding or deleting units from an elective list
  • updating units within a course to a later equivalent version, including core and elective units, and any pre-requisite units
  • minor updates to enterprise units of competency that do not change the outcome of the unit and do not require a code or title change, such as:
    • replacing pre-requisite units of competency with updated equivalent units
    • editing or deleting enhancements to units of competency
    • changes to a range statement or evidence guide – for example, additions to resources due to changes in technology
    • changes to copyright ownership
    • typographical errors
    • updates because of legislative changes in an industry, such as occupational health and safety or licensing requirements which need to be incorporated.

Any significant changes may require a new course accreditation.

Examples of significant changes include:

  • adding or removing pre-requisite units of competency from the core units within an accredited course
  • changing a core unit where it affects the outcome of the unit
  • adding or deleting one or more units of competency from a core unit
  • adding a new stream to a qualification
  • changing the title of an accredited course
  • changing the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level of an accredited course or changing from a course in … to an AQF qualification
  • changing Victorian units of competency, resulting in a change of outcome and requiring a change to the code or title
  • adding elements or performance criteria, resulting in a change of outcome
  • removing elements or performance criteria, resulting in a change of outcome
  • changes to assessment advice in the evidence guide, which mandates a particular approach to assessment
  • changes that impact on resources for delivery or assessmentchanges to a unit of competency, in addition to those above, that result in the unit no longer being deemed equivalent to the superseded unit.

Short-term renewal

To apply for a short-term renewal, send us a completed application form:

You must explain the exceptional circumstances which support the application. This may include if the:

  • outcomes of the accredited course are to be incorporated into a national training package scheduled for endorsement shortly after accreditation expires
  • accredited course leads to a legislative, regulatory, or licensed outcome, and it is specified that the course must be completed to achieve this outcome, but the relevant legislation is under review and expected to be finalised shortly after the accreditation expires.

It is not considered an exceptional circumstance if the owner of the course copyright has delayed starting the reaccreditation process.

Requests for short-term renewal cannot be made if accreditation has expired. We will usually only consider one short-term renewal request per accredited course.

Submitting your forms

Forms for reaccreditation, amendment, or renewal must:

  • be received from the course copyright owner as specified in the contact details listed on training.gov.au
  • have all sections completed
  • be signed by a CEO or an Executive Director.

Completed forms, together with any required attachments, should be saved as a .zip file.

Email these to vrqa.vet@education.vic.gov.au with the subject line Attention: Course reaccreditation/amendment/renewal form [code and title of current accredited course].

After you submit your form, we will check to make sure it is complete and contact you if we need more information.

We will then send you an invoice for payment. Our website lists our current fees for accreditation, amendment, or renewal.

Once the fee has been paid, we will assess your application form against the AQTF 2021 Standards for Accredited Courses.

You can also email us if you have questions about your form submission.