Credential Policy¶

Standards for Registered Training Organisations · Effective 1 July 2025 · Version dated 10 December 2025 (formatting corrections only)

This policy cannot be read as a standalone document and must be read in conjunction with the Standards for RTOs Outcome Standards and Compliance Requirements.

This document is a structured verbatim reproduction of the Credential Policy. Requirement text is copied exactly from the source. Container structure (headings, anchors, frontmatter) is RTOpacks-owned. For RTOpacks People-module mapping see ../standards/compliance-reference.md.

Purpose¶

This policy outlines relevant credentials for trainers and assessors undertaking particular training and assessment activities or roles. This policy forms part of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations and must be read in conjunction with the Outcome Standards and the Compliance Requirements.

All registered training organisations are required to comply with this policy, in addition to the Outcome Standards and the Compliance Requirements.

The corresponding Outcome Standards are referenced throughout for ease of reference. This policy cannot be read as a standalone list of credentialling requirements — various Outcome Standards contain additional credentialling requirements.

Section 1 — Credentials for the delivery of training and assessment¶

This section specifies credential requirements for individuals delivering training and assessment for all training products other than AQF qualifications or skill sets from the Training and Education (TAE) Training Package. Standard 3.2 also sets out additional requirements for individuals delivering training and assessment for training products from the TAE Training Package.

Subject to Section 2 (TAE products), all people delivering training and/or assessment must either:

have one of the training and assessment credentials outlined at Section 1A; or
be actively working towards one of the training and assessment credentials at Section 1C, and work under the direction of a trainer or assessor with one of the relevant training and assessment credentials at Section 1E; or
have one of the training and assessment credentials outlined at Section 1D, and work under the direction of a trainer or assessor with one of the relevant training and assessment credentials at Section 1E.

Section 1A — Training and assessment credentials¶

To deliver training and assessment without direction, including making assessment judgements, the person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor;
TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training;
A secondary teaching qualification and one of the following credentials:
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set; or
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor; or
TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor.

Section 1B — Assessment only credentials¶

To conduct assessment only, including making assessment judgements, the person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor;
TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set;
TAESS00001 Assessor Skill Set;
A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training;
A secondary teaching qualification and one of the following credentials:
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set; or
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor; or
TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor.

A person who is actively working towards a training and assessment credential can deliver training and contribute to assessment (including conducting assessment and collecting assessment evidence), provided they work under the direction of a trainer or assessor. Working towards these qualifications does not qualify the person to make assessment judgements.

Section 1C — Actively working towards a training and assessment credential¶

To be actively working towards a credential, the person must:

be enrolled in and have commenced training in one of the following training and assessment credentials:
TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor; or
TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training or its successor; and
be making satisfactory progress to enable the credential to be completed within two years of commencement.

A person who holds any of the credentials listed in this section can deliver training and contribute to assessment (including conducting assessment and collecting assessment evidence), provided they work under the direction of a trainer or assessor, but is not permitted to make assessment judgements.

This section applies if a person does not hold the credentials listed under Section 1A, which would permit them to deliver training and assessment without direction. RTOs must ensure that the credential held by trainers and assessors in accordance with this section is relevant to their role, taking into account the nature of the VET student cohort and the delivery context.

Section 1D — Training and assessment under direction¶

To deliver training and conduct assessment under direction, a person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAESS00021 Facilitation Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00030 Volunteer Trainer Delivery and Assessment Contribution Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00029 Volunteer Trainer Delivery Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00020 Workplace Trainer Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00028 Work Skill Instructor Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00022 Young Learner Delivery Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00015 Enterprise Trainer and Assessor Skill Set;
TAESS00003 Enterprise Trainer and Assessor Skill Set;
TAESS00008 Enterprise Trainer — Mentoring Skill Set;
TAESS00013 Enterprise Trainer — Mentoring Skill Set;
TAESS00007 Enterprise Trainer — Presenting Skill Set;
TAESS00014 Enterprise Trainer — Presenting Skill Set;
A secondary teaching qualification.¹

¹ A person who holds only a secondary teaching qualification must deliver training and conduct assessment under direction per Section 1D. To deliver training and conduct assessment without direction, the requirements under Section 1A apply.

The RTO must be able to justify the relevance of the person's credential to the VET student cohort being delivered to.

A trainer and assessor who satisfies the requirements of Section 1E is permitted to provide direction to others delivering training and assessment in accordance with Sections 1C and 1D of this policy, or to experts engaged in accordance with Standard 3.3.

Where a trainer or assessor is providing direction, they are responsible for providing oversight, guidance and quality assurance in respect of a person who does not have the full training and assessment credential to ensure the quality of training and assessment delivered by that person.

The requirements above apply to all trainers or assessors giving direction regardless of whether the person receiving direction is an industry expert, holds a relevant skill set, or is actively working towards a credential.

Section 1E — Providing direction on the delivery of training and assessment¶

A person providing direction must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor;
TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
A secondary teaching qualification and one of the following credentials:
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set; or
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor; or
TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor;
A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training.

Section 2 — Credential requirements for the delivery of training and assessment for training products from the TAE Training Package¶

This section specifies credential requirements for a person delivering training and assessment for a qualification or skill set in the TAE Training Package, for the purposes of Standard 3.2. Standards 3.2 and 3.3 set out additional requirements.

To deliver training and assessment for an AQF qualification or skill set from the TAE Training Package, the person must either:

hold one of the training and assessment credentials outlined at Section 2A; or
hold one of the training and assessment credentials outlined at Section 2B and work under the direction of a trainer or assessor with one of the relevant training and assessment credentials at Section 2C.

Section 2A — Delivery of TAE training and assessment¶

To deliver training and assessment for any AQF qualification or skill set from the TAE Training Package or its successor, the person must hold the qualification or skill set at least to the level being delivered.

To deliver training and assessment for the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor, or the TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor, the person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training or its successor;
TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training;
TAE50111 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training;
TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development;
TAE50211 Diploma of Training Design and Development; or
A higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training.

A person who holds one of the credentials listed in this section can deliver training and contribute to assessment (including conducting assessment and collecting assessment evidence) for the credentials specified below from the TAE training package, provided they work under the direction of a trainer or assessor who holds a relevant Diploma or higher-level qualification (as per Section 2C), but cannot make assessment judgements.

Section 2B — Delivery of TAE training and assessment under direction¶

To deliver training and assessment under direction for the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor, TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor, or TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor, the person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor;
TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
A secondary teaching qualification and one of the following credentials:
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set; or
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor; or
TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor.

A trainer and assessor who satisfies the requirements of Section 2C is permitted to provide direction to others delivering training and assessment for a training product from the TAE Training Package in accordance with Section 2B.

Where a trainer or assessor is providing direction, they are responsible for providing oversight, guidance and quality assurance in respect of an individual to ensure the quality of training and assessment delivered by that person.

The RTO is responsible for determining the nature and extent of direction required and any necessary restrictions, and ensuring the quality of training and assessment is consistent with the Outcome Standards.

Section 2C — Providing direction on the delivery of TAE training and assessment¶

To provide direction related to the delivery of training and assessment for an AQF qualification or skill set from the TAE Training Package, the person must hold one of the following credentials:

TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training or its successor;
TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training;
TAE50111 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training;
TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development;
TAE50211 Diploma of Training Design and Development; or
A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training.

Section 3 — Credentials for Validation of Assessment¶

This section specifies credential requirements for individuals conducting validation of assessment for the purposes of Standard 1.5. Standard 1.5 also sets out additional requirements for individuals participating in validation.

To conduct validation in relation to any AQF qualification or skill set from the TAE Training Package that enables individuals to make assessment judgements (as specified in Sections 1A and 1B of this policy), the person(s) conducting the validation must collectively meet the requirements of Section 3B.
To conduct validation in relation to any other training product, the person(s) conducting the validation must collectively meet the requirements of Section 3A.

Section 3A — Validation of assessment for training products excluding the TAE Training Package¶

For all other validation activity, at least one of the people undertaking the validation must have one of the following training and assessment validation credentials:

TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor;
TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment;
A secondary teaching qualification and TAESS00024 VET Delivered to School Students Teacher Enhancement Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00019 Assessor Skill Set or its successor;
TAESS00011 Assessor Skill Set;
TAESS00001 Assessor Skill Set; or
A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training.

Section 3B — Validation of assessment for AQF qualifications or skill sets from the TAE Training Package¶

To validate in relation to any AQF qualification or skill set from the TAE Training Package that enables individuals to make assessment judgements, at least one of the people undertaking the validation activity must have an AQF qualification or skill set at least to the level being validated.

Glossary¶

Actively working towards — has the meaning given by Section 1C of this policy.
Assessment judgement — has the same meaning as in the Standards for RTOs.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) — has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.
Diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training — a qualification that satisfies the requirements of the AQF at level 5 or higher, with a focus on training and assessing adults and relevance to delivery and assessment of VET and competency-based training. The qualification does not need to include "adult education" or "vocational education and training" in the title, however units completed within the qualification need to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to train adults and teach VET. The academic transcript or record of results provides the evidence.
Direction — has the same meaning as in the Standards for RTOs.
Secondary teaching qualification — a credential issued by a higher education provider (as defined in s.5 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011) which would enable the individual to satisfy the academic requirements for registration as a secondary school teacher in accordance with the registration requirements in at least one State or Territory.
Standards for RTOs — the standards made under subsection 185(1) of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.
Training product — has the same meaning as in the Standards for RTOs.
Validation — has the same meaning as in the Standards for RTOs.

Version history¶

Date	Changes	Detail
10 Dec 2025	Corrections to formatting. No content changes.	Section 1A (page 5): bullet point added in front of "A diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training" to correct a formatting error. Spacing of bullet points at 1A and 1B (page 5) amended to mirror formatting of other sections.

Summary — credential sections at a glance¶

ID	Applies to	Requirement summary
1A	Delivery of training AND assessment without direction (non-TAE)	Cert IV in T&A, higher qualification, or secondary teaching + assessor skill set
1B	Assessment only (non-TAE)	Cert IV T&A, assessor skill sets, or higher qualification
1C	Actively working towards credential, under direction	Enrolled and making progress to Cert IV or Diploma within 2 years
1D	Training and assessment under direction (non-TAE)	Facilitation / Volunteer / Workplace / Enterprise skill sets
1E	Providing direction (non-TAE)	Cert IV T&A, Diploma, or secondary teaching + assessor skill set
2A	Delivering TAE training products	TAE product at level being delivered; or Diploma-level TAE qual
2B	Delivering TAE under direction	Cert IV T&A or equivalent
2C	Providing direction on TAE delivery	Diploma TAE or higher-level qualification
3A	Validation (non-TAE)	At least one validator holds Cert IV T&A, assessor skill set, or higher
3B	Validation of TAE products	At least one validator holds the TAE product being validated or higher

Source: Credential Policy — Standards for Registered Training Organisations, published by the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Version dated 10 December 2025 (formatting corrections only; no content changes). Effective 1 July 2025.