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Facilities, Resources and Equipment — Practice Guide

ASQA Practice Guide · Quality Area 1 — Training and Assessment · Standards 1.8 · Published 17 June 2025 · Version 1.0

Verbatim reproduction of the ASQA Practice Guide, extracted from the source PDF with layout preservation (via pdftotext -layout). The body below preserves the original two-column table structure — performance indicators on the left, example activities and known risks on the right.

Source: https://www.asqa.gov.au/for-providers/standards-for-RTOs/practice-guides

Companion docs: - standards-outcome.md / standards-compliance.md — the underlying legislative text - standards-explanatory.md — the Explanatory Statement commentary - compliance-reference.md — RTOpacks module × standard mapping


Practice Guide
Facilities, resources and equipment
(Standard 1.8)
Ver
S 1.0
Published 17 June 2025
            Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations
                           Quality Area 1 – Training and Assessment

What are the key concepts?
The following key concepts are covered in this practice guide:

 Standard 1.8
 •     Suitability of facilities, resources and equipment
 •     Access and safety
 •     Work placements


Achieving these Standards in practice
The following table lists examples of activities that may demonstrate compliance with the Standards, as
well as risks to mitigate or control. These examples are not a complete list of every activity or risk, nor
do all the activities listed need to be completed to satisfy compliance requirements. Rather, they are a
guide and should be considered within the context, size, scale and student cohorts of your RTO’s
operations.

     Standard 1.8: Facilities, resources and equipment for each training product are fit-for-purpose,
                                      safe, accessible and sufficient.
                                                                Example activities and considerations for
               Performance indicators
                                                                               compliance
 An NVR registered training organisation                    •   You can identify the facilities, resources and
 demonstrates:                                                  equipment required to deliver training and
  a. how it identifies the facilities, resources and            assessment for each training product you
     equipment required to deliver the training                 have on your scope of registration.
     product, including how it identifies which             •   You can demonstrate ownership and/or leasing
     facilities, resources and equipment will be                arrangements of facilities and appropriate
     provided by third parties instead of the                   student access to these facilities (where
     organisation;                                              appropriate access means students will have
  b. where facilities, resources and equipment                  sufficient access at reasonable times to
     are provided by the organisation or third                  practice and demonstrate their skills).
     parties – how the organisation ensures:                •   You can demonstrate copyright, fair use, or
      i. that the facilities, resources and                     licensing for all resources.
            equipment are, and will continue to be          •   You can demonstrate the systems you have in
            suitable and safe for use by VET                    place to monitor and assure the ongoing
            students;                                           suitability and safety of facilities, resources and
     ii. that VET students have access to the                   equipment, including where third parties
            facilities, resources and equipment they            provide these. For example, your:


            need to participate in the training and       o   facilities comply with all relevant
            assessment relevant to the training               Commonwealth, State and local
            product; and                                      government health and safety requirements
c.   it has documented strategies and                         and building codes
     procedures in place to identify and manage           o   facilities are large enough for your student
     risks associated with VET students using                 cohort(s) and contain suitable and sufficient
     facilities, resources and equipment when                 amenities (such as toilets and disability
     undertaking work-integrated learning, work               access)
     placements, or other community-based                 o   resources and equipment used in training
     learning as part of their learning.                      and assessment align with all requirements
                                                              set out in the training product
                                                          o   resources and equipment are
                                                              contemporary and relevant to current
                                                              industry practice, including any emerging
                                                              technologies
                                                          o   equipment for each training product is fit-
                                                              for-purpose, safe and regularly maintained.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate how you approach
                                                          making reasonable adjustments to facilities,
                                                          resources and equipment as required for
                                                          students with varying needs, while still ensuring
                                                          the requirements of the training product will be
                                                          met.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate that students are made
                                                          aware prior to enrolment of indicative costs they
                                                          will incur for resources and equipment.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate how any simulated
                                                          environments used for training and assessment
                                                          reflect current industry settings.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate your active commitment
                                                          to work health and safety in your training
                                                          environment(s) – for example by ensuring:
                                                          o safety risks or hazards are promptly
                                                              identified and addressed
                                                          o students receive guidance and instruction
                                                              prior to using equipment
                                                          o any incidents involving facilities and/or
                                                              equipment are investigated and corrective
                                                              measures are put in place to prevent
                                                              recurrence.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate the specific strategies
                                                          you use to manage risks associated with
                                                          facilities and equipment used for work
                                                          placement or work integrated learning - for
                                                          example how you:
                                                          o engage with employers to understand
                                                                potential risks to students, collaboratively
                                                                identify strategies for mitigating those risks,
                                                                and agree on roles and responsibilities for
                                                                putting these strategies in place
                                                          o manage concerns raised by students, staff
                                                                or employers during work placements.
                                                      •   You can demonstrate how you approach the
                                                          design and delivery of online training and
                                                          assessment to ensure students can adequately
                                                          demonstrate the required skills via virtual
                                                          supervision or observation.
                                                              Known risks to quality outcomes

                                                      •   Maximising student enrolment numbers without
                                                          considering the availability of facilities,

                                                         resources or equipment including suitable
                                                         placements, or capacity to support and assess
                                                         students while on work placement.
                                                    •    Having poor quality facilities, equipment and
                                                         resources that do not enable students to
                                                         sufficiently gain the required skills for the
                                                         training product.
                                                    •    Not adequately considering the
                                                         appropriateness of delivering or assessing the
                                                         training product via online or virtual means. For
                                                         example, over-reliance on simulated work
                                                         environments, virtual supervisor observations
                                                         or requiring students to digitally record their
                                                         assessment activities in a public space without
                                                         considering privacy implications.
                                                    •    Offering poor quality work placements that do
                                                         not sufficiently prepare students for the
                                                         workforce. For example, not confirming with
                                                         work placement employers that they will ensure
                                                         students are given adequate time and
                                                         opportunity to practice/demonstrate all skills
                                                         required during their placement.
                                                    •    Not sufficiently servicing your regional/ rural/
                                                         remote locations to ensure that students there
                                                         have access to appropriate facilities and work
                                                         placements.
                                                    •    Not including third party’s facilities, resources
                                                         and equipment when self-assuring against this
                                                         Standard, including work health and safety.
                                                    •    Delivering training using resources and/or
                                                         equipment that is outdated and no longer in use
                                                         by industry.


Self-assurance questions
 1   Do the training product requirements include specific facilities, resources or equipment?
 2   How has industry, employer, community, staff and student feedback influenced the facilities,
     resources and equipment you use?
 3   How do students access the facilities, resources and equipment? Do all students have
     reasonable and equitable access?
 4   What risks are associated with the facilities, resources and equipment and how are these
     risks proactively managed, including by your third parties, to ensure the safety of students
     and staff at all times?
 5   What consideration have you given to the appropriateness of virtual training and assessment
     before proceeding with it? For example, if asking a student to record an assessment activity
     that involves interacting with another person, has that person given consent to being
     recorded?
 6   Are there any specific risks associated with facilities, resources or equipment used for work-
     integrated learning, work placements or other community-based learning? If so, how are
     these being managed?

Source: ASQA Practice Guide — Facilities, Resources and Equipment. Published 17 June 2025, Version 1.0. Authority: Australian Skills Quality Authority. These guides interpret the Standards for RTOs 2025 into practical compliance guidance. The PDF was extracted with pdftotext -layout to preserve the two-column table structure of the original document.