Feedback, Complaints and Appeals — Practice Guide¶
ASQA Practice Guide · Quality Area 2 — VET Student Support · Standards 2.7, 2.8 · 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
Feedback, complaints and appeals
(Standards 2.7, 2.8)
S
Ver 1.0
Published 17 June 2025
Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations
Quality Area 2 – VET Student Support
What are the key concepts?
The following key concepts are covered in this practice guide:
Standard 2.7 Standard 2.8
• Feedback and complaint management • Appeals management
systems • Independent parties
• Recording and documenting outcomes
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 achieve compliance. Rather, they are a guide and should
be considered within the context, size, scale and student cohorts of your RTO’s operations.
Standard 2.7: Feedback and complaints management addresses concerns and informs
continuous improvement of the NVR registered training organisation.
Performance indicators Example activities and other considerations for
compliance
An NVR registered training organisation • You have information publicly available on how
demonstrates: to provide feedback and complaints about your
a. it operates a complaints management RTO’s services, including those delivered by
system that: third parties This includes information about the
timeframes for acknowledging, resolving and
i. allows feedback and complaints about
communicating the outcomes of complaints.
the organisation, any third parties, and
any person employed or contracted by • You can demonstrate the mechanisms and
the organisation; channels you have in place to receive and
ii. ensures all parties are afforded action feedback and complaints from various
procedural fairness; stakeholders including students, employers,
staff and third parties.
iii. identifies reasonable timeframes for
responding to and resolving complaints; • You can show how the staff responsible for
and processing feedback and complaints ensure
that matters are investigated promptly and
iv. provides avenues for further action where impartially, uphold the principles of natural
complaints are not resolved; justice and ensure procedural fairness.
b. information about how to provide feedback • You have systems to document and
and make complaints through the complaints communicate the outcomes of complaints, and
management system is publicly available store complaint documentation securely.
and easily accessible by VET students; • You can demonstrate the approach you take to
c. VET students are supported to provide understand the root cause of a complaint and
feedback and make complaints; how this informs actions, including policies and
d. outcomes of complaints are documented processes (or amendments to these), leading to
and communicated to all parties of the continuous improvement of the services you
complaint; and provide – for example, identifying trends from
e. feedback and complaints are used by the complaints received and addressing this across
organisation to inform continuous all areas of operations.
improvement. • You provide opportunities for complaints to be
escalated and complaint outcomes to be
reviewed. Where a complaint is not able to be
satisfactorily resolved, you have documented
systems for providing the complainant with
avenues for further review.
Known risks to quality outcomes
• Failing to recognise complaints as opportunities
to improve training and assessment services.
• Not ensuring that your third parties are obligated
to escalate complaints to you that they receive
about services they deliver on your behalf
• Failing to capture complaints and feedback
received in informal settings, such as when
students are having verbal conversations with
trainers and assessors.
• Failing to allow all parties involved in a
complaint the opportunity to respond.
• Not identifying and acting on trends from the
complaints received.
• Not considering the root cause or potential
impact of a complaint and how it may be
relevant across other areas of your operations.
Standard 2.8: Effective appeal processes are available to VET students where decisions of the NVR
registered training organisation or a third party adversely affect the student.
Performance indicators Example activities and other considerations for
compliance
An NVR registered training organisation • You can demonstrate that students are informed
demonstrates: about, and understand, their appeal rights. This
a. it operates an appeals management system includes information about the timeframes for
that: acknowledging, resolving and communicating the
outcomes of appeals.
i. allows VET students to appeal
decisions of the organisation, any third • You have multiple mechanisms/channels
parties, and any person employed or available to students to lodge appeals about
contracted by the organisation where decisions (such as assessment judgements)
those decisions adversely affect the including in-person via your trainers and other
student; staff, via telephone and via email.
ii. ensures all parties to the appeal are • You can demonstrate that your appeals
afforded procedural fairness; management system facilitates transparent
iii. specifies reasonable timeframes for handling of matters, including which decisions are
actioning appeals; and subject to appeal and to independent review.
iv. provides avenues for review by an • You can show how you ensure that your staff
independent party, if requested by the responsible for processing appeals are objective,
appellant (at no or low cost to the impartial and adequately trained. This includes
appellant); adequately documenting and communicating the
outcomes of appeals and storing appeal
b. information about how to appeal an adverse
documentation securely.
decision through the appeals management • You can demonstrate how students are made
system is publicly available and easily aware of the additional avenues they can take to
accessible by VET students; have their appeal reviewed by an independent
c. outcomes of appeals are documented by the party, including ensuring they are provided with
organisation and communicated to the information on the costs that may be associated
appellant; and with using these avenues.
d. the outcomes of appeals are used by the • You can demonstrate how you use appeal
organisation to inform continuous matters to identify opportunities for continuous
improvement. improvement in the services you provide.
Known risks to quality outcomes
• Not informing students of their rights to appeal a
decision.
• Failing to inform students of all avenues for
seeking independent review.
• Failing to recognise appeals as opportunities to
improve training and assessment services.
• Not identifying trends from the appeals received
or failing to act where causal links are identified.
Self-assurance questions
1 How do you ensure that you operate an outcomes-focused complaints and feedback management
process that makes it easy for VET students and stakeholders to provide feedback or make
complaints, works to resolve those complaints, and then actively uses those complaints and
feedback to continuously improve your organisation’s service offerings?
2 How do you ensure your complaints and appeals management systems are procedurally fair, timely
and objective?
3 How are the outcomes of complaints and appeals used to continuously improve your services?
Source: ASQA Practice Guide — Feedback, Complaints and Appeals. 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.