National Standards for Group Training Organisations

Preliminary

Name of Standards

These Standards are the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

Application of Standards

These Standards apply to each recognised GTO.

Definitions

In these Standards:

Access and equity means the policies and approaches that ensure that group training services are responsive to the diverse needs of all host employers, apprentices and trainees. Through the implementation of these policies and approaches, the benefits of participating in group training are available to everyone on an equitable basis, including: women where under-represented; people with disabilities; people from non-English speaking backgrounds; Indigenous Australians; and rural and remote learners.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract means a contract for an apprenticeship/ traineeship, made between an employer and an apprentice/trainee, which is registered with the appropriate State/Territory Government department or agency, as may be required by State/Territory legislation or regulation.

Audit means a systematic, independent and documented process for assessing evidence to determine whether the operations of a GTO comply, or continue to comply, with the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) means the Authority established under subsection 5 (1) of the Australian National Training Authority Act 1992 of the Commonwealth of Australia. ANTA ceased to exist on 30 June 2005. All functions were then transferred to the Department of Education, Science and Training.

Chief Executive Officer means the most senior executive of the GTO.

Completion of Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract means completion of the on-the-job and the off-the-job components of an apprenticeship or traineeship, leading to the issuing of completion documentation as it applies to apprenticeships or traineeships in that State or Territory.

Downtime means the definition within the timeframe specified by the relevant State or Territory Government when used in this document.

Evidence Required means the evidence to demonstrate a sub-clause of a Standard has been met.

Evaluation means all the activities such as audit results or reports, risk assessment, review of complaints and financial assessment carried out by a STA to determine whether the GTO meets, or continues to meet, all the requirements of the National Standards for Group Training Organisations

Group Training means a service whereby an organisation employs apprentices and trainees under an Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract and places them with host employers.

Group Training Organisation (GTO) means an organisation, usually a company, providing group training services to apprentices, trainees and employers.

Host employer means an organisation that hosts, under a written agreement, an apprentice or trainee employed at that time by a GTO.

Internal review means reviews conducted by, or on behalf of, the organisation itself for internal purposes. Where conducted by the organisation, these may usually be described as self-assessment.

Ministerial Council means the ANTA Ministerial Council established under the Australian National Training Authority Agreement which is a Schedule to the Australian National Training Authority Act 1992. The Council comprises the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers responsible for vocational education and training, or any successor council comprising those Ministers.

National Logo for Group Training means the logo that a GTO is entitled to use signifying that it has complied with the requirements of the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

National Standards for Group Training Organisations means the nationally agreed quality arrangements for group training agreed to by the Ministerial Council.

New Apprenticeships means structured training arrangements for apprentices and trainees, usually involving on and off-the-job training, for a person employed under an Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract.

Non-compliance means failure to comply with one or more of the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

Quality means the ability of a set of inherent characteristics of a product, system or process to fulfil requirements of customers and other interested parties*.
*From AS/NZS ISO 9000: 2000

Recognised GTO means a GTO recognised by a STA as complying with the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

Risk management means the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risk.

Rotation means an apprentice or trainee moving from one host employer to another as part of his/her apprenticeship or traineeship with the GTO.

Staff means, when used in this document, the employees of the GTO other than apprentices and trainees.

Standards means when used in Section 2 of this document the National Standards for Group Training Organisations. Each Standard has a heading and a short statement of the principles behind the Standard.

State Training Authority (STA) means the State or Territory Authority with the primary responsibility for vocational education and training in that jurisdiction and whose Minister has signed the current funding Agreement.

Sub-clause means, when used in this document, the numbered clauses appearing under each of the eight Standards.

Training Plan means a program of training and assessment that is required under an Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract.

Abbreviations

• ANTA Australian National Training Authority
• AQTF Australian Quality Training Framework
• GTO Group Training Organisation
• NTQC National Training Quality Council
• STA State/Territory Training Authority
• VET Vocational Education and Training

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