Qualify Me! Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $20,000 in the Downing Centre Local Court, NSW yesterday (2 April 2024) for breaching the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act.
The breach involved Qualify Me! advertising 187 vocational education and training courses in 2022, through recognition of prior learning (RPL), without including the name and registration code of the registered training organisation (RTO) that would issue a VET qualification or statement of attainment relating to the course. This breached Section 123A of the NVETR Act.
Qualify Me! describes itself as an ‘education facilitator’, with applicants providing supporting evidence to apply for RPL to Qualify Me!, and being subsequently issued with a nationally recognised qualifications through one of its partner college RTOs. Qualify Me! is not an RTO.
The verdict was welcomed by the Australian Skills Quality Agency (ASQA), with ASQA CEO Saxon Rice saying that the successful prosecution should serve as a warning about third-party arrangements RTOs may enter into.
“These third-party organisations must accurately and honestly represent those courses in all marketing and enrolment activities – to ensure students’ best interests are protected and they can make an informed choice,” Ms Rice said.
“We are doubly concerned where this type of behaviour applies to recognition of prior learning, as students who do not acquire the necessary competency or knowledge and gain qualifications via this method pose an increased risk to themselves and others in the workplace.”
TKN recently reported on new legislation to “crackdown on dodgy VET providers”. Under this new legislation, penalties for breaches of this section of the NVETR Act have increased five-fold. ASQA’s VET tip-off line launched in October 2023 has also received more than 1000 tip-offs.
Qualify Me! is currently trading as ASQANET Pty Ltd and its website advertises that it is now under new management.
