Organisational Learning Australia
Organisational Learning Australia
(OLA) was founded in March 2010 to facilitate community and organisational learning in the community, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and non profit sectors in Australia.
OLA has become increasingly recognised in the Australian Vocational Education & Training (VET) space, through the delivery of their RTO help and consultant services that support the Australian Quality Training Framework. In July 2010, OLA gained recognition with two consultants listed on Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) consultant and advisor register and later appeared in the ACPET National Monday update in December 2010.
OLA has kept abreast of the rapidly changing policy in the Australian VET space, having supported several RTO’s to gain and extend their registration. OLA achieved recognition as an RTO on the 9th February 2011, accredited to deliver nationally recognised qualifications by the National Audit and Registrations Agency (NARA), under delegation of the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA).
OLA managed to achieve RTO status during a time of policy flux, which many attribute to the collapse of a handful of large RTOs delivering services to international students in late 2009. Most notably, the collapse of four major RTO’s in November 2009 placed the media spotlight on Australia’s second largest export of $16 billion which had profited for years with little and no regulatory intervention.
The VRQA released more stringent regulations ‘VRQA guidelines for VET providers’ in January 2010 which amongst more prescriptive guidelines, have made market entry prohibitive. The VRQA regulates over 1 third of Australia’s VET providers and has influenced the delay in the formation of the National VET Regulator (NVR) set to replace NARA as a part resolution to the State verses Federal challenges faced in Australia. As of September 2010, all states except Victoria and Western Australia were in support of a NVR, and had commenced transition arrangements to the NVR for an expected commencement of July 1, 2011.
On the 7th October 2010 the Victorian Auditor-Generals Office tabled a report that found the VRQA cannot reliably assure that it has effectively regulated VET providers.
On 10 February 2011, the Australian Senate jointly referred the legislation to establish the NVR - comprising the National VET Regulator Bill 2010 [2011], the National VET Regulator Transitional Provisions Bill 2010 [2011], and the National VET Regulator (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011 - to the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. Despite a tradition of lengthy enquiries, the timetable for transferring regulatory responsibility from the states and territories to the NVR varies. It is anticipated that New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory will move across from the establishment date. Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania are anticipated to transfer responsibility before the end of 2011.