• Section 1 - Summary
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Policy/Regulation
• Section 4 - Procedures
• Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities
• Part B - Overview
• Part C - Victoria University TAFE Validation Plan
• Part D - Validation of Assessment Program Area Plan
• Part E - Preparing for Validation for each Training Product
• Part F - Determine Statistically Valid Sample Size
• Part G - Conducting the Validation Meeting
• Part H - Follow-Up from Validation Meetings
• Part I - Additional Requirements for Training and Education (TAE) qualifications
• Section 5 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Summary

(1) This Procedure outlines the quality assurance requirements for the effective validation of assessment practices and judgements used by VU in delivery of national training package qualifications and VET accredited courses.

Section 2 - Scope

(2) This Procedure includes all training products on the scope of registration and applies to all teaching areas and all staff in VET programs within TAFE.

Section 3 - Policy/Regulation

(3) Assessment for Learning Policy.

Section 4 - Procedures

Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities

Part B - Overview

(4) Assessment validation is an essential process to ensure the integrity of VET assessments at TAFE and across the broader VET sector.

(5) All training products on TAFE's scope of registration must undergo validation at least once every five years, or in response to a risk to training outcomes identified by student or industry feedback or, at such time that there are changes to the training product.

(6) The validation activities covered by this Procedure include validation of assessment tools and validation of assessment practice and judgements.

(7) Validation must be led by individuals (Lead Validator) who have the requisite credentials as outlined in Section 3 of DEWR’s Credential Policy; and who were not part of the design, delivery and assessment being validated. This may mean that validators have to be sought outside VU TAFE. It may be necessary, in some cases, to share the lead validator role between two individuals to ensure that this requirement is met.

(8) Trainers and assessors who have been part of the design, delivery and assessment of the units being validated may participate in the validation process but must not undertake the role(s) of Lead Validator, however can organise and set-up for the validation activities.

(9) Additional requirements exist for the validation of qualifications from the Training and Education (TAE) training package. These requirements are set out in section 3B of DEWR’s Credential Policy.

(10) Rectifications and improvements identified in validation activities must be listed on the Continuous Improvement Register, along with appropriate actions, timelines and responsible parties. These must be monitored and signed off when completed.

(11) Rectifications and improvements identified in validation activities must be applied across the whole qualification, as appropriate.

Part C - Victoria University TAFE Validation Plan

(12) This plan is the five-year master plan for assessment validation activities across TAFE.

(13) The plan specifies:

1. The number of units that must be validated for each training product.
2. Annual validation of each training product with the entire training product being validated at least once within the five-year cycle and 50% of units for each training product being validated within the first three years of the five-year cycle.

(14) The plan is published on the QCMS SharePoint site.

Part D - Validation of Assessment Program Area Plan

(15) For each teaching program area, Managers must develop a Validation of Assessment Plan (Five-Year Validation Plan) that is consistent with TAFE's five-year plan for Validation of Assessment. The plan should contain:

1. the units to be validated;
2. details of the Lead Validator;
3. proposed participants;
4. proposed validation dates.

(16) The sequencing of units in the program area plan should take into account applicable risk factors to ensure units with a higher risk rating are validated earlier and/or more frequently. Risk factors may include, but not limited to:

1. assessments that have been identified from a preliminary audit against the Assessment Policy settings relating to assurance of learning in the context of Gen AI as not secure;
2. units where the range of assessment tasks relating to performance criteria does not include a secure assessment;
3. units where the final assessment judgement does not include a secure assessment.
4. validation for self-assurance purposes against the Outcome Standards – Standards for NVR Registered
   Training Organisations 2025 and the ASQA Practice Guides;
5. the ASQA Regulatory Risk Priorities as they relate to Assessment Current priorities include the  . Services relating to images and videos of children in assessment tasks. These priorities are changed and added to annually;
6. health and safety, licensing or legislative requirements;
7. units of study with an incidence of academic integrity concerns or breaches;
8. delivery to a range of student cohorts where different assessment approaches may be utilized;
9. units which are commonly imported from other training packages to meet the packaging requirements and to differentiate between RTOS;
10. offshore or CRICOS delivery;
11. the use of new assessment tools;
12. history of NYC results, complaints, or concerns raised in learner or teacher/assessor feedback;
13. rapid changes in relevant industry sectors and/or industry feedback.

Part E - Preparing for Validation for each Training Product

(17) Validation activities are divided into:

1. Validation of assessment tools based on the principles of fairness, flexibility, validity and reliability (referred to as Part A of VU’s Validation Tool);
2. Validation of assessment judgements based on validity, sufficiency, authenticity and currency of the rules of evidence (referred to as Part B of VU’s Validation Tool).

(18) Part A must be completed prior to the delivery of assessment, and in instances, where validation of assessment judgements result in an amendment to the assessment tool.

(19) The Lead Validator must:

1. For both Part A – Validation of Assessment Tool/s and Part B – Validation of Assessment Judgements:
   1. identify relevant, qualified persons to participate in the validation process;
   2. negotiate and communicate the appropriate time and method of validation meeting/s to occur, (e.g. On-Campus or Remote);
   3. where external validators are to be included, provide each external validator with an electronic copy of the Validator Competence Verification form and request that they complete an External Validator Competence form and provide it to the Responsible Person;
   4. prepare documentation for the validation meeting as follows.
2. For Part A which must be completed prior to delivery, the following documents to support validation should be provided electronically, printed or a mixture of both:
   1. TAS/s (training and assessment strategy) if more than one cohort
   2. Unit of Competency as listed on the National Register
   3. Companion volumes
   4. Course information handbook/s
   5. For each unit of competency the documents to be validated include:
      1. Assessment Map;
      2. Unit or Cluster Guide;
      3. Assessment tools (including Assessor Guide and Assessment Record Book).
3.  For Part B, the following steps should be taken:
   1. Determine a statistically valid sample size of assessment judgements to be validated as per Part F below.
   2. Select the random sample of student assessments.
   3. Where RPL is used for the relevant unit, and no RPL completions have been included in the random sample, an additional student RPL file should be added to the sample.
   4. Documents required to support validation of assessment judgement include:
      1. TAS
      2. Unit of Competency
      3. Assessment Map (validated in Part A)
      4. Assessor Guide (validated in Part A)
      5. Assessment Record Book / Assessment tasks (validated in Part A)
   5. Documents required to validate assessment judgements include:
      1. All student assessment evidence completed and assessed for students identified in the statistically valid sample.
      2. All student assessment records i.e. feedback and results for students identified in the statistically valid sample.
   6. Provide the de-identified student assessments to the validation participants.

Part F - Determine Statistically Valid Sample Size

(20) The Manager responsible for each program will determine the sample size that is statistically valid and random. The sample size is based on enrolment data and the table below.

(22) The process is:

1. Step 1 – Determine the number of assessment judgements for the unit/s to be validated (note; the term Assessment Judgement refers to the number of students who have been assessed in a unit of competency in a given period). To do this, request Academic Quality and Standards (AQS) to run a report from SONE of all students enrolled in the unit/s being validated for the period under review (e.g. last delivery cycle, group, previous year etc.), with an outcome of Competent, Not Yet Competent, RPL Granted or RPL Not Granted only.
2. Step 2 – Use the table below to match the number of assessment judgements from SONE report (column A) to the mandatory sample size (column B) e.g. if you have 40 assessment judgements, (student enrolments) then the sample size for validation is 21.

Part G - Conducting the Validation Meeting

(23) For Validation activity both Part A and Part B, the following must occur:

1. Collect completed Validator Competence Verification forms from any external participants and ensure evidence is attached. These documents become part of the validation record to be stored on file.
2. Use TAFE Validation of Assessment form to guide the validation meeting and provide each participant with copies.
3. Each unit of competency must be validated using a single form. There should be no clustered assessments. 
4. Appoint one validator as the official note taker.
5. Work through the form, checking for each item whether or not the evidence is there to support compliance. For validation, note evidence of compliance and non-compliance as appropriate, and also identify opportunities for improvement.
6. At the end of the meeting, compile a list of the agreed rectifications or improvements that have been identified, seeking input from all validators.
7. All validators should sign the official version of the validation form. Alternatively, these may be completed following the meeting and distributed electronically to all participants for their email approval.

Part H - Follow-Up from Validation Meetings

(24) The Lead Validator is to collate the following documentation:

1. Validator Competence Verification forms and supporting documentation.
2. Final validation meeting recorded on the VET Validation Tool.
3. The course documentation that was considered in the validation process (note that these should already be in electronic format).

(25) Scan the relevant documentation above. Save the scanned / electronic documentation onto SharePoint in the designated validation folder for the program area. Use the filename of qualification code and unit of competency code to easily identify the record.

(26) File the physical copies of the above in the location designated by the Manager.

(27) Provide the list of identified rectifications and improvements, and suggested actions to the Manager to ensure that they are added to the Continuous Improvement Register.

(28) Managers must work with relevant staff to ensure actions identified as part of the validation process are fully implemented. Even though only a small number of units from the qualification are officially validated at each meeting, rectifications and improvements identified should be made to all units delivered as part of the program, as appropriate.

Part I - Additional Requirements for Training and Education (TAE) qualifications

(29) Validation must be led by an external, independent validator. This person must not be an employee of Victoria University TAFE and must have taken no part in the delivery or assessment of the qualifications being validated.

(30) The external validator must hold a qualification at Diploma level or above from the TAE10 training package (or its successor) or any other diploma in adult education.

References

(31) The TAFE templates SharePoint site includes these references (under Validation of Assessment section)  -

1. VET External Validator Competence Verification
2. VET Validation Tool
3. ASQA Fact Sheet
4. VET Assessment Validation – Program Area 5 Year Plan (2021-2025)
5. VET Assessment Validation - Program Area 5 Year Plan (2016-2020)
6. VET Validation Guidelines
7. VET Validation Risk Rating Matrix
8. VET Validation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Section 5 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment

(32) Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2025: Standard 1.3-1.5 Assessment; 3.2 Trainer and Assessor Competencies; 4.3 Risk Management; 4.4 Continuous Improvement.

Section 6 - Definitions

(33) Refer to relevant definitions provided within the Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations 2025. 

(34) For the purpose of this Procedure a statistically valid sample is one that is:

1. large enough that the validation outcomes of the sample can be applied to the entire set of judgements; and
2. taken randomly from the set of assessment judgements being considered.