Member colleges

Member colleges

1. Member colleges:
1. operate under the terms of their agreement of authorization
2. provide instruction and/or assessment of students
3. conducts registration of new students
4. may supervise practicum students of its own
5. may be a sole trader
2. Colleges are not necessarily authorised to maintain their own records.

Multiple sites

Multiple sites

1. If a member college operates multiple sites:
1. The member college must appoint a person to be its contact person for ACAS business.
2. It must use the same training and assessment materials and industry consultation at each site for each qualification.
3. It must demonstrate other compliance separately for each site (e.g. through the training and assessment strategy). This includes (but not limited to):
1. one on-site contact person and
2. at least one qualified trainer assessor who meets current SNR requirements.
3. The person in i and ii may be the same person.
2. If a site uses separate training materials, assessment materials, or industry consultation, then it must have a separate agreement with ACAS as a separate member college.

Compliance

Compliance

Terms of authorisation of member colleges |||| COULD BE A SEPARATE PAGE AND NEEDS to be updated
Some of this stuff can be either deleted, put in agreements, or moved.

1. Member colleges shall undergo a compliance audit and shown to be compliant before commencement of ACAS programs.
2. Additions or deletions from the list of courses within the scope of the member college shall be set forth in Addenda.
3. Member colleges shall comply with the terms of their agreement and their compliance commitments.
4. If any part of an agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, then the remainder of all other parts of all other agreements shall remain in full force and effect and shall not be affected, impaired, or invalidated in any way whatsoever.
5. If any fees or charges of any kind whatsoever are levied upon ACAS that are consequential from noncompliance, then the member college shall pay them in full.
6. The college shall determine its own marketing strategy and meet its own marketing costs.
7. The college shall inform ACAS of any legislation and other government regulations relevant to programs that are not on the ACAS list of legislation at the time.
8. ACAS retains the right to require the college to present a verifiable auditor's certificate of its finances that meets AQTF requirements at least annually.
9. Each member colleges shall have responsible current business planning in place.
1. Planning will be documented.
2. It will be appropriate to the size and scope of it operations
3. It will contain specific goals and strategies.
10. Member colleges shall have succession plans including training of staff to take over or duplicate responsibilities.
11. If the ACAS structural diagram does not represent colleges' structural complexities adequately for staff induction, then the college will make a diagram of its organizational structure and use that diagram for staff induction.

Records

Records

1. The Executive Committee may authorize member colleges to manage their own records.
2. Member college that are authorized to keep their own records will comply fully with all regulations regarding document control, records, and auditing.
3. The records to be maintained shall include:
1. Student register, including identification, student numbers, enrolment status, fees paid, refunds, qualification numbers, and debts.
2. Register of documents generated in the member college¹
3. File copies of documents
4. Occupational health and safety records
5. Grievance and appeal registers
6. Risk register
7. Records of industry consultation
8. Records of professional development and staff review
9. Records of feedback and moderation
10. Insurance records
11. Records of appeals and complaints and a register thereof.
4. Auditable records relating to programs accredited or recognized through ACAS shall remain the property of ACAS.
5. Those colleges shall:
1. provide ACAS with copies of such records as ACAS shall from time to time determine.²
2. comply with record-keeping policies, and,
3. maintain a state of ASQA Standard auditability.
6. Those colleges shall provide eligible students with confirmation of enrolment letters for Austudy, Abstudy and Youth Allowance.
7. Those colleges will issue any necessary interim transcripts on behalf of ACAS on condition that they send a copy to the Centre.
8. For member colleges that have not been approved to maintain their own records, working documents may be kept at the member college, but all official auditable versions shall be retained at the ACAS central office.
9. Member colleges outside Western Australia shall do their own Centrelink registration for Austudy, Abstudy and Youth Allowance.
10. Any written notice by ACAS to a college shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed to that college at its most recent address specified by written notice:
1. on the second day after mailing if in Western Australia.
2. on the fourth day after mailing if not in Western Australia.

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¹This shall include all auditable policy-related documents including training and assessment plans, assessment instruments, and forms and proformas. It need not include correspondence (which will have its own document control) and will not include non-RTO material and correspondence
²The most obvious examples are the student register (so that the Centre knows who students are), and the training and assessment plans (which normally hold implications for the Centre and perhaps other member colleges, including moderation).

Statements of Attainment and qualifications

Statements of Attainment and qualifications

1. ACAS Centre shall issue Statements of Attainment and qualifications:
1. The member college shall provide students details on the prescribed form and state that full, auditable records that comply with the SNR have been kept.
2. All fees must be paid.
3. ACAS shall provide Statements of Attainment and qualifications to the member college, not to individual students.
2. The member college may nominate students for ACAS excellence awards.

Relating to government organizations

Relating to government organizations

1. This policy defines the conditions under which member colleges may relate to government organizations that depend in some way on ACAS's status as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), except the provision of education to government schools.
2. The member college shall write the proposal.
3. The Principal or Academic Dean must approve the application.
4. If the application requires a signature from the Chief Executive Officer of the RTO, then the Principal, or in his/her absence the Academic Dean, shall sign for ACAS.
5. The Principal's office shall be provided with a copy of the application.
6. The contact person for the grant application shall be a staff person of the college.
7. The college shall issue the cover letter on ACAS letterhead, which shall reflect its status with ACAS.
8. The member college shall:
1. perform all responsibilities of any kind whatsoever arising out of that relationship
2. carry all liability of any kind whatsoever relating to that relationship.

Suspension and expulsion

Suspension and expulsion

1. If a member college fails to comply with its agreement, the Centre has the sole discretionary right to:
1. choose to suspend it and determine any conditions relating to the suspension or
2. terminate a college's status within ACAS forthwith on the grounds of breach of agreement.
2. The Centre may suspend member colleges immediately for:
1. serious or repeated breaches of policies and or procedures which may in the opinion of the Executive Committee endanger the registration of ACAS as a Registered Training Organisation
2. non-payment of fees
3. If the annual compliance requirements of a member college have not arrived at the ACAS office by close of business on 15th December that year, that member college will be automatically suspended* until all requirements have been received at the ACAS office for that year.
4. Suspension is as follows:
1. The member college may not make any undertaking whatsoever (including orally) that give the the impression it is authorised to offer Nationally Recognised Training under the auspices of ACAS.
2. It may not advertise its programs in any way whatsoever as Nationally Recognised Training.
3. It may not use the ACAS name or logo in any advertising.
4. It may not enroll new students in Nationally Recognised Training.
5. ACAS will not issue qualifications or Statement of Attainment for those students.
6. Students may not obtain government benefits for studies (Austudy, Abstudy, Youth Allowance).
5. If a member college in any other way appears to have failed to comply with its obligations in terms of its agreement with ACAS or with the policies and procedures of ACAS, or of any other requirements relating to its role as a member college, the officer at the Center will follow the steps below:
1. in the first instance attempt to clarify the matter by direct contact as soon as possible.
2. If no satisfactory clarification is made, then the Centre will write to the member college asking for a written response.
3. If the answer is not satisfactory or if no response is forthcoming within seven days, then the Center will issue a written notice requiring the member college to immediately rectify the matter.
4. If the answer is not satisfactory or if no response is forthcoming within seven days after that, then the member college will be deemed to be suspended, and the matter referred to the ACAS Executive Committee with a view to expelling the member college.

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*"Automatic suspension" means that no further notice shall be necessary.

Cessation of membership as a college

Cessation of membership as a college

1. If a college is to cease its relationship with ACAS for any reason whatsoever, then prior to cessation, it shall provide ACAS with a copy of all such records as are necessary for ACAS's continued responsibilities to any parties, including but not limited to:
1. past and present students,
2. ASQA Standard compliance and audit requirements.
2. ACAS shall provide qualifications and Statements of Attainment for all students for whom all accreditation and contractual requirements (including payment) have been met.
3. ACAS will not provide qualifications and Statements of Attainment or transcripts if those requirements have not been met, and the former member college shall be responsible for all liability of any kind whatsoever pertaining to those students.
4. If students cannot be granted qualifications and Statements of Attainment because their member college has failed to comply with ACAS requirements, then, under consumer laws, they have not provided students with what they paid for. Consequently, the member college must normally either:
   
   1. Transfer students to another ACAS member college and pay all fees, or.
   2. Transfer students to another Registered Training Organisation and pay all fees.
   3. Fully refund all student fees related to those studies.