RPL in Australia

RPL in Australia

[Updated 23rd of February, 2023]

When moving overseas one of the most difficult and anxiety inducing aspects is considering what you will do for work and if you can even stay within your field of expertise. Especially if you’re moving to a country where they speak another language.  

Many people fret over the prospect of having to take minimum wage jobs when they have years of experience and training in their industry. Thankfully, that doesn’t always have to be the case.  

RPL in Australia is relatively cost effective and quite easy to obtain, if you have the documented evidence. 

What is RPL?  

Recognition of prior learning is an assessment process that looks to the individual’s relevant prior learning (including formal, informal, and non-formal learning) to determine the outcomes of an individual application for a qualification. 

RPL is great for people who have the skills and knowledge, may have been working in their industry for many years but don’t have the transferable qualification to show for it. Many people explore RPL because they have a long working history in their industry. 

There are several things to think about when you are considering RPL in Australia. 

1. Choosing your RPL provider 
2. Your evidence 
3. Language 
4. Costs and outcomes 

Choosing your RPL provider

There is an abundance of training organisations that offer RPL.

Do your research on as many organisations as possible before selecting your provider.

Look for a reputable organisation that has a track record of helping people gain their RPL qualification. Check reviews and student testimonials and make sure they offer the qualification you are after.

A good provider will have a team of people who are able to explain RPL in Australia to you and provide you with an idea of whether or not you would be eligible before you enrol.

In some organisations you even get direct access and the advice straight from the RPL Manager. At Asset College, we offer a free skills assessment to help you establish if you would be a good candidate for RPL. Once you fill this in, our RPL manager will contact you directly.  

Your evidence

You won’t be able to RPL a qualification in Australia without the right evidence.

Once you have selected the Australian qualification you wish to attain RPL for, check out the elements, performance criteria, knowledge and performance evidence of each of the units of competency on training.gov.au. This will give you a good overview of the types of documents you will need. 

Make sure that your evidence meets the Standards for RTOs 2015, Rules of Evidence: 

• Sufficient 

You must have enough of it! You need to demonstrate that you have performed the tasks multiple times. 

• Valid 

Your evidence must relate to the unit of competency. There is no point in providing documentation relating to your time as an Accountant if you actually want a qualification in Human Resources. Unless of course you managed the recruitment for the accountancy firm. 

• Authentic 

The evidence must be yours. You can’t provide documents that other people have created or that your organisation created for you to follow. Everything must be your own work. 

• Current 

The evidence must be recent. If you carried out the tasks and responsibilities 20 years ago, you won’t be able to use this for RPL. You need to show that you are currently working in the role or that you have recently been, for a decent amount of time. 

Examples of Evidence  

Evidence can be all kinds of things, depending on which course or courses you are trying to RPL. It could be email chains, reports, documents, project overviews, letters of support or myriad other documentation.  

Your RPL Manager will advise you on the best examples of the kind of evidence you need to provide, and they can work with you to find solutions if providing copies is difficult.

For example, at Asset College our RPL Manager has worked with RPL students whose work documents contained sensitive or confidential information and could not be provided in copies. He was able to sight them to validate their existence and relevance to the course materials.  

Language

For RPL in Australia, you must provide all documents in English. If you speak multiple languages and have worked for companies in multiple countries and want to use this as evidence, you will have to get it translated first.  

Engaging a translator can be expensive. It’s best to determine if the evidence will help you get the RPL before you head down this road.  

Costs and outcomes

RPL is generally a lot cheaper than study and of course you can receive your qualification a lot quicker.

Asset College only takes a 50% deposit from students when enrolling them in RPL in Australia as we can never be 100% certain until we start the evidence collection process whether or not you will be eligible for the entire qualification. 

If not, you may need to study a couple of units which will change the overall cost of you receiving the qualification. We can talk to you more about how this works when you enquire with us about your RPL in Australia. 

Gaining your qualification through RPL can give you an edge to break into your industry in Australia. RPL can lead to increased employability, career advancement, and access to further education and training opportunities. RPL can also help to improve your confidence and motivation. 

If you’ thinking about pursuing your qualification through Recognition of Prior Learning you can begin the process by taking our Free Skills Assessment today! 

The Free Skills Assessment is an online form and only takes few minutes to fill in. Make sure you have an updated resume or CV to attach.

Once this is completed our RPL Manager will be in touch, and they will advise if you look like a good candidate for RPL.

If you want to learn more about the process contact us. We’d be happy to talk you through it.