Chief Operations Officer

As a public body involved in teaching, training, research, community, and business engagement, ECA is required to comply with numerous obligations relating to its key activities and stakeholders, and effectively integrate these into day-to-day operations. Compliance is fundamental to the College achieving its strategic, operational and business objectives, and good governance.

The 2025 Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)  include the Compliance Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations and Fit and Proper Person Requirements.

The College is committed to being a good corporate citizen and encourages all staff and students to adopt the same approach. A key component is being aware of all relevant government (including accrediting authorities) legislation.

To articulate and demonstrate Eastern College Australia’s active commitment to its compliance requirements as well as measures put in place to ensure that all staff and students are kept informed of, and adhere to, relevant legislation.

This policy relates to all staff and students at the College including any of its teaching partners.

By virtue of the incorporation of the College as a company in the State of Victoria, it is governed and guided by various Federal and State legislation. The [HC1] College is committed to compliance with all relevant laws (acts and regulations), standards, codes, and policies.[HC2]
The College fulfils the requirements of the relevant Regulatory Authority (TEQSA) and maintains the highest possible standards of best practice in VET and Higher Education.
To meet its obligations and objectives, and develop a proactive culture of valuing compliance, including relevant legislation, the College has a Risk Management Framework based on the International Risk Management Standard AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018.[HC3]   The College will ensure that students, staff, and teaching partners are made aware of relevant legislation and informed of any relevant legislative changes.
The quality of Higher Education providers is overseen and regulated by the Tertiary Education and Standards Agency (TEQSA), applying standards set by the Minister for Education, primarily under the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 (HESF) or such other guidelines enacted from time to time.

Staff

The induction process shall include informing new staff members of all government legislation that is relevant. This shall include legislation that applies to all staff of the College and any legislation that specifically applies to particular job descriptions.
Staff shall be kept informed of any relevant legislative changes through policies and procedures published on the ECA Intranet Policy Portal; staff meetings, email updates and training events.
All staff have personal responsibility to:

• ensure that they are aware of any legal requirements that apply to their work activities and that they comply with them.
• report all incidents of breaches of legal requirements.
• where appropriate, suggest ways in which practices, systems and procedures could be improved to reduce the likelihood of a breach occurring.[HC4]

Students and Partner Organisations

Students and partner organisations will be advised that there are several pieces of government legislation that apply to their learning environment/experience. They will be specifically advised of legislation of particular importance to their learning environment/experience and advised where to find legislation that is of a more general nature.
Students and partner organisations shall be kept informed of any relevant legislative changes.

VET Regulators[HC5] 
The College shall co-operate with the VET regulators by:

1. providing accurate and truthful responses to information requests from a Regulator
2. allowing a regulator access for the purpose of conducting audits and monitoring the College’s operations
3. providing quality/performance indicator data
4. providing information about substantial changes to its operations or any event that would significantly affect the College’s ability to comply with these standards  according to the “Notification of material changes” section of the Compliance Standards in the 2025 Standards for RTOs.
5. providing information about significant changes to its ownership  according to the “Notification of material changes” section of the Compliance Standards in the 2025 Standards for RTOs.
6. retaining, archiving, retrieving and transferring records.

Any third-party delivering VET services on behalf of College shall be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding complying with the Third Party Delivery Partnership Selection, Management and Performance Monitoring Policy [1] before delivering any services on behalf of the College.
The College shall notify the VET Regulator of:

• any written agreement entered into with a third party for the delivery of services on its behalf within 30 calendar days of that agreement being entered into or prior to the obligations under the agreement taking effect, whichever occurs first; and
• any agreement coming to an end within 30 calendar days.

The College will provide an annual declaration on compliance with these Standards to the VET Regulator whether it:

• currently meets the requirements of the Standards across all its scope of registration in the annual reporting period, which is the period of 12 months that is specified by the National VET Regulator as the organisation’s annual reporting period; and
•  is submitted in the approved form as published on the National Register by the National VET Regulator from time to time.

The College shall co-operate with the Higher Education and Skills Group by:

1. Posting on its website a copy of its most recent Quality Indicators (or its successor),
2. Publishing a summary of its latest registration audit information in a prominent position on its website.
3. Collecting an individual’s employment status when they either complete or withdraw from training. This data shall be submitted to the Higher Education and Skills Group in the format required by this authority.
4. Correctly filling all AVETMISS fields to ensure accurate Student Statistical Reports.

Procedural Documents[HC6] 
There are numerous procedural documents in place that are concise formal statements of how the College will act in a particular area of its operation to enact the effective operation of the College’s programs. Such documents include policies, procedures, terms of reference and guidelines. These documents are developed and reviewed regularly to ensure their accuracy, relevance and consistency with legislation, regulations, relevant frameworks and industry best practice.
Each document will identify its purpose and who is covered by the document (Scope) and are stored in a place accessible by those covered by its provisions, e.g. ECA Policy Portal.
Other management tools adopted to assist in the proactive approach to legislation awareness include:

• ECA Code of Conduct
• ECA Staff Manual
• Organisational Structure – specific ‘expert’ roles/skills
• Position Descriptions – articulating specific requirements for each staff member

Monitoring & Measuring[HC7] 
The College will monitor, measure and report upon its performance to the Board, Committees and other forums. These forums guide management in their decision making and ensures all who are onsite or undertaking organisational activities, remain compliant.
Continual Improvement[HC8] 
The College will continually review its “management tools”, including various forums and documents to:

• ensure their continued adequacy and evaluate their effectiveness;
• identify and realise opportunities for continuous improvement.

Co-operation with Government Authorities Procedures – VET