HBTA Policies and Procedures
Access and Equity
At HBTA, all people are treated equally with respect and dignity. We do our best to implement appropriate strategies designed to improve your general access to training opportunities. Our goal is to create an environment where you can succeed in your vocational education goals. These strategies include:
- flexible learning strategies
- alternative assessment options including workbased assessment, third party reports and on-job observation
- simplified Recognition of Prior Learning/Recognition of Current Competency application and assessment processes.
All strategies comply with the requirements set by industry or nationally recognised standards.
As part of improving access and equity, we seek out avenues which allow us to improve delivery options for:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Persons
- people from non-English speaking backgrounds (within the limitations imposed by Training Packages)
- people with a physical, intellectual or learning disability, except as it
- poses a workplace health and safety risk to themselves, to participants or fellow candidates
- compromises their ability to successfully complete the training course or program
- rural and regionally isolated communities
- People in Transition and other special groups including:
- people re-entering the workforce
- people who have been displaced through industry and enterprise restructuring
- people with literacy and numeracy needs
- the long-term unemployed
- those who have been institutionalised
- Australian South Sea Islander people
Nationally recognised qualifications and all other training programs which we offer contain no implicit limitations based on language, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual preference, ability or disability, social or religious background (except as required under Australian Quality Training Framework Standards for RTOs or by specific Training Packages).
Where bias exists in any training program for a legitimate reason (for example, the vocational competency and English literacy requirements for the TAA40104 programmes or the minimum age requirements for Skills Voucher program), this bias is made clear to all prospective students. You retain the right to negotiate a training program which addresses your specific needs within the rules allowed by the relevnt Training Package.
We cannot, however, create a positive and success-orientated training environment on our own. We require that all students and staff display the utmost respect for the belief systems, world views, cultural values and rights of the individual or group undertaking a programme with HBTA.
Any student who undertakes a program which includes legitimate and specific cultural biases shall not be discriminated against or penalised for offering alternative world views. In all such cases, the student shall be encouraged to share their individual beliefs and value systems for the benefit of all, in as non-judgemental manner as possible.
Where necessary, we have justified the necessity for any explicit limitation to access, participation, entry points, exit points or pathways through qualifications and training programs. Where these occur, they are based solely on
- specific restrictions applied under Government contract for particular funded programs; or
- industry or nationally recognised standards; or
- on the attainment of set pre-requisites for any qualification and/or Unit of Competency on HBTA's current Scope of Registration
This limitation shall reasonably include all industry regulations regarding the profile of the individual based on Occupational Health and Safety or other legitimate grounds.
In all cases except government-funded programs, you have the right to an appeal of any limitation imposed by the Academy in accordance with STU-POL-008 Complaints policy. If you are still dissatisfied with the internal process used to address your complaint or the explanation we provide for applying that restriction, we will support you within reason in following your appeal through the process described on that policy.
Last updated on July 4, 2008