AVT ensures that students have access to a fair and equitable process for appeals against assessment decisions. An appeals and reassessment process is an integral part of all training and assessment pathways leading to a nationally recognised qualification or Statement of Attainment under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

• Students have the right to lodge an appeal against an assessment decision if they feel they were unfairly treated during an assessment, and/or where they feel the assessment decision is incorrect and they have grounds for an appeal.
• The principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are adopted at every stage of the appeal process.
• The appellant can provide detail of their appeal either verbally and/or in writing.
• All appeals must be lodged within 7 calendar days of the date of the assessment result notification to the student using the Appeals Lodgement Form
• If the appeals process fails to resolve the appeal or the appellant is not satisfied with the outcome of the appeal, the matter will be referred to an independent third party for review, at the request of the appellant. All costs incurred for the third party review will be advised to the appellant.
• Every appeal is heard by a suitably qualified independent assessor or panel, who will be asked to make an independent assessment of the application.
• All appeals are acknowledged in writing and finalised as soon as practicable.
• AVT may charge a fee for the appeals process where an external assessor is engaged. Should this be the case, all costs incurred will be advised to the appellant.
• If the appeal will take in excess of 60 calendar days to finalise AVT will inform the appellant in writing providing the reasons why more than 60 calendar days are required. The appellant will also be provided with regular updates on the progress of the appeal.
• AVT strives to deal with appeal issues as soon as they emerge, in order to avoid further disruption or the need for a formal complaint process.
• All appeals will be handled ‘In-Confidence’ and will not affect or bias the progress of the participant in any current or future training.

Grounds of appeal

Valid grounds for an appeal against an assessment decision (where the trainee feels the assessment decision is incorrect) could include the following:

• The judgement as to whether competency has been achieved and demonstrated was made incorrectly,
• The judgement was not made in accordance with the Assessment Plan.
• Alleged bias of the assessor;
• Alleged lack of competence of the assessor;
• Alleged wrong information from the assessor regarding the assessment process;
• Alleged inappropriate assessment process for the particular competency;
• Faulty or inappropriate equipment; and/or
• Inappropriate conditions.

Appeal outcomes

Appeal outcomes may include:

a) Appeal is upheld; in this event, the following options will be available:

I. The original assessment will be re-assessed, potentially by another assessor.
II. Appropriate recognition will be granted.
III. A new assessment shall be conducted/arranged.

b) Appeal is rejected/ not upheld; in accordance with AVT assessment policy the student will be required to:

I. undertake further training or experience prior to further assessment; or
II. re-submit further evidence; or
III. submit/undertake a new assessment.