RPL and Credit Transfer Policy

What RPL and credit transfer mean

Nationally recognised training is made up of units of competency, or units, each with a national code and title, such as HLTAID011 Provide First Aid. When you complete a unit, you receive a Statement of Attainment, the nationally recognised certificate that lists it.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is an assessment of skills and knowledge you already have, whether they come from work, volunteering, life experience or earlier training. If your evidence shows you meet every requirement of a unit, you're granted the unit without doing the training.

Credit transfer recognises a unit you've already completed with another registered training organisation (RTO). If it's the same unit, or one officially listed as equivalent, you don't repeat the training or assessment.

We offer both for all the nationally recognised training we deliver, as the Standards for RTOs 2025 require. We publish this policy so you can check your options before you enrol. We decide every application against the unit's requirements and give you the outcome and our reasons in writing. Our echocardiography courses have separate rules, set out at the end of this page.

Who can apply and when

Anyone enrolling or enrolled in nationally recognised training with us can apply for RPL or credit transfer.

Apply when you enrol, before you start the online theory, so you don't spend time on training you may not need. You can still apply any time before your practical session.

Credit transfer

To apply, send us a copy of one of these:

• your Statement of Attainment for the unit, or a qualification certificate with its record of results
• your USI transcript, which lists the nationally recognised training linked to your Unique Student Identifier (USI)

The unit must have the same code and title as the one you're enrolling in, or be listed as equivalent on the National Register at training.gov.au.

How we check and decide

Before we grant credit, we check that your document is genuine, either by viewing your USI transcript online with your permission or by contacting the RTO that issued it. A certified copy on its own isn't enough. We can't grant credit for a document we can't verify. Every Statement of Attainment should show the issuing RTO's name and code, and the unit's code and title.

If the unit matches and we can verify your document, we'll grant credit transfer. We confirm the outcome in writing and adjust your training plan and fees to match. If we don't grant credit, we'll explain why and what you can do instead.

HLTAID003, HLTAID002 and HLTAID001

HLTAID011 replaced HLTAID003, HLTAID010 replaced HLTAID002, and HLTAID009 replaced HLTAID001. The National Register lists the new units as not equivalent to the old ones, so we can't grant credit transfer from HLTAID003, HLTAID002 or HLTAID001. You can still apply for RPL, using your earlier certificate as supporting evidence, or enrol in the course.

Credit transfer only recognises a result you already have. It doesn't reassess your skills, so you can't use it to refresh a first aid or CPR certificate.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

A qualified assessor carries out RPL through our normal assessment system, using the same principles of assessment and rules of evidence as any nationally recognised assessment. It isn't a shortcut or a guaranteed result. You're held to every requirement of the unit, the same as students who do the training. A higher qualification in a related field doesn't earn RPL on its own.

Recognition of current competency means showing you're still competent in a unit you've completed before. It's a form of RPL and follows the same process.

How to apply

1. Contact our Student Support team. We'll explain the process and tell you the fee.
2. Complete the self-assessment in the RPL application kit we send you. It helps you decide whether RPL suits you before you go ahead.
3. Return the completed application with your evidence.
4. A qualified assessor reviews your evidence, talks with you about your experience and watches you demonstrate the practical skills in a simulated setting.
5. We give you the outcome in writing, with reasons. If you're competent, you're granted RPL for the unit. If there are gaps, the assessor gives you a plan for the training you need to complete.

Evidence

Your evidence must be:

• valid: it relates directly to the unit
• sufficient: there's enough of it for the assessor to make a confident judgement, and quality matters more than quantity
• authentic: it's your own, and we can verify it
• current: it shows what you can do now, and documents should generally be from the last 2 to 3 years

Useful documents include earlier first aid or CPR certificates, even non-accredited ones, and a letter from an employer or supervisor describing first aid you've given at work.

Practical skills for first aid and CPR

Documents can support your application, but they can't replace a practical demonstration. The assessor must see you perform the same tasks as students who do the course, including:

• at least 2 minutes of uninterrupted single-rescuer CPR on an adult manikin placed on the floor
• at least 2 minutes of CPR on an infant manikin on a firm surface
• following the prompts of an automated external defibrillator (AED) trainer to deliver at least one shock
• for HLTAID011, responding to a simulated incident and giving a verbal and a written report

If you can't perform these tasks, we can't grant the unit, whether through RPL or the course. Talk to us before you apply if kneeling on the floor or another task is difficult for you. We'll discuss what adjustments may be possible.

Fees

There is no fee to apply for or be granted credit transfer.

The RPL fee is $135 for HLTAID011 and $90 for HLTAID009, and we'll quote HLTAID010 on its own when you ask. It covers the assessor's time, so you pay it for every RPL application, whatever the result. We'll confirm the fee in writing before you pay or start the assessment.

If the assessor finds gaps, we'll tell you what further training you need, and its cost, before you agree to it. RPL and any further training together won't cost more than the course fee. For HLTAID011 and HLTAID009, the RPL fee is already the same as the course fee, so further training for those units costs nothing extra.

How to pay, and our refund rules, are in our Fees, Payments and Refunds Policy.

How long it takes

• Credit transfer: we'll give you a written decision within 5 business days of receiving your documents. It can take longer if we're waiting for another RTO to confirm your certificate.
• RPL: we'll contact you to arrange your assessment within 5 business days of receiving your completed application. We'll give you the outcome in writing within 5 business days of the assessment.

Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding Victorian public holidays.

Your Statement of Attainment

A unit granted through RPL is a full, nationally recognised result and appears on your Statement of Attainment with its national code and full title. Credit transfer recognises a unit you already hold. Your certificate from the other RTO remains your record of it. If credit transfer covers every unit you enrolled in, we record the credit but don't issue a new Statement of Attainment.

We issue your Statement of Attainment once you've met all assessment requirements and paid all agreed fees, within the timeframe set out in our Terms and Conditions. We need your USI before we can issue it.

Appeals

If you disagree with an RPL or credit transfer decision, you can appeal. A different assessor reviews an RPL decision. Nobody involved in the original decision decides the appeal. Our Complaints and Appeals Policy explains how to appeal and the time limits.

Records

We record every RPL and credit transfer decision with its reasons. We keep your RPL evidence and assessment records, and the documents for any credit transfer, for at least 2 years after you complete the unit or we grant the credit. Our Privacy Policy explains how we look after your information.

Echocardiography courses

Our echocardiography courses are non-accredited professional training. They aren't nationally recognised, so RPL and credit transfer under the Standards for RTOs 2025 don't apply to them. Instead, we have our own entry rules for Applied Echocardiography and a fee credit for students who complete Basic Echocardiography with us.

Completing an echocardiography course earns a Scope Institute certificate, not a Statement of Attainment. Universities and other organisations decide for themselves whether to recognise it.

Entry to Applied Echocardiography

To enrol in Applied Echocardiography (Part 1), you need Basic Echocardiography or approved equivalent training. You'll also need a consultation with us to check that the course suits you. The other entry requirements, including a completed degree, are listed on our echocardiography course pages.

Training with another provider

If you've done practical echocardiography training with another provider, you can ask us to accept it instead of Basic Echocardiography. We review it before you enrol.

1. Contact our Student Support team and send details of the training, including the provider, course outline, supervised scanning hours and your certificate.
2. A trainer and assessor compares its content and scanning hours with what Basic Echocardiography covers.
3. We tell you within 10 business days of receiving complete details whether we accept it.

If we accept it, you've met this one entry requirement. Acceptance doesn't guarantee a place and isn't RPL or credit transfer. If you disagree with our decision, you can appeal it under our Complaints and Appeals Policy.

The $1,800 fee credit

If you complete Basic Echocardiography with us and then enrol in Applied Echocardiography, we credit $1,800 of your Basic Echocardiography fee towards your Applied Echocardiography fee. This is a fee credit, not credit transfer.

• You must complete Basic Echocardiography with Scope Institute. Accepting training from another provider for entry doesn't give you this credit.
• The credit counts only towards the Applied Echocardiography fee, not towards Clinical Rotations or any other course.
• Completing Basic Echocardiography doesn't guarantee a place in Applied Echocardiography. You must still meet its other entry requirements.
• If you enrol in Basic Echocardiography on or after 28 September 2026, when this version of the policy was published, the credit expires 1 year after you complete Basic Echocardiography. To use it, you need to enrol in Applied Echocardiography before it expires.
• If you enrolled in Basic Echocardiography before 28 September 2026, you keep the terms you enrolled under. Your credit has no expiry date.
• The credit can't be transferred to another person and has no cash value.

Our Fees, Payments and Refunds Policy sets out course fees and payment terms.

Questions

Our Student Support team can help at any stage of an application. Email admin@scopeinstitute.edu.au or call 1300 508 809, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (Melbourne time). You can also use our enquiry form.