Evidence for recognition of prior learning: what to collect

Four tests, then the pile

Valid means it is about the element, not about a neighbouring job. Sufficient means there is enough of the task, including the part that gets covered up. Authentic means you did it, which is why a supervisor’s name matters. Current means it is recent enough for the RTO’s rule. This portfolio treats about three years as current and still shows older work rather than hiding it.

ASQA’s public examples of RPL evidence are work samples or a portfolio, training records or certificates, and employer declarations or references. Many RTOs also ask for a résumé, payslips or an ABN if you are self-employed, photo identity, and a Unique Student Identifier. The USI is how the qualification, if issued, is recorded. This site does not create one.

On the tools

For plumbing, electrical, carpentry, automotive, and plant, photograph the work in stages. A finished bathroom does not prove the membrane. A backfilled trench does not prove the inspection opening. One wide shot for the place, one close shot for the component or the test reading, and a voice note with the address, the date, and what you did.

Add the paper that already exists: a job sheet, a test result, a compliance form, a logbook, a licence. A reference is useful when it names duties and dates. “Hard worker” does not map to a unit. Leave out tax file numbers, a client’s medical notes, and faces you do not need. Crop a house number if the address is already in the note.

1. Pick the national code first. Evidence with no code is a pile.
2. File one job you can still picture. Site, date, what your hands did.
3. Confirm the links that are your work. Reject the ones that are not.
4. Open the unit that is still a gap and collect that piece next, while you can still get to it.
5. When an assessor asks, share a code or the pack. Do not hand over your login.

Not every trade looks like a photo

Care, education support, and similar work often cannot be photographed. Privacy comes first. Those files lean on job descriptions, supervision records, references, and a conversation with the assessor. Cookery leans on menus, food-safety records, and a head chef who will say what you ran. The unit list is different. The rules of evidence are not.

This portfolio is built for the trades on the Australian list. If the code you need is not a trade we map, the register at training.gov.au still lists the units. Do not force a plumbing file to stand in for a different qualification.