Skills Unit FAQs

We are a distance education provider, with all interactive learning material and assessments conducted online. This flexibility of online learning means that we have students from all over the world who can study at their own pace. While enrolled, students can easily access the most current version of the learning resources through a computer or mobile device.

A stable internet connection and a computer or mobile device is required.

Your enrolment fee covers unlimited access to the online interactive learning material including any applicable resources for the duration of your study period, an attempt at the assessments, access to support staff for any queries related to your enrolment or studies, and at the successful completion of studies, a result transcript/Statement of Attainment and qualification testamur/certificate.

Yes, our qualifications are mapped against national competency standards as found in the relevant training packages of the AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework).

Training package requirements can change every 4 – 5 years to reflect updated industry requirements. All training providers must adhere to these regulatory changes. When a training package is updated, new units may be added to the qualification and equally, some units may become superseded.

If you are starting or finishing studies when a new training package is about to take effect, our website will contain information about the changes and impact to your studies.

Our courses are for those who are new to the industry or already in the industry. 

Individuals who are new to the industry or to studies are recommended to spend additional time with the learning resources. See more at 'What is the recommended study time for each skills unit?'

ANZIIF membership is not a pre-requite to studying with us. Our courses are available to everyone.

While you are studying with us, you may also receive complimentary Student membership. Student members will receive access to the professional development hub where you can access articles and quizzes to supplement your learning.

Learn more at https://anziif.com/membership/benefits 

A minimum of six months to two years. This will vary based upon the number of skills units required to complete the qualification (refer to the qualification webpage) and how you choose to plan your studies.

As a guide, a Certificate IV level qualification can take between 6 months to two years and a Diploma level qualification can take between one to two years. For example, the Certificate IV in General Insurance contains 12 units, and each unit is 5 weeks in duration. If you prefer to enrol in one unit at a time, you are likely to complete your qualification in 60 weeks. If you prefer to overlap your studies or enrol in two units per study period, you are likely to complete your qualification in 30 weeks. Your individual preference of enrolling in one unit at a time, overlapping your study periods or enrolling in two units per study period will determine how long (or short) it takes.

Your individual performance in each unit will also contribute to this.

You may need to allow for regulatory training package changes which are outside of ANZIIF’s control.

This ranges for each individual student but as a guide, 20 – 25 hours. The amount of training for each skills unit may be up to five hours per week. ‘Amount of training’ is defined as the hours spent in structured learning (reviewing the learning material).

Individuals who are new to the industry or to studies are recommended to spend an additional 5 hours per week in ‘unsupervised’ learning. ‘Unsupervised’ learning is to develop study skills or further research. For example, an individual not working in industry would need more time to review industry websites that are usually introduced in workplace compliance training.

Individuals working in industry may be able to complete the course requirements in a shorter timeframe or less hours per week.

Yes.  There is a multiple-choice Exam and one or two case study Interactive Simulations. These are open-book or open-resource. 

Detailed information is on our Assessment webpage.

Assessments are due at the end of the study period. The approximate hours the student can expect to engage in assessment activities is 90 minutes for the Exam (timed) and 60 to 120 minutes for each Simulation (not timed, 60 minutes is a guide only). The total assessment hours for each Skills Unit with one Simulation is approximately two and a half hours. Skills Units with two Simulations will take approximately three and a half hours.
 
Your specific exam duration will be outlined in the Exam Instructions which you can access as soon as you are enrolled.

ANZIIF’s requirement as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) is to assess students against the criteria developed under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the national framework of qualifications. These criteria are laid out in the units of competency that underpin the AQF and that ensure consistency of education and assessment across Australia.

The AQF is a competency-based system, which is different from the systems used in schools and universities. In a competency-based system, skills and knowledge are assessed against specific criteria, and RTOs are required to collect evidence that demonstrates a student is competent in those criteria. Students are either graded as ‘competent’ or ‘not yet competent’.

ANZIIF collects evidence through its assessment, which comprises a two-part exam and one or two interactive simulations. The assessment for Skill Units is specifically designed to cover all the elements and performance criteria defined in a unit of competency.

For a student to be marked competent, they must demonstrate that they have obtained the skills and knowledge required by unit of competency across all elements of the assessment. They must do so by achieving at least 70% in Part A of the exam and answer all Part B questions correctly (at least three tries per question provided if needed) and completing the interactive simulation/s.

In Part B, each question must be answered correctly and at least three tries are provided to enable this. Part B requires application of the knowledge, and therefore assesses the performative elements of the unit of competency. A student must be able to perform the skills required by the unit of competency to be assessed as ‘competent’. If a student cannot fully perform the skills, they cannot be assessed as competent in that skill.

At the completion of a unit, ANZIIF considers the assessment as a whole, not as discrete parts. Therefore, when a student is not yet competent in part of the assessment, they are required to complete all parts again.

A detailed breakdown of the relevant elements and performance criteria for each unit of competency can be found at https://training.gov.au.

More information on the AQF with the website: https://www.aqf.edu.au

If you are unsuccessful in any component of your exam, you have unlimited opportunities to re-enrol at a discounted fee to complete the unit again. The discounted fee is N$110 for those in New Zealand or A$99 for everyone else. This rate is available provided you re-enrol in a study period that commences within 6 months of your initial study period’s result release date. Download the Re-enrolment Form

The next available exam date is typically one week away. 

If you have been in the industry for some time, you can simply skip the foundation-level Skills Units and begin learning at the level applicable to you. Moreover, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) a process that will allow you to gain credit for past experience and help you to attain an ANZIIF Certificate or AQF qualification. 

Visit the Recognition of Prior Learning webpage for more information.

Consultation with industry has highlighted a disconnect between traditional learning and the needs of industry employers. Consistently, employees are finding that they do not have the skills and measurable capabilities employers want. Current courses in the market are generic and don’t provide specific insurance skills at the level of quality required. 

New ways of learning, like Skills Units, enable us to provide you with the skills your employers want, plus the interactive nature of the units themselves enables you to apply those learnings directly to your work. A win-win for you and your bosses.

We believe that the future of education is changing, and our goal as an education institute is to always provide the best quality education for industry — whatever that may look like in the future. For that reason, while we have transitioned of all traditional study to skills offerings.

There is a re-print fee associated with all re-prints.

Please contact our Customer Service Team on +61 3 9613 7200 (New Zealand free-call 0800 103 675) to organise a re-print.