How to Issue a Statement of Attainment

A Statement of Attainment (SOA) is the official document certifying that a student has achieved competency in specific units. This guide covers when and how to issue SOAs in RTObase.

Access required

Choose the task you are doing. Each row is a separate action.

Issuance still checks results, USI, payments and the course's completion requirements. Learners and employer contacts only download documents available through their own portals.

When to issue an SOA

Issue a Statement of Attainment when:

• A student completes some (but not all) units in a qualification
• A student withdraws but has achieved competency in units
• A student completes a skill set
• A student has achieved competency in some units while their enrolment is still active

Prerequisites

Before issuing an SOA:

1. SOA must be enabled on the course: The course must have the SOA toggle enabled (on by default). If SOA is disabled for a course, the Issue SOA button won't appear. See How to Add a Course
2. At least one unit must be marked Competent: The enrolment must have at least one unit with a competent outcome (Competency achieved, RPL granted, or Credit transfer)
3. Student USI must be verified: Required for nationally recognised Statements of Attainment and qualifications
4. Third Party Report must be Satisfactory: For a whole-course completion, a required TPR must be Satisfactory
5. Qualification fee paid and unit courses finished: For a qualification delivered through unit courses, the whole fee must be paid unless an employer pays. For a whole-course completion, every unit course must also be finished or credited. Issue from the qualification enrolment, because unit course enrolments never issue documents
6. No outstanding completion-gating forms: For a whole-course completion, each completion-gating form must be accepted or administratively completed by staff first. Until then, issuing is blocked and RTObase tells you how many are outstanding. See Forms
7. Not a test enrolment: RTObase does not issue a certificate or SOA for a test enrolment, because test enrolments are never reported to AVETMISS

Withdrawn qualification learners

A withdrawn learner in an accredited qualification can receive an SOA for attained units. RTObase keeps the enrolment withdrawn and preserves its completion date. At least one competent unit is required. Payment, USI and applicable entry checks still apply, but unfinished whole-course training, marking and completion forms do not block this partial SOA.

Issuing an SOA

Official marks and regulator setting

Set the organisation's regulator under Settings → General → Details. Choose ASQA or Training Accreditation Council (WA) once for the RTO. It is not selected per course.

RTObase adds the official marks automatically:

• A nationally recognised Statement of Attainment or qualification carries the NRT mark
• A TAC-regulated RTO's nationally recognised document carries both the NRT and TAC marks
• A non-accredited Statement of Completion carries neither mark

The Statement of Attainment relationship wording is included only when the attained units belong to a recognised qualification, skill set, or accredited course.

Certification status badge

Once an SOA has been issued, the Statement of Attainment card on the enrolment overview displays an Issued badge alongside a green confirmation banner. This gives you an at-a-glance indicator that certification has been completed without needing to scroll to the document number or date fields.

If no SOA has been issued yet, the card shows the permanent document number and a preparation action. Final issuance remains in the enrolment completion flow.

SOA content

The generated SOA includes:

Header

• Your RTO name and logo
• National RTO Code
• Contact details

Student information

• Full legal name (including middle name if recorded)
• Date of birth
• USI (masked for privacy)

Achievement

• "This is a statement that [Student Name] has attained the following unit(s) of competency"

Units table

Footer

• Document number
• Date of issue
• Authorised signatory
• AQF logo (if applicable)

After issuance

Resending the System Message

To resend the SOA issued email and SMS to the student:

1. Open the enrolment
2. In the Statement of Attainment card, click Resend System Message
3. The student receives the message via email and SMS (if SMS is enabled for the SOA Issued System Message)

Each email issue or resend has its own durable delivery record. If the email provider is temporarily unavailable, RTObase retries that same message without issuing the completion document again.

Download tracking

RTObase tracks when a student first downloads their SOA from the portal. Downloading while using View as student does not record a student download. The download date appears in:

• The enrolment overview under "Student Download"
• The enrolments list as the "SOA Downloaded" column

Student portal access

After issuance:

1. The student can log into the portal
2. Navigate to Completion documents
3. Verify their identity (if not already done)
4. Download the PDF
5. Share or print as needed

Employer portal access

When an enrolment is linked to an employer, approved employer contacts can open Completion documents in their portal after the document has been issued.

• Each SOA, Statement of Completion, or Qualification Certificate can be downloaded individually.
• Download all produces a ZIP containing the newest 100 issued documents for that employer.
• Employer access is scoped to enrolments sponsored by the authenticated employer; contacts pending staff approval cannot access documents.

The employer portal uses the same PDF generator as the backoffice preview and student portal. Issued records with retained presentation and units use those facts in all three portals. Older records use current details for facts they did not retain.

SOA settings

Configure your SOA templates in Settings:

1. Go to Settings → Statements
2. Customise:
   • Header text and logo placement
   • Footer text
   • Signatory details (name, title, and optional signature image)
   • Colour scheme (within AQF guidelines)

Document numbering

Set your numbering convention:

• Prefix: A separate prefix for each completion-document type, for example SA or CERT
• Number of digits: One shared zero-padded width for every completion-document type (for example, five digits produces SA-00001)
• Next number: One shared forward-only sequence used by Statement of Attainment, Statement of Completion, and Qualification Certificate enrolments

The next number can only move forward and must remain above every number already assigned. Change Next completion document number and confirm the permanent update. The next enrolment receives that numeric value with the prefix chosen by its course classification. Each document type also has its own Preview action beside its prefix.

Reissuing an SOA

If an issued document needs to be replaced, void it with a recorded reason, correct the underlying enrolment data, and issue the document again. RTObase allocates a fresh number automatically and preserves the voided record for audit. Document numbers cannot be entered manually or reused.

Voiding (revoking) a completion document

Voiding is self-service: you no longer need to contact RTObase support. A member with Enrolments: Edit can void an issued document directly from the enrolment with a recorded reason.

When you void a document, RTObase:

• Marks the document as Voided and removes the student's ability to download it
• Clears the issued flag, parchment number and issue date, and returns the enrolment to Active so it can be corrected and re-issued cleanly
• Records a SOA_VOIDED event with your reason on the enrolment timeline for the audit trail

Completion document types

RTObase issues three kinds of completion document, all through the same issue/void flow:

Configure prefixes, numbering and preview each document type in Settings → Statements.

AVETMISS considerations

SOA issuance affects AVETMISS reporting:

• Outcome ID: Set to 20 (Competency achieved) for issued SOA units
• Issued Flag: Recorded in training activity
• Issue Date: Must match the SOA date

RTObase automatically updates these fields when you issue an SOA.

Bulk SOA issuance

To finish a whole class at once, use the Complete class wizard:

1. Go to Class Schedule and select the class
2. Click Complete class in the class header. The class Gradebook also shows a Complete and issue button once students have every unit competent
3. Prerequisites: check payment, USI, LLND, forms and prior certification for each student, and fix highlighted cells
4. Attendance: mark any sessions that have no attendance recorded
5. Grading: mark submissions still awaiting review
6. Competencies: record outstanding unit results. The class trainer is recorded as the assessor by default
7. Review: set the issue date, then complete and issue for every ready student. Document numbers follow your numbering settings. After issuance, review the successful documents’ recipients and full messages. Tick messages or use Select all, then choose Send selected, or choose Finish without sending

If a result, status change or document is not saved for a student, the message names the student and gives the reason.

Bookings and direct or online enrolments have no class. Finish them from the course instead: open Courses, select the course, click the Gradebook tab, then Complete enrolments. It starts by asking which group to finish: one of the course's classes, or the bookings and online enrolments. A class runs every step, including Attendance. Bookings and online enrolments skip Attendance.

Compliance reminders

30-day requirement

The Standards for RTOs require issuance within 30 days. Track overdue issuances:

1. Go to Compliance dashboard
2. Check Pending SOAs widget
3. Filter by completion date to find overdue

USI verification

You cannot issue an AQF credential without a verified USI or an approved exemption recorded on that enrolment. If neither is recorded:

1. Contact the student to provide their USI
2. Enter the USI in RTObase, it will be verified automatically
3. Then issue the SOA

Record retention

SOA records must be retained for 30 years. RTObase stores:

• Issuance metadata and the audit snapshot captured at issuance
• Audit trail
• Student acknowledgment (if applicable)

The PDF itself is generated on demand rather than stored as a binary file.

For documents with a complete issuance snapshot, the generated PDF uses the unit codes, names, outcomes, and order captured at issuance. To correct that issued unit evidence, void the document and issue a replacement. Legacy metadata-only records continue to use the current unit projection because no complete historical unit snapshot exists.

Troubleshooting

Cannot issue SOA

Check these requirements:

• All relevant units are marked Competent
• Student has a verified USI or approved enrolment exemption (for AQF qualifications)
• SOA settings are configured
• You have permission to issue credentials
• The enrolment is not a test enrolment

PDF not generating

If the preview fails:

• Check your browser allows popups
• Try a different browser
• Clear cache and refresh
• Contact support if issues persist

Student can't access portal

Ensure:

• Student has an email address on record
• Their account is active (not archived)
• They've verified their email
• The SOA issuance completed successfully

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