It’s the paperwork. And when you’re going for RPL certification, paperwork is the whole game. Not because anyone wants to make your life harder, but because Recognition of Prior Learning is still an assessment process – it has to show you meet the unit requirements in the training package, based on evidence.
So, this article is your evidence pack sanity guide: what counts, what often looks legit but fails, and how to pull together an assessor-friendly pack without spending your entire weekend renaming files.
What “RPL certification” actually means
Let’s get the basics straight, because half the confusion comes from people using “RPL” like it’s a shortcut button.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is when an RTO (Registered Training Organisation) assesses the skills and knowledge you’ve gained through work and life experience, to see whether you meet the requirements of a qualification or unit.
A couple of key implications:
- RPL certification is not automatic. It still needs a proper assessment decision based on evidence.
- Evidence has to match units. A great résumé doesn’t necessarily prove competency.
- Gaps can happen. If you’re missing parts of a unit, you may need “gap training” (which is normal – not a failure).
If you want the official, regulation-side view of what “appropriate RPL” looks like, ASQA spells it out clearly.
Why your evidence pack matters more than you think
Here’s the blunt truth: most RPL delays aren’t because someone “failed” – they’re because the evidence is:
- Too vague
- Not clearly linked to tasks
- Outdated (no recent examples)
- Missing context (what job, what tools, what responsibility, what outcome).
Assessors are working to the rules of evidence, such as validity, sufficiency, authenticity, and currency (yes, it sounds like a courtroom, but it’s basically “prove it’s real and recent enough”). ASQA also flags currency and robust evidence checks as a common problem area across the sector.
So, if you want speed, clarity is your best mate.
The RPL evidence pathway (high-level)
Most people do better when they know what they’re walking into. A typical RPL flow looks like this:
- Eligibility check / discovery call
A quick chat to confirm you’ve got enough experience and you’re aiming for the right qualification.
- Evidence collection
You pull together proof of tasks, scope, tools, and outcomes.
- Assessment
A qualified assessor maps your evidence against the relevant units.
- Follow-ups / gap evidence
You might be asked for extra proof, or to complete short gap training.
- Outcome
If you meet requirements, you receive the relevant result (full qualification or units, depending on the pathway).
That’s RPL in Australia in plain English: show what you can do, prove it properly, and make it easy to map.
RPL evidence requirements: the checklist (what counts)
Here’s the part you came for. These are common evidence types that assessors can actually use and how to make each one stronger.
1) Photos and videos of your work (with context)
Photos are great if they show more than “a thing I built once.”
To make them count, add:
- Date / approximate time period
- Location / site type (residential, commercial, civil, etc.)
- Your role (lead, assisting, supervising)
- What’s happening in the photo (not just “installing” – installing what, how, to what standard)
- Tools/equipment used (where relevant).
Assessor-friendly tip: A 10-second phone note or caption can turn “nice pic” into “usable competency evidence”.
2) Job logs, timesheets, service records, or diary notes
This is often the most underrated evidence because it proves consistency, not a one-off job.
Good examples include:
- Maintenance logs
- Site diaries
- Supervisor daily sheets
- Shift records
- Job management system exports (even screenshots).
What it proves:
- You’ve done the work repeatedly
- You’ve worked across different contexts
- You’ve handled real-world variables (timelines, safety, variations).
3) Invoices, quotes, contracts (de-identified)
If you’re a subcontractor or sole trader, these can be gold because they show:
- Scope of work
- Client type
- Responsibility level
- Commercial reality (pricing, variations, sequencing).
Just make sure you remove personal details (addresses, full names, phone numbers).
4) References from employers or supervisors (the right kind)
A reference that says “Hard worker, good attitude” is lovely… and basically useless for RPL.
A strong third-party report includes:
- How long they’ve supervised you
- What tasks you perform
- What level of independence you work at
- The types of sites you’ve worked on
- Safety and compliance behaviours
- Any leadership/supervisory duties.
Shortcut: Ask them to answer 5–7 bullet questions instead of writing a generic letter.
5) Certificates, tickets, and prior study
These don’t “prove everything” on their own, but they help establish:
- prior training history
- safety competencies
- related units already completed
Examples:
- WHS cards (White Card etc.)
- Confined space / working at heights / EWP
- First aid
- Partial TAFE transcripts
- Expired or overseas qualifications (still useful as supporting evidence).
Government guidance also notes that overseas skills and experience can be recognised in the RPL/credit context; it just needs to be assessed properly.
6) Work samples and documentation
Depending on your trade, this might include:
- Checklists
- Inspection reports
- Commissioning forms
- Measurements and plans
- QA docs
- Risk assessments / swms involvement.
Even if you didn’t “author” the document, showing your role in using it matters.
Examples of RPL evidence that looks legit but doesn’t count
Generic photos with no explanation
A photo of a finished bathroom doesn’t prove you did the waterproofing correctly or that you did it at all.
A résumé with big claims and no proof
“Managed multiple projects” needs backup: logs, references, documents, outcomes.
References that don’t mention tasks
If the reference doesn’t describe what you actually do, it can’t be mapped.
Evidence that’s too old
If all your proof is from 10 years ago and nothing recent is included, it may fail the “currency” test.
Screenshots with no source
A screenshot of a spreadsheet is fine… if you can show it’s genuinely yours and tied to real work (authenticity matters).
How to organise your RPL evidence pack fast
You don’t need a fancy system. You need one that an assessor can follow in five minutes without hunting.
Here’s a simple folder structure that works:
- 01 ID + resume
- 02 tickets + certificates
- 03 work photos (with captions)
- 04 job logs / timesheets
- 05 invoices / contracts (de-identified)
- 06 references
- 07 work docs / reports / checklists.
Naming files helps more than people expect. Try:
“2025-10 – Commercial fitout – framing – role lead – photos”
It’s not poetic, but it’s a gift to the person mapping your evidence.
What if you’re missing documents?
This is very common. Plenty of tradies can build a house but don’t have a neat archive of their last decade.
Here are practical workarounds:
- Ask past employers for a short, task-based reference
- Export job history from quoting/invoicing software
- Recreate timelines using phone photo metadata and calendar entries
- Include stat dec style statements (where appropriate) as supporting evidence, not the only evidence
- Add current work samples to strengthen currency.
The goal is to build a pack that shows real work, repeatedly, across a reasonable span.
Where Skills Certified fits
If you’re reading this thinking, “Cool, but I still don’t know what evidence I need,” that’s normal.
This is where a free skills check is genuinely useful: it helps confirm whether your experience lines up with the right qualification pathway, and what evidence will best support your claim, before you spend hours pulling the wrong files.
If you want the broader context first, you can also explore: Skills Certified’s RPL overview and Trade licensing pathways.
