Yes, informal learning can be recognised through Recognition of Prior Learning in Australia.
Informal learning develops through everyday experience rather than a structured course. It may come from work, family responsibilities, volunteering, community involvement, hobbies, sport, self-directed projects or other life activities.
The experience itself is not automatically recognised. A qualified assessor from an authorised Registered Training Organisation must determine whether your current skills and knowledge meet the relevant qualification or unit requirements.
Evidence may include work samples, photographs, project records, references, activity logs, demonstrations and professional conversations. It must be valid, sufficient, authentic and current.
RPL Access Australia can help you identify possible evidence and organise a portfolio. It does not make competency decisions or issue qualifications; those responsibilities remain with the RTO.
Potentially, yes.
The Australian Qualifications Framework defines RPL as an assessment process covering relevant formal, informal and non-formal learning.
ASQA explains that informal learning can occur through work-related, social, family, hobby or leisure activities. TAFE NSW likewise lists community involvement, hobbies, leisure activities and committee membership as possible life-experience evidence.
This means valuable learning does not have to come from a classroom or lead to a certificate before it can be considered.
However, the RTO must still apply a rigorous assessment process. It cannot grant recognition merely because an applicant has participated in an activity.
See how Recognition of Prior Learning works for the full process.
Informal learning is learning that happens through experience and is not organised as a structured program with defined learning outcomes, teaching time or formal assessment.
Examples include learning through:
You may not have set out to study, but you developed skills by doing, observing, practising, adapting and solving real problems.
Learning type What it means Examples Possible recognition pathway Formal learning Structured learning leading to an accredited qualification or recognised result Certificate, diploma, degree or statement of attainment Credit transfer or RPL Non-formal learning Structured learning that does not lead to an AQF qualification Workplace course, industry workshop, vendor training or community program RPL Informal learning Unstructured learning gained through everyday activities and experience Work, family, hobbies, volunteering, sport or self-directed projects RPL The labels describe how learning occurred. The assessor still focuses on whether the resulting competency meets the target requirements.
You may have developed skills without completing a formal course, such as:
A job title or years of employment alone are not enough. Evidence must show the tasks and level of performance.
Family experience may build skills in:
This experience may be relevant to some units, but it does not automatically satisfy professional, clinical, regulated or workplace requirements. Family caregiving is not always equivalent to paid care work under industry conditions.
Community activities may develop:
Membership or attendance alone does not demonstrate competency. Explain your personal role and outputs.
Relevant examples might include:
Personal projects can be useful evidence, but some units require workplace conditions, commercial standards, interactions with others or licensed supervision.
Sport may develop skills in:
Participation as a player is different from coaching, coordinating or managing activities.
People may learn through:
Consuming information does not by itself prove competency. The portfolio should show how you applied the learning and the outcomes achieved.
Side projects, family businesses and occasional paid work may build skills in:
Records and client verification can help establish authenticity.
The learning should be:
It must align with the skills, knowledge and assessment conditions of the target unit.
You need to show what you can do—not simply state that you learned it.
The assessor must be satisfied that your competency reflects present requirements.
You may need experience across a suitable range of tasks, contexts and occasions.
Evidence should allow the RTO to confirm your claims through documents, third parties or direct assessment.
Where others were involved, identify your personal contribution.
Informal learning often has no transcript, so a portfolio may combine different evidence types.
Examples include:
Add a note explaining the date, context, your role and what each sample demonstrates.
Self-created records may need independent verification or direct assessment.
A useful statement describes specific tasks the person directly observed, dates, frequency, independence and performance. A declaration should not normally be the only evidence.
Media may show:
Use captions, dates and supporting records. Obtain consent and protect privacy.
Digital evidence should clearly connect you with the work.
The assessor may ask you to explain:
You may be asked to perform a task in a real or simulated workplace.
Use the RPL evidence checklist to organise the material you already have.
A helpful method is to move from activity to skill to proof.
Informal activity Possible skill Evidence that may help Organised community events Planning and stakeholder coordination Schedules, budgets, event materials, photos and coordinator reference Managed a sports club committee Governance and administration Agendas, minutes, policies, reports and office-bearer verification Built websites as a hobby Web development and project delivery Portfolio, version history, project notes and practical task Cared for a family member Communication and service coordination De-identified records, third-party evidence and assessment activities Repaired equipment at home Technical problem-solving Photos, maintenance records, explanation and practical demonstration Managed household finances Budgeting and recordkeeping Templates, de-identified records and challenge task These examples do not mean the activity automatically meets a unit. The RTO must compare it with the complete requirements.
The evidence must relate directly to the target unit.
For example, photographs of a finished garden may support landscaping claims, but they may not show planning, soil preparation, equipment use or safety.
There must be enough quality, quantity and relevance for a sound judgement.
One event or project may not demonstrate consistent performance across all required conditions.
The assessor must be confident that the evidence is your own work.
Questions, metadata, referee checks and observation may be used.
The evidence must demonstrate current skills and knowledge.
Older learning may need recent practice, current knowledge questions or a practical assessment.
Not always, but documents can make verification easier.
If you have limited paperwork, ask the RTO whether it can use:
RPL without conventional documents is possible in some circumstances, but the assessor still needs enough reliable evidence to make a competency decision.
No universal number of years applies to all RPL applications.
A long period of experience does not automatically prove the full unit, while a shorter period involving substantial and varied responsibility may produce useful evidence.
The assessor considers:
Some training products, licensing pathways or funding programs may specify minimum experience or workplace conditions. Check the exact requirements rather than applying one rule to every qualification.
Potentially, when they produce learning relevant to the units.
However, family activity may not occur under the same conditions as a regulated workplace. For example, caring for a relative may develop communication and organisation skills but may not cover professional boundaries, workplace documentation, team practice, mandatory reporting or supervised clinical tasks.
The RTO may grant partial recognition, request direct assessment or identify gap training.
Protect the privacy and dignity of family members. Do not submit personal health or care information without lawful authority and clear necessity.
They may contribute evidence, but trade units often require workplace performance, current safety practices, specific equipment, multiple jobs and licensing conditions.
A person who regularly repairs vehicles, builds furniture or completes home renovations may have relevant skills. The assessor may still require:
Recognition does not automatically grant a trade or contractor licence.
Potentially.
Online tutorials, forums and independent research may help explain how you learned. Stronger evidence demonstrates application, such as:
Certificates from non-accredited online courses may be supporting evidence, but they are not automatically equivalent to nationally recognised units.
Potentially, yes.
Informal learning is not excluded because it occurred overseas. The RTO may require:
Australian laws, WHS requirements, codes, workplace communication and industry standards may need separate assessment.
An RPL outcome does not guarantee a licence, migration skills assessment or visa.
These terms are sometimes confused.
For example:
Both may support RPL when relevant and properly evidenced.
Potentially, if the assessor confirms competency in every required unit and all qualification requirements are met.
Possible outcomes include:
No responsible provider can guarantee a complete qualification before assessment.
Informal evidence may be insufficient when:
This does not mean the learning has no value. It may support partial RPL or help identify a shorter gap-training pathway.
Informal activities may involve family members, clients, children or community participants.
Do not submit:
Ask whether the RTO can accept redacted samples, blank templates, authorised verification or practical assessment.
Check current qualifications, units and assessment conditions on training.gov.au.
Include work, family, community, hobbies, sport and personal projects.
Write what you personally completed, decided, produced, managed or solved.
Note dates, frequency, responsibility, tools, other people involved and the outcome.
Look for genuine alignment. Do not force unrelated experience into a qualification.
Combine samples, records, third-party verification and media where possible.
De-identify sensitive records and obtain permission.
Note which claims rely only on your statement and may need direct assessment.
Practise explaining your decisions and completing relevant tasks.
Confirm the units, methods, fees, timeframes, practical requirements and gap-training options.
“Member of a club for five years” says little about what you can do.
Attendance, observation or interest do not necessarily demonstrate performance.
A résumé summarises claims but may not verify them.
Add third-party evidence or direct assessment where possible.
Identify your individual contribution.
Informal learning must be assessed against the current unit.
Use consent, redaction and secure processes.
RPL applies the same competency requirements as other assessment pathways.
Be cautious if a business:
Quality RPL recognises real competency without weakening qualification standards.
Learning project-management skills while organising a community event is one example. The applicant would still need evidence showing the tasks and outcomes.
Yes, relevant hobbies may support RPL. Work samples, activity records, photographs, third-party evidence and practical assessment can help demonstrate competency.
Potentially, where the learning aligns with the units. Professional, workplace and regulated requirements may still need assessment or training.
Potentially. The assessor needs evidence that you can apply those skills to the standard required by the qualification.
No. Informal learning usually does not produce a certificate. Other evidence and direct assessment can be used.
Usually not by itself. A reference may be combined with samples, records, questions and observation.
Yes. RPL can assess evidence from formal, non-formal and informal learning together.
No. Informal learning is unstructured. Non-formal learning is structured but does not lead to an AQF qualification.
Only if the RTO determines that the experience and conditions satisfy the applicable requirements. Do not assume that general life experience automatically replaces placement.
A qualified assessor working for the authorised RTO makes the competency decision. RPL Access Australia can support preparation but cannot approve RPL or issue qualifications.
Informal learning can build valuable vocational skills, even when no course or certificate was involved. A strong application explains what you learned, shows how you applied it and supports the claims with reliable evidence.
RPL Access Australia can help you explore a suitable pathway and organise informal-learning evidence. The authorised RTO remains responsible for assessment, gap decisions and certification.
Start your RPL eligibility check or contact RPL Access Australia to discuss your experience.
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