Question:
Does TAFE Queensland plan to continue doing the online exams in Brightspace, and simply require a proctoring solution to proctor exams which are being delivered through Brightspace, or is TAFE Queensland open to using an online exam platform which tightly integrates with Brightspace? Exams would then be proctored by a proctoring solution. So the scenario would be a student logs into Brightspace, goes into their unit, clicks on a link which launches the exam platform, and this experience is live proctored.

Answered on 25/Sep/2025 03:12 PM:


TAFE Queensland currently delivers all assessments through the Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS), which serves as the central point for assessment records, results, and educator feedback.

TAFE Queensland is open to considering an integrated online exam platform for proctored assessments, provided the following essential criteria are met:

1. Data Protection: The solution must ensure robust protection of student data and personal information, in accordance with relevant privacy legislation and TAFE Queensland’s policies.

2. Cyber Security Compliance: The platform must comply with TAFE Queensland’s cyber security standards and policies, including secure authentication and data transmission protocols.

3. LMS Integration: The platform must support seamless integration with Brightspace, including the ability to write back assessment results to the LMS to maintain a single source of truth.

4. Educator Feedback Workflow: The solution must allow educator feedback for assessments to continue to be managed within Brightspace, preserving existing workflows and academic oversight.

TAFE Queensland’s preference is to maintain Brightspace as the core assessment environment, but we are open to exploring integrated solutions that enhance the online proctoring experience while meeting the above requirements.

Question:
1. What is the average number of exams each student is expected to sit through remote proctoring?

2. What is the typical duration of those exams (i.e. 60 minutes, 120 minutes etc...)?

Answered on 26/Sep/2025 12:02 PM:


Answer 1 - Certificate 4 students will sit 2 to 4 exams, Diploma students will sit 1 to 6 exams

Answer 2 - Set up time (per exam, per student) - 30 to 60 minutes, Allowed time per exam - 240 minutes

Question:
Would failing to meet all elements of this requirement disqualify a vendor from consideration? All data generated by the solution must be stored within Australian data centres to comply with local data protection regulations. No data should be stored or processed overseas. Explain the location of your data servers.

Answered on 26/Sep/2025 12:07 PM:


TAFE Queensland requires that all student data be stored on-shore within Australia. This is a mandatory requirement.

If student data is processed, transmitted, or accessible from locations outside Australia, you must explain how the data is protected both in transit and at rest. This includes detailing the encryption methods, access controls, and any other relevant security measures in place to ensure compliance with TAFE Queensland’s data protection standards.

Question:
In the TQC0013757_QITC_Contract_Details on page 12 there is text:

---

13. Policies, codes of conduct, rules, standards and procedures

Without limitation, the Supplier must comply with the following:

(a)

;

(b)

;

(c) TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for SaaS Vendors;

(d) TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for Suppliers;

(e) TAFE Queensland Privacy Policy;

(f) Code of Conduct for Queensland Public Service.

---

The questions is:

1) what is missing from points (a) and (b)?

2) where I can find TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for SaaS Vendors?

3) where I can find TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for Suppliers?

Answered on 07/Oct/2025 01:55 PM:


1 - This is error in the draft document. The only policies are the ones listed from C to F.

2 & 3 The TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for SaaS Vendors and TAFE Queensland Information and Cyber Security Policy for Suppliers documents have been uploaded to the request.

Question:
A. Eligibility & Local Participation

1. Australian Business Number (ABN) for International Entities

The Invitation to Offer requires suppliers to provide an ABN. Could TAFE Queensland please confirm whether international vendors without an Australian-registered entity may participate, and if so, whether a local partner or nominee ABN is acceptable for contracting purposes under the QITC framework?

2. Supporting Indigenous Queenslanders

Section 5 of Schedule A (“Supporting Indigenous Queenslanders”) asks for initiatives but does not specify if this is mandatory. Could TAFE Queensland confirm whether providing Indigenous participation or engagement plans is mandatory or only desirable for evaluation?

B. Evaluation Criteria & Weighting

3. Evaluation Weighting

Whether individual weightings or percentages are assigned across the evaluation areas (e.g., Functional/Technical requirements, ICT compliance, Pricing, Indigenous and social benefit contributions, and Value Adds)?

C. Functional Scope & Delivery Model

4. Scope of Proctoring Services

Clause 1.01 of the specification mentions “Human Live Proctoring and AI Monitoring.” Could TAFE Queensland clarify whether:

o the supplier must provide and manage human proctors directly; or

o TAFE intends to source or schedule its own proctors using the supplier’s platform?

5. Exam Volumes & Concurrency

While the request summary notes approximately 1,669 students currently require proctoring, could TAFE Queensland confirm:

o the expected number of exams per student per year;

o the average and maximum duration per exam; and

o the maximum expected concurrent exam sessions the system must support?

6. Practice Exam Feature

Requirement 6.01 requests a practice exam facility (“Highly desirable”). Please confirm whether this must be a fully functional mock exam environment or if a demo/tutorial mode would satisfy the intent.

D. Data Management & Privacy

7. Data Retention Period

Could TAFE Queensland specify the required retention duration for recorded exam data (video, audio, and system logs)? For example, should these be retained until assessment sign-off, or for a defined period (e.g., 12 months, 3 years) to meet academic record obligations?

8. Data Migration Requirements

Please confirm whether the supplier is expected to migrate any historical exam recordings or metadata from existing proctoring tools into the new platform.

o If yes, can TAFE Queensland indicate the approximate data volume and file formats?

o If not, will the implementation start fresh with new exams only?

9. Disaster Recovery Location

For the ICT Platform Requirements, does TAFE Queensland require a secondary DR site also located within Australia, and are there any specific Recovery Point Objective (RPO) / Recovery Time Objective (RTO) targets?

E. Integration & Technical Interfaces

10. Brightspace Integration Method

Requirement 11.01 specifies integration with Brightspace (Desire2Learn). Could TAFE Queensland confirm the preferred integration method (e.g., LTI 1.3, API, SCORM extension, SAML SSO), and whether testing access to the pre-production Brightspace environment will be provided during evaluation?

11. Browser Extension Acceptance

Requirement 9.09 indicates that browser extensions will be accepted if required. Could TAFE Queensland clarify if full-device lockdown browsers are permissible options?

F. Service Levels, Implementation & Support

12. Implementation Timeline Expectations

Attachment 1 (8.01) lists implementation plan components but not target durations. Could TAFE Queensland advise the desired timeframe from contract signing to go-live, and any critical milestone dates (e.g., pilot completion)?

13. Support Hours and Channels

Requirement 6.02 specifies “24/7 support” as highly desirable. Could TAFE Queensland clarify if this refers to:

o 24/7 support for students only, or also for administrators; and

o whether a local (Australia-based) support presence is required?

G. Commercial & Contractual

14. Price Schedule Granularity

In the QITC Schedule 1 – Price Table, should pricing be presented per exam (per hour), per student, or enterprise licence model?

H. User Experience

15. Language Requirements

Requirement 3.07 specifies English-language proctoring. Please confirm whether there is any requirement for multilingual proctor or interface support (e.g., for ESL students).

Answered on 08/Oct/2025 01:40 PM:


Answer 1 - International Suppliers without an Australian Business Number are welcome to submit a response and should include the organisational identifier or Business Number that applies in their region.

Answer 2- This item is not mandatory

Answer 3 - The Evaluation Criteria is listed is section 1.5 of the Invitation to Officer document. The weights are not disclosed tot he suppliers.

Answer 4 - Organisations submitting a response should indicate if they utilise live Proctors, AI, or other computer based monitoring.

If live Proctors are used, the submission should state if those Proctors are employed directly or are sub-contract/Contractors

TAFE Queensland is seeking submissions comprising a comprehensive service and will not be employing live proctors directly.

If live Proctors are not utilised, the submission should state how the service would be delivered.

Answer 5 - The current indicated usage is expected to increase with the availability of the new service.

No estimates are available on forecast volumes, however several significant business areas within TAFE Queensland have indicated interest and are awaiting the outcome of the ITO. Additionally, no estimates are available on forecast concurrency. Submissions should note any limitations on students sitting supervised exams concurrently and include mitigations such as scheduling etc.

Answer 6 - A demo exam would suffice in order to help prepare the student for a live exam.

Answer 7 - Exam results should be retained until those results are transferred into the TAFE Queensland Student record.

Recordings or anything containing student personal information should be retained only as long as is required to provide TAFE Queensland with the results. Those recordings may need to be made available to TAFE Queensland and should then not be retained.

Answer 8 - No recordings or metadata from previous exams or the legacy proctoring service will be migration to the new solution.

Answer 9 - TAFE Queensland’s preference is to manage all data within Australia. As such it is preferred that disaster recovery is onshore. A second DR site is not mandated, however Suppliers should indicate how they manage DR and if failover sites onshore or offshore are utilised.

Answer 10 - Integration with Brightspace by D2L is required. LTI 1.3 integration may offer the best solution however TAFE Queensland will evaluate other methodologies if detail is provided.

A demonstration of the integration capabilities may be required as part of the evaluation and if a particular solution is chosen, acceptance testing will be required prior to go-live.

Answer 11 - Suppliers should indicate in their response how the browser manages application access control and if extensions are used.

It should be noted that some assessments require access to specific websites and web applications. The capability to lockdown in a granular way should be described in detail.

Answer 12 - Timelines for the ITO are indicative of the procurement stage. It is anticipated that the timeframe from contract signing to go-live should be no more than 3 months.

Answer 13 - TAFE Queensland students may undertake supervised exams at any time. 24/7 support is a highly desirable requirement to accommodate supporting students. Support for educators and other TAFE Queensland staff will be during AEST business hours. If that support is available during those business hours, an onshore support presence is not required. Noting the preference to keep student data onshore wherever possible.

Answer 14 - Pricing should be presented per exam. If an enterprise licencing model is suitable, detail of the scope and any limitations should be included.

Answer 15 - Currently the exams will be delivered in English language. If a supplier has capability or support for other languages that should be noted.

Question:
For attachments 2 & 3, is the Vendor Response column to elaborate on how we meet the criteria? Also, what information is expected to be entered under the TQ Control Reference column?

Answered on 08/Oct/2025 01:53 PM:


Yes, the supplier is to elaborate on how they meet the criteria in the Vendor Response column. The Supplier does not need to complete the TQ Control References Column this is for TAFE QLD to complete.

Question:
Is there an estimate of the number of hours of live proctoring that TAFE Queensland anticipates using?

Answered on 08/Oct/2025 02:14 PM:


The current usage indicated in the ITO is expected to increase with the availability of the new service.

No estimates are available on forecasting live proctoring hours, however several significant business areas within TAFE Queensland have indicated interest and are awaiting the outcome of the ITO.

Question:
Is TAFE Queensland considering utilizing proctors for live assessments provided by the vendor?

Answered on 08/Oct/2025 02:14 PM:


Yes. TAFE Queensland is considering the use of live proctors, computer based monitoring and a combination of the two.