Governance Structure

Governance structure and authority

The public governance structure describes the ICEQC bodies and functions recorded in controlled documents. It must be read together with the legal identity and registration record, the applicable constitutional instruments and the decision-authority rules. A committee, advisory appointment, expert contribution or administrative role has only the authority expressly assigned to it.

The Governing Council is the final institutional approval authority for controlled public standards and governance documents. The Standards Council maintains the coherence and public integrity of the standards system. Responsible technical bodies develop and maintain documents within their recorded remit. Certification functions apply published requirements to individual cases but may not alter those requirements for an applicant.

The structure protects continuity and impartiality by requiring intelligible appointments, collective competence, controlled delegation, recorded decisions and independent appeal arrangements. Governing and technical participation does not itself confer power to assess evidence, make a certification decision or determine an appeal.

The current controlled document records identify the ICEQC Standards Council, ICEQC Education Quality Technical Committee, ICEQC Education Quality Standards Council, ICEQC Certification Scheme Committee, ICEQC Education Organization Certification Scheme Committee and ICEQC Sector Module Council as responsible or approval bodies for defined instruments. Each body acts only within its recorded remit; identification in a document record does not by itself confer authority to assess an application, make an individual certification decision or determine an appeal.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 7

Governing Council

The ICEQC Governing Council is the final institutional approval authority for controlled public standards and governance documents.

Its approval confirms that the document falls within ICEQC's mandate, has completed the applicable due process, preserves impartiality and public-interest safeguards, and is authorized for publication.

Approval does not permit the Council to waive a published certification requirement for an individual applicant or to replace an independent certification or appeal decision.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 8

Standards Council and responsible technical bodies

The ICEQC Standards Council is responsible for the coherence, maintenance and public integrity of the standards system.

A document record may assign technical responsibility to a defined council, committee or other competent body.

The responsible body shall act within the scope stated in the document record, consider affected interests and preserve consistency with this Charter.

Technical responsibility does not by itself confer authority to grant, refuse, suspend, withdraw or reinstate an individual certification.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 17

Learner and beneficiary perspective

Standards development shall treat learners and the intended beneficiaries of education as materially affected interests rather than only as subjects of provider evidence.

Participation arrangements shall make it reasonably possible to obtain views concerning information clarity, accessibility, safety, fairness, support, assessment, data use, complaints and the practical effects of proposed requirements.

Where direct participation by children, vulnerable adults or persons requiring support would be inappropriate or unsafe, ICEQC may use lawful representative, advocacy, research or safeguarding-informed methods that preserve the substance of their interests.

A provider, purchaser or expert shall not be presumed to speak exclusively for learners merely because it serves, employs, studies or regulates them.

Published development information shall describe at a proportionate level how learner and beneficiary interests were considered, any material limitation on participation, and how the final text addresses a sustained concern capable of affecting protection, access or reasonable understanding of certification.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 19

Public authorities and regulated matters

ICEQC shall seek informed public-authority or regulatory perspectives where a proposed standard materially intersects education law, safeguarding, consumer protection, accessibility, privacy, product safety, professional licensure or another regulated matter.

Consultation or receipt of information from a public authority does not constitute governmental approval, delegation, recognition or endorsement of ICEQC unless the authority makes a separate express public act within its lawful powers.

ICEQC shall not present the absence of regulatory objection as approval and shall not claim that voluntary certification satisfies a legal obligation unless the competent legal source expressly provides that effect.

Where jurisdictions differ, the standard shall identify the common education-quality outcome and preserve the certified client's duty to meet locally applicable law, rather than selecting one jurisdiction's rule as a universal legal conclusion.

A public note may identify relevant legal interfaces, but legal references shall remain current, accurately scoped and clearly separated from the ICEQC conformity decision.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 20

International and cross-border participation

Participation in ICEQC standards development shall be open on fair terms to materially affected interests across countries and regions relevant to the proposed document.

ICEQC shall consider barriers created by time zone, language, digital access, disability, travel, participation cost and unfamiliarity with standards processes, and shall adopt proportionate arrangements that permit informed contribution without requiring physical presence.

Geographic diversity shall not be measured only by counting countries; it shall consider differences in legal systems, education models, infrastructure, resource conditions, culture and learner population that could change the effect of a requirement.

A national delegation, government nomination or membership in another standards organization shall not be a prerequisite for participation unless a formally defined cooperative project requires it and equivalent public-comment access remains available.

The development record shall identify the geographic reach achieved and any material underrepresentation relevant to interpreting the evidence or planning later review, without implying global acceptance merely because a consultation was available online.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 21

Balance of materially affected interests

The responsible body shall establish and disclose stakeholder categories appropriate to the subject before determining whether participation is balanced.

Balance shall consider the distribution of decision influence, not only the number of registered participants, and shall account for related entities, common funding, coordinated representation and persons occupying more than one interest category.

No provider, purchaser, profession, government, conformity-assessment interest, funder or other single category shall control the technical result by numerical dominance, procedural privilege or exclusive access to information.

A temporary imbalance may be managed through additional outreach, independent public-interest review, limitation of voting concentration or another transparent safeguard proportionate to the risk.

The final development record shall state the categories represented, material gaps, safeguards used and the responsible body's conclusion on whether the resulting process remained credible; it shall not disclose protected personal information or suggest that balance guarantees agreement with every technical outcome.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 27

Appointment and tenure of governance participants

Appointments to the Governing Council, Standards Council and responsible technical bodies shall be made under publicly intelligible authority, eligibility and tenure principles that support competence, continuity, diversity and impartiality.

An appointment shall identify the body, role, commencement, duration or review point, and any voting or reserved authority attached to it; honorary, advisory and observer roles shall not be presented as decision authority.

Removal, resignation, expiry or incapacity shall not invalidate prior authorized institutional acts solely because membership later changes, but a decision made without the required authority or quorum remains subject to procedural review.

Reappointment shall not be automatic where it would entrench dominance, unmanaged conflict or dependency.

Public governance information shall identify current bodies and accountable leadership at a proportionate level, historical changes necessary to understand document approvals, and the institutional route by which vacancies or temporary absences are addressed without transferring authority informally.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 28

Collective competence

A governance or technical body shall collectively possess competence appropriate to the decisions assigned to it, including knowledge of education quality, relevant sectors, conformity assessment, standards drafting, learner and public interests, legal and ethical boundaries, accessibility, evidence evaluation and international application.

Collective competence does not require every member to be expert in every subject, but the body shall recognize when independent specialist input is necessary and shall not treat general reputation as a substitute for relevant knowledge.

A specialist may advise without becoming a decision maker, and reliance on advice shall not transfer accountability from the authorized body.

Competence considerations shall include the ability to understand minority evidence, conflicts between jurisdictions, digital and multilingual effects, and the limits of ICEQC authority.

Public records shall identify the competence basis in aggregate or by role sufficiently to support confidence, while personal qualifications, private evaluations and protected data need not be disclosed beyond what is necessary for accountability.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 29

Experts, observers and invited contributors

A responsible body may obtain assistance from experts, observers, liaison representatives, invited contributors and persons with lived experience where this improves the relevance or legitimacy of its work.

Their status, access and influence shall be distinguishable from formal decision authority, and participation shall be subject to applicable confidentiality, conduct, rights and conflict-of-interest safeguards.

An expert opinion shall be evaluated with other evidence and shall not become binding merely because the expert holds a prominent title, represents a public authority or authored a source document.

Observers shall not be used to create an appearance of endorsement by their employers or organizations.

Where an invited contributor supplies material text, data or methodology, the development record shall preserve provenance and rights sufficient for review and future maintenance, and the final document shall remain an ICEQC institutional act rather than a personal or external publication.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 30

Delegation of authority

An ICEQC body may delegate a function only where the delegating authority possesses that function, the delegation is permitted by the controlling document, and the scope, recipient, duration, conditions and reporting relationship are clear.

Delegation shall not be inferred from access to a system, performance of administrative work, use of a title, prior custom or absence of objection.

A delegated person or body shall act within the stated boundaries and shall not further delegate a reserved function unless expressly authorized.

The delegating body retains institutional accountability and shall remain able to review whether the delegation operates as intended, without reopening an individual independent decision merely because it dislikes the result.

Public records shall identify delegation where knowledge of the decision authority is material to the validity or meaning of a standard, interpretation, publication, certification or appeal outcome.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 31

Reserved institutional decisions

Approval of the Standards System Charter, authorization of a new normative document family, final approval of a public normative standard, withdrawal of the complete certification system, and alteration of the institutional meaning of ICEQC certification are reserved to the ICEQC Governing Council unless a later public Charter lawfully assigns the function elsewhere.

The Standards Council or responsible technical body may develop, review and recommend such action but shall not represent recommendation as final approval.

Administrative publication authority may confirm identity and release of an already approved text but shall not change its normative content.

A reserved decision shall identify the authority, subject, date, effect and any condition or transition necessary for public understanding.

Emergency delegation shall not be used to make a permanent constitutional change without the later process and approval required for that change.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 32

Separation from certification assessment

Participation in developing or approving a standard shall not by itself authorize a person to assess an applicant, conduct technical review or make a certification decision under that standard.

Where a standards participant also performs a certification function, competence and impartiality shall be established for the separate role and any interest arising from authorship, consultancy, training or prior involvement shall be managed.

A person shall not use privileged knowledge of unpublished drafting intention to impose a condition absent from the published text.

Questions arising in an assessment shall be determined through the applicable certification and interpretation rules, not through private access to a drafter.

Public certification information shall preserve ICEQC responsibility for the decision and shall not suggest that a named standards contributor personally approved the certified client or guarantees the application of the document.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 33

Separation of appeal authority

A person or body deciding a procedural appeal or certification appeal shall be independent of the action under challenge and shall have no responsibility to defend the original outcome as an institutional or personal interest.

Prior general participation in adopting a standard does not alone preclude interpretation of that standard on appeal, but direct involvement in the disputed assessment, technical review, decision, complaint handling or procedural act shall preclude determination of the same matter.

Appointment, information access and support arrangements shall preserve the appeal authority's ability to review the complete relevant record without direction from commercial or original decision functions.

The public decision shall identify the appeal authority, jurisdiction, conclusion and sufficient reasons, subject to lawful confidentiality.

An appeal outcome may correct or remit a decision within its scope but shall not privately amend the standard for all other persons.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 41

Language access in governance

English may serve as the authoritative language of the ICEQC governance system, but language difference shall be considered when designing international participation and public explanation.

ICEQC may provide controlled or informative translations, multilingual summaries, terminology aids or translated comment routes where this materially improves access, provided their status and precedence are clear.

A comment shall not receive less substantive consideration merely because it is submitted in another accepted language or requires translation.

Machine translation may assist access but shall not be treated as a reliable resolution of disputed normative meaning without competent review.

Where consultation is conducted only in English, the development record shall not imply that all affected language communities were equally represented, and later evidence of a material translation or cultural interpretation issue shall be capable of triggering controlled clarification or review.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 45

Transparency of meetings and decisions

Where a meeting materially contributes to technical consensus, approval or resolution of a substantial objection, its date, purpose, participating interest categories, authority and resulting decisions shall be recorded.

Transparency does not require public livestreaming or verbatim disclosure of all deliberation, and protected personal, security, legal or commercially confidential information may be withheld.

The public record shall nevertheless permit readers to understand what institutional body acted, what issue was decided and how that action relates to the published document.

Informal discussions, workshops and bilateral meetings may inform understanding but shall not be used to make an undisclosed decision or give selected interests an exclusive opportunity to change normative text.

A correction to a meeting or decision record shall preserve the original entry, identify the reason and shall not retroactively alter a vote, attendance or authority without due-process review.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 55

Cooperation and liaison arrangements

ICEQC may cooperate with standards bodies, education organizations, research institutions, public authorities, professional associations, consumer or learner groups and other entities where cooperation advances education quality and remains within ICEQC authority.

A public arrangement shall identify its purpose, parties, duration, governance, intellectual-property position and any effect on participation or document development.

Cooperation shall not give either party authority to speak for, approve, certify or bind the other beyond the express arrangement, and shall not create preferential certification access or hidden normative influence.

Information obtained through liaison shall be evaluated under the same relevance and conflict principles as other evidence.

Where an arrangement ends or materially changes, public references shall be corrected so that historic cooperation is not presented as current recognition, endorsement or joint certification.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 62

Equal and non-discriminatory participation

ICEQC shall administer access to standards information and development opportunities without improper discrimination based on nationality, location, language, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion, age, organizational size, commercial relationship, political view or another status unrelated to the legitimate needs of the activity.

Different arrangements may be used to overcome disadvantage, protect vulnerable persons, manage conflicts or obtain missing perspectives and do not constitute improper preference where they are proportionate and transparent.

Participation may be limited by project scope, competence needed for a reserved role, conduct rules or lawful confidentiality, but the reason shall be connected to the function rather than opposition to a technical position.

A participation decision capable of materially excluding an affected interest shall be reviewable through the published procedural route.

Equal access does not require ICEQC to fund every participant, but financial and technological barriers shall be considered when evaluating whether consultation was meaningful.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 63

Standards-participation conduct

Standards participants shall engage in professional, respectful and evidence-oriented conduct compatible with open technical disagreement.

Harassment, intimidation, discriminatory abuse, deliberate disruption, impersonation, coercion, unauthorized disclosure and knowing misrepresentation of another person's position are inconsistent with participation rights.

A conduct response shall be proportionate, shall distinguish robust criticism from abuse and shall not be used to remove an inconvenient technical objection.

Except where immediate protection is necessary, the affected person shall be informed of the concern and given a fair opportunity to respond before a material restriction is imposed.

Any restriction shall identify its scope, duration, reason and review route, and shall preserve the technical record already submitted where it remains relevant.

Conduct rules shall apply consistently across status and seniority and shall not give a sponsor, office-holder or dominant participant immunity from accountability.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 64

Decision quorum and voting safeguards

Where an authorized body uses a formal vote, the applicable public governance record shall identify the eligible decision membership, quorum rule, voting threshold, treatment of abstention and conflict recusals, and whether the vote determines or only recommends the outcome.

Quorum shall reflect sufficient participation and stakeholder balance for the assigned decision and shall not be manufactured by excluding known dissent or counting persons without authority.

A proxy, written vote or asynchronous decision may be used only where identity, information equality and the controlling rule permit it.

Numerical passage shall not cure a missing mandatory consultation, unmanaged conflict, lack of reserved authority or failure to consider a sustained substantial objection.

The final record shall state the result and any material limitation while protecting individual vote confidentiality where that safeguard was established in advance.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 65

Recusal and loss of participation in a decision

A person subject to recusal shall not receive restricted decision material beyond what another similarly situated stakeholder may receive, shape the recommendation through informal direction, vote, determine consensus or approve the record of the matter from which recused.

Recusal may be limited to a provision or issue where the remaining participation does not create a reasonable appearance of influence over the affected outcome.

The body shall determine whether it retains competence, balance and quorum after recusal and shall obtain replacement or independent review where necessary.

The record shall identify that a recusal occurred and its effect on authority without publishing unnecessary personal detail.

A later challenge shall examine the substance and management of the conflict, not merely whether a declaration form existed, and a failure capable of materially affecting impartiality shall be addressed under the governance corrective-action rules.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 66

Evidence used in governance decisions

A governance or technical conclusion shall be based on information whose relevance, source, limitations and relationship to the issue can be understood.

Research reputation, citation count, participant seniority, commercial adoption or a large data volume shall not replace evaluation of method, population, currency, bias, uncertainty and applicability.

Anecdotal and lived-experience evidence may identify harms, barriers or questions even where it does not establish prevalence, while quantitative evidence shall not be interpreted beyond its design.

Conflicting evidence shall be acknowledged and evaluated rather than selected solely to support a preferred text.

Where evidence remains materially uncertain, the responsible body may adopt a proportionate precaution, pilot, monitoring condition or narrower requirement and shall explain the basis.

Protected source material may be considered where lawful, but no conclusion shall depend on a hidden normative premise unavailable to affected readers.

ICEQC-GOV-001 · Clause 67

Pilots, trials and field evaluation

ICEQC may use a pilot or field evaluation to examine clarity, feasibility, evidence availability, assessment consistency and unintended effects before approving a new or substantially revised normative document.

Participation in a pilot shall not be represented as certification under the draft, confer preferred future treatment or require a participant to endorse the result.

Pilot conditions, status, scope and use of information shall be communicated in advance, and affected confidential and personal information shall be protected.

Findings shall distinguish technical evidence from participant satisfaction and shall identify limits caused by sample, geography, object type or simulated activity.

A pilot may justify change, further consultation, delayed publication or discontinuation, but shall not replace the required approval process.

If a live certification relies on a separately published existing edition during the pilot, that basis shall remain clear and independent of the trial text.

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 12

Scheme ownership and accountability

ICEQC is the owner of every ICEQC certification scheme.

ICEQC retains responsibility for:

ICEQC may obtain technical work or administrative support from an external provider, but shall not transfer ownership, accountability for certification or control of certification decisions.

A contract with an external provider shall define scope, competence, impartiality, confidentiality, information security, records, monitoring, access and termination requirements.

• the objectives, content and integrity of the scheme
• approval and publication of scheme documents
• interpretation of scheme requirements
• competence and authorization of persons performing scheme activities
• control of certification decisions, certificates, the public register and marks
• impartiality and confidentiality
• complaints and appeals
• scheme monitoring, review, correction and improvement; and
• action against misuse or fraudulent claims

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 23

Assignment and control of the certification case

ICEQC shall assign a unique case identifier to each accepted application.

The certification case shall identify:

Access to the certification case shall be restricted according to assigned responsibility and need.

A person shall not alter a finding, review or decision record without authorization, traceability and preservation of the prior record.

• the applicant
• the proposed object and scope
• the applicable scheme, standards, modules and editions
• the assessment programme
• assigned personnel and declared conflicts
• evidence requests and submissions
• findings and corrective action
• review and decision records
• certificate and public register records; and
• subsequent surveillance, change and complaint activity

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 41

Assessment team

ICEQC shall appoint an assessment team collectively competent for the certification object, applicable requirements, assessment methods, learner context and material risks.

The team may consist of one assessor where one person possesses all required competence and impartiality conditions.

The assessment team leader is responsible for:

A technical expert shall work under the direction of an assessor and shall not independently issue a conformity conclusion unless also authorized as an assessor for that activity.

• confirming the plan and assignments
• directing evidence collection
• maintaining fair and professional conduct
• managing changes and limitations
• communicating material concerns
• ensuring findings are evidence-based and traceable; and
• completing the assessment report

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 42

Identity, authority and participation

ICEQC shall confirm the identity and role of material participants.

A participant providing evidence shall have appropriate knowledge of, responsibility for or access to the matter addressed.

The applicant may have a representative present, but shall not:

Contact with a minor or vulnerable person shall occur only under an approved safeguarding, consent and privacy arrangement.

ICEQC may exclude a person from an assessment activity where that person's conduct compromises safety, confidentiality, independence or evidence reliability.

• answer on behalf of another participant
• coach or intimidate an interviewee
• prevent confidential communication authorized by the assessment plan
• select all evidence samples or interviewees; or
• retaliate against a person for participating honestly

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 65

Technical review

Every initial certification, recertification, scope extension, suspension, restoration, scope reduction and withdrawal decision shall be supported by technical review.

A maintenance decision following routine surveillance may use a proportionate review, provided that independence and sufficiency are preserved.

The reviewer shall not have participated in the assessment activities being reviewed.

Technical review shall determine whether:

The reviewer may return the case for clarification or additional assessment but shall not direct the assessor to reach a predetermined conclusion.

Review questions, responses and conclusions shall be recorded.

• the application and scope are complete and unambiguous
• applicable requirements and not-applicable determinations are correct
• the assessment programme and methods were suitable
• assigned personnel were competent and impartial
• sampling and evidence were sufficient and reliable
• findings are traceable to requirements and evidence
• every nonconformity is properly classified and closed where required
• remote and external evidence limitations are resolved
• the proposed certificate and public record are accurate
• the assessment conclusion is supported; and
• the case is complete for decision

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 66

Independence of certification decision

A certification decision shall be made by one or more persons authorized by ICEQC.

A decision maker shall:

The assessment team's recommendation does not bind the decision maker.

Sales, account management, training, marketing or fee collection personnel shall not make or control a certification decision.

• possess competence appropriate to the scheme and decision
• have access to the complete review record
• be free from commercial or other improper pressure
• not have participated in the assessment on which the decision is based
• not have provided prohibited consultancy to the applicant; and
• declare and resolve any conflict of interest

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 72

No automated or delegated decision

A certification decision shall be made by an authorized human decision maker.

An automated system may verify case completeness, status consistency or required approvals but shall not make the certification decision.

ICEQC shall not delegate the final certification decision to:

The identity, authority and decision rationale shall be recorded.

• an assessor involved in the case
• a sales or referral party
• an external evidence issuer; or
• an automated tool

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 112

Responsibility for impartiality

ICEQC is responsible for the impartiality of every certification activity and decision performed under its authority.

ICEQC shall identify, evaluate, treat and monitor risks to impartiality arising from:

An identified risk shall be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level before the affected activity is assigned or continued.

Where an acceptable level cannot be achieved through reassignment, separation, review or another effective control, ICEQC shall not accept or continue the affected certification activity.

Impartiality controls shall be documented, subject to oversight and reviewed for effectiveness.

• ownership, governance or financial interests
• commercial targets, fees or client dependence
• personal, family, employment or professional relationships
• prior or concurrent services provided to an applicant
• self-review of work performed by the same person or related party
• advocacy, referral, commission or success-based payment
• familiarity, intimidation, rivalry or reputational pressure
• shared personnel, systems, premises or branding
• group, partner or external-provider relationships; and
• pressure arising from a prominent, urgent or commercially important case

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 113

Impartiality oversight

ICEQC shall maintain governance arrangements capable of reviewing whether commercial, operational or personal interests have improperly influenced certification.

Impartiality oversight shall have access to information necessary to examine:

A material unresolved impartiality concern shall be escalated to a level of ICEQC governance with authority independent of the persons or interests concerned.

No governance body, owner, sponsor or commercial officer may direct a conformity finding or certification decision for a particular client.

ICEQC shall retain records sufficient to demonstrate how a material impartiality risk was resolved.

• risk assessments and conflict declarations
• personnel assignments and separation of functions
• fee concentration and referral arrangements
• complaints, appeals and allegations of bias
• decision consistency and exception approvals
• external provider relationships; and
• corrective action concerning impartiality failures

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 117

Competence framework

ICEQC shall define competence requirements for every role capable of affecting certification quality or integrity.

Competence requirements shall address, as applicable:

Role competence shall be defined at the level necessary for the assigned functions and shall not be inferred solely from a job title, academic credential or length of experience.

ICEQC may recognize different authorization scopes according to sector, object class, scheme, module, activity and decision authority.

• education and sector knowledge
• knowledge of the certification object and delivery context
• knowledge of the applicable ICEQC scheme and requirements
• assessment, sampling, interviewing and evidence-evaluation skill
• remote assessment and digital-information skill
• ability to recognize integrity, learner-protection and specialist-evidence issues
• analytical reasoning and clear written communication
• technical review or decision competence
• complaint and appeal handling competence
• information protection and professional conduct; and
• language competence necessary for reliable activity

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 118

Evaluation and authorization of personnel

Before authorizing a person, ICEQC shall evaluate relevant competence through a combination of methods appropriate to the role.

Methods may include:

Authorization shall be documented and shall specify:

A person shall perform only activities within the person's current authorization.

Temporary assignment outside an authorization is prohibited unless supervised participation is expressly recorded and the authorized person retains responsibility.

• verification of education, training and experience
• structured interview
• knowledge examination
• review of work samples
• witnessed performance
• supervised activity
• reference or background checks proportionate to responsibility; and
• review of professional conduct and conflict information
• the authorized role
• applicable schemes, sectors or object classes
• limitations and supervision conditions
• the authorization date and reviewer
• required continuing competence activity; and
• review or expiry arrangements

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 120

Team competence and technical experts

The assessment team as a whole shall possess the competence necessary for the certification object, scope, scheme, methods and identified risks.

Where one assessor does not possess all necessary competence, ICEQC may form a team or appoint a technical expert.

A technical expert shall:

The responsible assessor or reviewer shall evaluate the relevance and sufficiency of expert input within the ICEQC scheme.

Use of an expert does not transfer ICEQC's responsibility for the certification conclusion.

• advise only within the expert's verified competence
• understand the relevant certification question and evidence boundary
• comply with confidentiality and conflict controls
• record or substantiate the expert input; and
• not make a conformity finding or certification decision unless separately authorized for that role

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 121

External personnel and service providers

ICEQC may use external personnel or service providers for defined certification activities where effective control is maintained.

Before use, ICEQC shall verify competence, impartiality, confidentiality, security, capacity and acceptance of applicable ICEQC rules.

The arrangement shall be governed by an enforceable agreement that includes:

ICEQC shall not outsource ownership of a scheme, final certification decision, appeal decision or responsibility for certification.

ICEQC remains accountable for work performed under its authority.

• the authorized activity and limits
• compliance with ICEQC procedures and directions
• confidentiality and information protection
• conflict disclosure and impartiality
• record ownership, access and return
• monitoring, review and corrective action
• prohibition on unauthorized subcontracting
• incident and complaint notification; and
• termination and transition obligations

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 123

Witnesses and observers

ICEQC may include a witness or observer in a certification activity for competence evaluation, oversight, quality assurance or authorized learning.

The applicant or certified client shall be informed of the person's role and confidentiality obligation.

An observer shall not influence evidence selection, interview responses, findings or decisions.

A reasonable objection based on confidentiality, safety or conflict shall be considered. ICEQC may use another oversight method where the objection is justified.

The presence or absence of an observer shall not change the conformity threshold.

ICEQC-CER-001 · Clause 124

Operational quality control

ICEQC shall maintain operational controls sufficient to ensure that certification activities are planned, performed, reviewed, decided, recorded and communicated in accordance with this document.

Controls shall address:

ICEQC shall perform planned internal evaluation of its certification operations and shall take corrective action where its own rules are not fulfilled.

A certification record affected by an internal process failure shall be reviewed to determine whether the finding, decision, scope, status or public information remains reliable.

Where reliability is affected, ICEQC shall correct the record and take any necessary client or public-protection action.

• document and edition control
• application and case completeness
• competence and assignment authorization
• evidence and sample traceability
• technical review and decision separation
• certificate and register accuracy
• time controls and overdue action
• information protection
• complaints, appeals, incidents and nonconforming internal work
• data integrity and system access; and
• corrective action and management oversight