Impartiality Policy
QA Assessor is committed to ensuring impartiality in all certification activities. Impartiality is essential to the integrity of personnel certification. All certification decisions are made based solely on objective evidence of competence against the published requirements and are free from commercial, financial, or other undue influences. Reference: QA-CB-POL-001 | ISO/IEC 17024:2026 clause 4.3 | Version: 3.0 | Last reviewed: September 2026
1. Policy statement
Top management of QA Assessor commits to impartiality in certification and takes responsibility for it. QA Assessor identifies, evaluates and manages risks to impartiality on an ongoing basis. QA Assessor provides both training courses and certification services, and also approves external training providers; it ensures a clear separation between training and certification so that the independence and impartiality of every certification decision is maintained: completing a QA Assessor course is not a condition of certification and gives no advantage in assessment, and the person who trained an applicant takes no part in verifying, assessing or deciding that application.
2. Commitment to impartiality
QA Assessor identifies, evaluates and manages risks to impartiality on an ongoing basis, in a documented risk register reviewed by the Impartiality Committee. Risks to impartiality include those arising from ownership, governance, management, personnel, resources, financing, contracts, marketing, relationships with training providers, and payment of certification fees or commissions.
3. Governance and oversight
QA Assessor has established independent mechanisms to safeguard impartiality and oversee certification activities. These arrangements ensure that decisions remain objective, consistent, and free from bias. No single interest is allowed to dominate the certification process. Decisions to grant, maintain, recertify, suspend or withdraw certification are taken only by QA Assessor’s appointed decision makers and are never outsourced.
4. Fairness and non-bias
QA Assessor ensures that all applicants are treated fairly and equitably. Certification decisions are based strictly on the published requirements of each scheme and grade and are not influenced by personal, organisational or commercial relationships. Applicants are not required to buy training, membership or any other service to be certified.
5. Managing conflicts of interest
All individuals involved in certification activities are required to act impartially and to disclose any potential conflict of interest before each task. Where a conflict is identified, the task is reassigned. See the Conflict of Interest Policy for full details.
6. Raising concerns
QA Assessor provides a mechanism for applicants, certified persons and other interested parties to raise concerns related to impartiality. All concerns are handled confidentially and in accordance with the Complaints and Appeals Policy. Contact: certification@qaassessor.com
7. Policy review
This policy is reviewed at least once a year by the Impartiality Committee and at management review to ensure its continued suitability and effectiveness, and is publicly available.
8. Impartiality Committee
QA Assessor’s Impartiality Committee is constituted in accordance with ISO/IEC 17024:2026 clause 4.3, with balanced representation from the interests affected by certification to safeguard certification independence. The Committee operates under documented Terms of Reference (QA-CB-GOV-002), which are published.
Committee composition: an independent chair (no financial interest in QA Assessor); employer and industry representatives; certified person representatives; and, where appropriate, training community and regulatory representatives. No single interest group dominates the Committee, and no Committee member may have a financial or personal interest in QA Assessor’s training activities or take certification decisions.
Mandate: The Impartiality Committee meets at least twice a year, and additionally when called by the Chair or the Certification Manager in response to an identified threat to impartiality. The Committee reviews risks to impartiality, the separation of training from certification (including the Approved Training Provider programme), complaints and appeals statistics, monitors the effectiveness of safeguards, and advises the Director on governance matters affecting independence. If the Director does not act on a recommendation, the Committee may record its dissent in the management review record.