About 140 students waiting to graduate from TAFE SA can expect the green light this month.

At a Senate inquiry in Sydney this week, TAFE Directors Australia chief executive Craig Robertson said new assessment tools were being rolled out across the institution.

It comes in response to the national auditor’s concerns about the nature of assessment, with students often not tested on core content.

While around 140 students will get their graduation papers soon, Mr Robertson said about 900 students are still studying at TAFE SA waiting for issues to be remedied while continuing their education.

He said the rest of the 1,660 students affected by the scandal have had their qualifications cleared by the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

At the same inquiry, Australian Skills Quality Authority chief commissioner Mark Paterson said some submissions that were highly critical of the national skills sector were not accurate.

He said those who stated the national system was “in some sort of moral decay or decline” were overstating the issue, and risked causing reputational harm.

Mr Paterson said there is a similar rate of noncompliance among private providers.

ASQA’s submission to the inquiry also revealed that more TAFE audits planned for the first quarter of 2018 have been delayed.

“Due to the reconsideration process and the extension of time allowed for TAFE SA to submit further evidence as part of that process, it would be unreasonable for ASQA to undertake the audit during that period,” the submission stated.