Australia's tertiary institutions and licensing authorities that control the right to work in various trades and professions have largely ignored the need for procedures and processes to recognize formally the knowledge that people gain in their life experiences. For this reason, the issue of assessing adult learners' life experiences for the purpose of granting them exemptions from various course work was studied and a model for conducting such assessments was developed. Persons seeking certification submit portfolios and participate in assessment interviews. A panel of experts in the field in which exemption is being sought assesses candidates' portfolios and conducts a structured interview to assess their performance. The portfolio assessment involves checking the relevance of the competencies claimed against the outcomes of the courses from which exemption is being sought and classifying the work presented against rating scales. Candidates having satisfactory interviews and portfolios are first granted provisional exemption. Final ratification of the exemption is after a provisional period during which candidates undergo on-the-job assessment. (This report includes extracts from the portfolio of a woman seeking exemption from course work in child care, syllabus information about the courses from which she is seeking exemption, and a bibliography.) (MN)