Understand how organisations govern AI—before you take responsibility for it.
Learn the language of responsible AI, understand what an AI management system does, and recognise the questions a business should ask before using an AI tool. This official PECB Foundation course is designed for people starting with ISO/IEC 42001, including those without a technical background. Choose self-paced Self-Study or video-based eLearning through Aegentra Academy, with the official exam included.
Both formats cover the Foundation course and include the official examination pathway. Choose Self-Study when you prefer working through written materials independently. Choose eLearning when recorded teaching helps you understand and revisit a topic.
eLearning costs A$20 more before GST. The main difference is the learning format—not a different Foundation credential.
What your enrolment includes
Your course purchase includes official PECB learning materials, 12-month course access, the first official exam attempt, one eligible complimentary retake and the certificate application fee. Exam booking, identity checks and validity conditions follow PECB's rules. Optional Aegentra Labs preparation is a separate addition, not a condition of course completion or exam eligibility.
What happens after payment?
Aegentra Academy processes your enrolment and sends the course-access instructions. Study in the PECB platform, complete the applicable course requirements and arrange your exam through the PECB booking process. Keep your enrolment and exam-expiry information together so you can plan study and booking with enough time remaining.
Buying for several learners or need help choosing? Contact Aegentra Academy before payment so we can confirm the appropriate enrolment arrangement. Contact Aegentra Academy
Personal teaching · Build your foundations
One-to-one ISO 42001 Foundation training
Learn privately with Dr Harbir Singh, a PECB Certified Trainer for this course. Build your understanding of ISO 42001 through explanation, discussion and questions at each stage.
A$1,299 + GSTA$1,428.90 including Australian GST.
Flexible one-to-one teaching
Two days of private teaching. Weekday and weekend options are available. Teaching dates and session times are mutually agreed before booking confirmation.
Official PECB eLearning
Recorded PECB learning material alongside the live teaching, so you can revisit concepts within your agreed access period.
One month of Labs practice included
One month of Aegentra Labs access for ISO 42001 Foundation, with unlimited attempts at the available practice questions during your access period. This is included in the private package and is separate from the optional A$89 + GST add-on for 12 months.
The Foundation package does not include a separate one-to-one consultant session.
Aegentra Labs is independently authored supplementary practice, not official PECB examination questions. Unlimited attempts apply to Labs practice, not the PECB examination.
Before payment, we confirm your assigned instructor and applicable trainer authorisation, eLearning and Labs access arrangements, examination arrangements and booking terms. This is private online training, not a scheduled group classroom course.
ISO 42001 Foundation introduces the purpose and structure of an artificial intelligence management system, commonly called an AIMS. It helps you understand how responsibilities, policies, risk decisions and ongoing review fit together when an organisation develops, supplies or uses AI. The focus is understanding and contributing to AI governance, rather than building a machine-learning model or leading a full implementation project.
This is a useful starting point for people in risk, compliance, policy, project delivery, procurement, technology and business management who need to take part in AI-related decisions. You may be helping evaluate a new AI tool, supporting an internal governance programme, or deciding whether to progress to implementation or auditing study. No prior Foundation certificate, coding experience or AI engineering background is required to enrol.
If your immediate responsibility is to design and run an AIMS, compare the Lead Implementer course before deciding. If you need to assess an AIMS against audit criteria, review the Lead Auditor route. Foundation is an introduction, not a substitute for those deeper responsibilities.
The following themes explain the learning in practical terms. They are Aegentra's guide to the subject, not a replacement for PECB's official course agenda.
AI governance and the purpose of an AIMS
Understand why adopting an AI tool is also a management decision. Explore how an organisation's objectives, responsibilities and ways of working influence the AI systems it chooses to develop or use.
Organisational context, leadership and planning
Learn how an organisation decides what its AI management system covers, who needs to be involved and who is accountable. Connect policy and objectives with practical decisions about intended use, acceptable boundaries and available resources.
AI risks, impacts and proportionate controls
Recognise that an AI system can affect both organisational objectives and the people who interact with it. Explore why risk assessment and impact assessment are related but distinct, and how safeguards should respond to the actual use case rather than a generic checklist.
Operating and supporting the management system
Understand the role of competence, communication, documented information and operational processes. Consider how responsibilities, supplier information and human oversight support decisions throughout the use of an AI system.
Checking performance and improving
Explore how monitoring, internal audit, management review and corrective action contribute to improvement. Learn to ask not only whether a policy exists, but whether the organisation can show that its chosen approach is working.
How much study time should I allow?
Study at your own pace within the access period. PECB describes a two-day Foundation agenda. Your actual study and revision time depends on your background and chosen format; a course agenda is not a promise that every learner will finish in two calendar days. Leave additional time for revision, exam booking and any retake. PECB lists a 14-CPD course-completion attestation, subject to its completion conditions.
A beginner example: should this AI tool send the reply?
A fictional Australian online retailer wants an AI assistant to draft replies to refund enquiries. Staff currently check every draft before it is sent. A manager now proposes allowing the tool to send replies automatically to save time.
The Foundation-level question is not simply whether the tool writes convincing sentences. It is whether the organisation understands the changed use, who may be affected and what safeguards are needed before changing the approval process.
Start with one decision record
AI reply assistant — a fictional decision record
Question
Worked example
What is the intended use?
Draft a response using the retailer's approved refund policy; do not independently decide a customer's entitlement.
Who owns the decision?
The customer-service manager owns the proposed use and must involve the people responsible for policy, privacy and operational approval.
Who could be affected?
Customers receiving the response, support staff relying on the draft and the business handling the outcome.
What could go wrong?
The draft could invent a policy, omit relevant information or present an uncertain answer as a final decision.
What would human oversight mean here?
A staff member checks the source policy and the individual situation, can reject the draft and can escalate a disputed or unclear case.
What evidence would help?
A record of approved use, sample checks against the policy, corrections, escalations and the decision about whether automation is appropriate.
What change should trigger another review?
Removing staff approval, changing the model or supplier, or using the tool for a different type of customer decision.
The teaching point
“Human review” is not meaningful just because a policy mentions it. In this example, the reviewer needs access to the relevant information, time to check the response and authority to stop it. A change from drafting to automatic sending changes the decision being governed; it should not be treated as a minor interface setting.
This example illustrates a way to reason about an AI use case. It is not an audit conclusion, legal advice, an actual client case or a reproduction of a PECB exam question. Completing it is optional and does not certify a system or an organisation.
Original Aegentra learning resource · Version 1.0 · 10 September 2026 · CSV with space for your notes.
The exam, the certificate and what each means
Your enrolment includes the official PECB exam pathway. Complete the required learning and use your myPECB account to arrange the assessment. Online assessment involves identity verification and remote supervision; check the current technical requirements before booking.
PECB identifies two competency areas: the underlying principles of an AIMS, and the management system itself. Use the official exam list for the current format and language details.
The current exam format, duration and booking conditions are published in PECB's exam list and rules. Check the English Foundation entry before choosing your sitting, including which materials are permitted and the applicable passing requirements. These assessment conditions are separate from the time you spend studying the course.
After passing the exam and meeting PECB's applicable requirements, you can apply for the PECB Certificate Holder in ISO/IEC 42001 Foundation certificate. No professional, project or management-system audit experience is required for this Foundation credential; acceptance of PECB's Code of Ethics is required.
The certificate recognises individual Foundation-level learning. It does not certify your employer, approve an AI product, or qualify you automatically as a Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor.
One complimentary retake is included if you do not pass the first attempt, subject to PECB's eligibility, waiting-period and validity rules. Plan to study and use your included exam entitlements within 12 months of purchase, and check the exact expiry information attached to your enrolment before booking. Do not assume that a failed attempt extends your course access or creates a new entitlement period. Contact Academy before purchasing when your intended study schedule is close to these limits.
PECB's published maintenance policy excludes Foundation credentials from its maintenance requirements. Do not confuse this with the maintenance conditions attached to other professional certification levels. Continuing to update your knowledge remains sensible even when a credential has no routine maintenance requirement.
Start with the completed example above and use the worksheet to think through a use case of your own. These Aegentra learning resources are designed to make the subject easier to understand; they are not official PECB courseware and do not replace the standard or formal training.
AI governance starter worksheet
Turn one AI use case into a short record of purpose, ownership, affected people, oversight and review triggers. Read the worked example on this page before completing your own notes.
Explore Aegentra's available AI inventory, impact-assessment and related learning resources. Use them as prompts for learning and discussion, not as proof that a complete management system has been implemented.
Try original sample questions with explanations to identify concepts you should revisit. A practice result is a learning signal, not a prediction of your official exam result.
Historical 2024 Voluntary AI Safety Standard mapping: CSV · PDF
These are supplementary worked learning resources. The 2024 mapping is historical; use the current National AI Centre guidance below for Australian context.
Optional: add more practice through Aegentra Labs
The Academy checkout offers 12 months of Foundation preparation in Aegentra Labs for A$89 + GST, or A$97.90 including GST, when selected with this course. It is an optional, separate Aegentra product for additional practice and revision. You do not need to purchase Labs, complete its questions or use a simulation to finish the course or take the official exam.
Use the current Labs guide to review the available preparation features. Standalone Labs plans have their own published pricing. Aegentra Labs does not provide real PECB exam questions and is not a substitute for the official course, exam or credential.
Choose by the responsibility you need to take, not by which title sounds most senior. Foundation is for understanding and informed participation. The Lead courses go deeper into implementation or audit work and have their own examination and credential conditions.
Choose a course by your main objective
Your main objective
Course to explore
Understand AI governance and participate in relevant decisions
Foundation can be a useful starting point, but do not assume that it is compulsory before every Lead course. Check the prerequisites for the specific course and distinguish eligibility to attend training from eligibility for a professional credential.
Already work in information security? AI governance introduces questions about intended use, affected people, accountability and oversight that are not answered simply by keeping information secure. Compare the course outcomes rather than assuming that existing ISO 27001 knowledge covers a fixed percentage of ISO 42001.
How this learning connects to Australian AI adoption
The National AI Centre's Guidance for AI Adoption gives Australian organisations practical guidance on accountable and responsible AI use. Its foundations guidance covers six practices, including accountability, understanding impacts, managing risks, sharing essential information, testing and monitoring, and maintaining human control.
As you study, consider how these ideas relate to a real decision: who approves an AI use, what could happen to affected people, how a result is checked and who can intervene. This is Australian context supplied by Aegentra, separate from PECB's official course syllabus. A Foundation certificate is not government endorsement, proof of compliance with every applicable law or organisational ISO certification.
Can I study this course without a technical background?
Yes. Foundation is intended as an entry point to the subject, with no course prerequisites. You do not need to code or build an AI model. Be prepared to learn management-system terminology and connect it to ordinary business decisions.
Is Self-Study the same as eLearning?
No. Self-Study centres on working independently with the official written materials. eLearning adds recorded teaching. Both options lead towards the same Foundation assessment and certificate pathway, but the way you work through the material is different.
Is the official exam included in the advertised price?
Yes. The first official exam attempt, an eligible complimentary retake and the certificate application fee are included in the course offer. Optional Labs preparation is priced separately. Check the exam section for validity conditions and the order summary for your final total.
Yes. These are online, self-paced options available Australia-wide, rather than bookings for a particular classroom or public cohort. Aegentra has teams based in Melbourne and Sydney. Any separately requested instructor-led or organisational delivery must be confirmed before it is treated as available.
Is a copy of the ISO/IEC 42001 standard included?
Official PECB course materials and the ISO standard are different publications. A separately licensed copy of the standard is not listed as an inclusion in these offers. Check the materials supplied with your enrolment and obtain a licensed copy separately when required.
Will this course qualify me to lead an implementation or perform certification audits?
Not by itself. Foundation develops introductory understanding. Leading an implementation or carrying out professional audit work requires deeper competence and, where applicable, additional credential and experience requirements. Use the course-level comparison to choose the next step.
Is Aegentra Labs required to complete the course?
No. Labs is optional additional preparation. Its practice questions, results and simulations are separate from the official PECB learning and examination requirements. You can purchase and complete the Foundation course without buying Labs.
What are the cancellation and refund conditions?
Read the Academy terms and refund conditions before payment, particularly the conditions that apply once digital course access or an exam entitlement has been assigned. Contact Academy before ordering when you need clarification about timing, suitability or a team purchase.
Published by Aegentra Academy. Official course and credential requirements are set by PECB; Aegentra provides the enrolment offer and the clearly labelled supplementary examples on this page. Read the linked official sources alongside the course information, especially before booking an exam.
Choose the format that suits how you learn, see the full price before paying and build your Foundation knowledge with the official PECB course. The worked example and resources are available to help you decide whether this is the right starting point.