Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) across Australia are preparing to move from the Standards for RTOs 2015 (the previous, prescriptive standards) to the new Standards for RTOs 2025. This change, effective 1 July 2025, represents more than just an update of rules – it’s a fundamental shift in how RTOs approach quality and compliance.

Under the old 2015 Standards, compliance often meant checking boxes and following detailed, one-size-fits-all procedures. The new 2025 Standards instead focus on outcomes – the quality of training delivered and the success of students – giving RTOs greater flexibility in how they meet their obligations.

In this article, we’ll explore the key differences between the old and new standards and what they mean for private RTOs. We’ll explain how the approach is shifting from specific, prescriptive requirements to outcome-based quality standards, and highlight the opportunities this brings. Instead of burdening you with more administrative tasks, the 2025 Standards encourage you to strengthen your RTO’s governance – things like quality assurance systems, self-assurance processes, risk management and continuous improvement. We’ll also offer practical examples of how you can adapt your current policies and procedures to align with the new approach while still demonstrating compliance. Finally, we’ll share some tips on managing this transition effectively and embedding a culture of self-assurance in your organisation. These changes are designed to help RTOs deliver high-quality training in ways that best fit their unique context. Let’s dive in.

Why the Change? From Prescriptive to Outcome-Based Standards

Under the Standards for RTOs 2015, RTOs were subject to very detailed and prescriptive requirements. There were strict clauses dictating how to document processes, what policies to have, and exactly how to comply in many areas. This often led to a heavy focus on paperwork and procedures, sometimes at the expense of thinking about whether those processes were truly effective. In other words, RTOs could be led to focus on compliance for compliance's sake – ensuring every clause was met – rather than on the actual quality of training outcomes for students and employers.

The Standards for RTOs 2025 flip this approach to an outcome-based model. Instead of asking “Did you follow all the required steps?”, the new standards ask “Did you achieve the desired quality outcome?”. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has explained that the revised standards “provide a clearer and more direct link between the requirements RTOs are expected to meet and the outcomes they are expected to deliver.”

In practice, this means RTOs will be judged more on what they achieve – competent graduates, satisfied learners, training that meets industry needs – and less on following identical processes. The old prescriptive approach sometimes resulted in an “undue focus on prescriptive compliance at the expense of good practices that deliver quality outcomes”

The new outcome-based standards are designed to avoid that trap, encouraging RTOs to use whatever processes make sense for them as long as they can demonstrate consistency in achieving quality results.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Compliance vs. Quality Outcomes: The 2015 Standards were process-heavy and compliance-driven. The 2025 Standards emphasise quality outcomes – measuring success by learner achievement and industry satisfaction. RTOs must show how their training benefits students and employers, not just that they followed a procedure.
• One-Size-Fits-All vs. Flexible Approaches: Older requirements tended to apply uniformly to all RTOs, regardless of size or context. The new Standards explicitly allow more flexibility and innovation in how RTOs meet requirements. There is recognition that diversity in the VET sector means different approaches can still achieve the desired outcome.
• Tick-Box Evidence vs. Continuous Improvement: Under the old regime, an RTO might feel compelled to produce volumes of evidence for audits (policies, forms, logs) to prove compliance. While these documents will still be required, how you interpret and explain their importance and impact will be critical. Under the new regime, the focus is on having ongoing self-assurance and quality improvement processes in place to ensure standards are met every day, not just at audit time.
• Separate Standards vs. Integrated Quality Areas: The 2025 Standards are structured into clearer elements – Outcome Standards, Compliance Standards, and a Credentialing Policy for trainer/assessor qualifications. The Outcome Standards also group expectations into four key quality areas: Training and Assessment, Student Support, VET Workforce, and Governance. This structure helps RTOs see the big-picture goals and then the specific obligations, rather than mixing them together as before.
  

Flexibility to Suit Your RTO’s Needs

One of the greatest opportunities with the new outcome-based standards is the ability to align compliance more flexibly with your RTO’s unique organisational type, training offerings, and learner cohorts. The changes are “designed to better reflect the diversity of the VET sector and ensure the Standards are fit-for-purpose across different RTO settings.”

In plain terms, a small niche training provider doesn’t have to copy-paste the exact same compliance tactics as a large multi-campus college – as long as both can demonstrate the required outcomes.

For private RTOs, which come in all shapes and sizes, this is encouraging news. You can build compliance and quality practices that make sense for your business model and students. For example:

• If you specialise in workplace-based training for industry professionals, you might demonstrate quality outcomes through strong industry partnerships and on-the-job performance of graduates. In contrast, an RTO offering foundation skills to youth might focus on evidence of student progression and support services. Both approaches can satisfy the same outcome standard, tailored to the context.
• RTOs serving remote or diverse learner cohorts have flexibility in how they provide student support. The old standards might have prescribed particular support staff or processes; the new standards simply require that all learners are adequately supported – leaving it to you to decide whether that’s via online mentoring, additional workshops, language support, or other methods appropriate to your cohort and within the scope of the resources you have at your disposal.
• You have more leeway to innovate in training delivery as well. As long as the outcomes are met (students are competent and satisfied, skills meet industry needs), the new framework encourages trying new delivery modes, technologies, and partnerships. This was an explicit intent of the reforms – to “allow for more flexibility and innovation in training delivery” without being constrained by overly specific rules.
  

With flexibility comes responsibility: you must be able to show how your tailored approach still meets the Standards. The regulator will be looking for clear evidence of outcomes. However, you won’t be punished for doing things differently if you can demonstrate that your way works. This is a chance to let your RTO’s strengths shine. For private RTOs that have distinct niches or pedagogical approaches, the new Standards invite you to leverage those unique strengths in your compliance approach.

Tip: As you design or refine your compliance strategies, start by asking “What outcome is this Standard looking for?” Then consider “What’s the best way, given our RTO’s context, to achieve and evidence that outcome?” This mindset shift can help break away from doing things a certain way “because we always had to” and move toward doing what truly makes sense for quality training.

Shifting Focus to Governance and Quality Systems (Not Just Admin Tasks)

A notable aspect of the Standards for RTOs 2025 is the strong focus on governance-level implementation of quality. This means the emphasis is on your RTO’s leadership, systems, and culture that ensure quality – rather than on isolated administrative compliance tasks. The message is clear: quality is an organisational responsibility, not just the compliance manager’s job.

Here are some governance and system areas that the new Standards highlight:

• Self-Assurance and Continuous Improvement: Under the new model, RTOs are expected to routinely self-assess how they are performing and make improvements proactively. ASQA defines self-assurance as how providers “manage their operations to ensure a focus on quality, continuous improvement and ongoing compliance”, having systems to “critically examine their performance against the Standards and training outcomes, on an ongoing basis”. In practice, this could involve regular internal reviews of training outcomes, gathering feedback from learners and industry, and using that data to tweak and improve your programs. It’s about creating a cycle of Plan – Do – Check – Act within your RTO. For instance, rather than waiting for an external audit to find an issue with assessments, a self-assured RTO might have its academic board or trainers frequently reviewing and moderating assessment results to ensure they are valid, reliable and fair – and acting immediately if any quality gaps are identified.
• Risk Management: The new Standards encourage a risk-based approach to compliance. This means focusing your energy and oversight where it’s most needed. For example, if you deliver a high-risk course (perhaps one that’s new, complex, or critical for safety), you might review and validate its assessments more frequently, or conduct extra observations of training sessions. Lower-risk areas might be monitored on a regular but less intensive schedule. RTO governance should include a risk management plan that identifies things like training products at risk of not meeting industry needs, compliance risks (e.g. subcontractors or third-party arrangements), and mitigation strategies. By managing risk, you demonstrate that you are actively preventing issues – a key expectation under an outcome-focused, self-assurance model.
• Leadership and Accountability: The new framework places responsibility squarely on RTO leadership to foster a culture of quality. Rather than compliance being a back-office task, owners, CEOs, and managers are expected to engage with compliance and quality directly. This might mean establishing a governance committee to regularly review compliance and quality reports, ensuring the RTO’s strategic direction aligns with delivering quality outcomes, and holding staff (and themselves) accountable for upholding standards. Strong governance also extends to areas like financial viability and integrity (for example, the Fit and Proper Person requirements for RTO executives remain important). The idea is that good governance and ethical leadership create an environment where quality training can flourish.
• Quality Assurance Systems: RTOs should have an integrated Quality Assurance (QA) system – a set of policies, procedures, and monitoring activities that together ensure the RTO continuously meets the Standards. Under the old regime, you might have had a compliance checklist or a once-a-year internal audit. Under the new regime, a QA system would be more dynamic. For instance, you might implement ongoing file reviews, where each month a sample of student files or assessments is checked for completeness and correctness. You might schedule industry advisory meetings twice a year for each department to ensure training remains relevant. You could have a continuous improvement register where staff log improvement actions and track their implementation. These kinds of systematic activities demonstrate that compliance isn’t a one-off task but an ongoing commitment.

Importantly, none of these governance-focused activities are about generating red tape – they are about embedding quality into everyday operations. Yes, there will still be “evidence” produced (minutes of meetings, data reports, etc.), but the emphasis is on using that evidence to manage and improve, not just collecting it to satisfy an auditor. The new Standards emphasise self-assurance, continuous improvement, and proactive risk management.

Adapting Your Policies and Procedures to the New Standards

Many RTOs already have a suite of policies and procedures built around the 2015 Standards. The good news is you don’t need to throw everything out – but you will want to >adapt and align your documents and processes with the new quality standards approach.

When updating any policy or procedure, a useful approach is to explicitly connect it to the relevant outcome it supports. This not only helps staff understand why they must follow it, but it also makes it easier to demonstrate compliance during audits. You can show the auditor, “Here’s our process, and here’s the outcome it achieves, which aligns with the Outcome Standards.” Flexibility is fine – but you must be able to explain and evidence how your way meets the required outcome. 

It will be absolutely critical that you ensure you have a high quality, in depth understanding of the rationale behind why your policy or procedure is best fit for your cohort, organisation and resources to meet the outcome of the standard and documenting that reasoning will be equally, if not more important.

Managing the Transition and Embedding a Culture of Self-Assurance

Change can be daunting, but with a clear plan you can navigate the transition to the new Standards smoothly. It’s also an opportunity to strengthen your organisation’s quality culture. Here are some practical steps and tips for managing this change effectively:

1. Educate and Engage Your Team: Start by ensuring that your management and staff understand why the standards are changing and what the new focus is. Hold a workshop or meeting to explain the shift to outcomes and self-assurance. Emphasise that this is not just “more work” but a chance to improve how you do things. When people understand the purpose – for example, that focusing on continuous improvement can actually make their jobs easier in the long run – they’re more likely to embrace it. Encourage questions and suggestions from trainers, assessors, and support staff on how to meet the new Standards; this gets buy-in and often great ideas from the people on the ground.
2. Conduct a Gap Analysis: Review each of the new Standard areas (Training & Assessment, Student Support, VET Workforce, Governance) against your current policies and practices. Identify where you already meet the outcome (you might find you’re doing much of it well) and where there are gaps. For example, you may discover that while you have plenty of documented procedures (old compliance) you lack a formal risk management plan (new focus). Or that you have student support services but haven’t been evaluating their effectiveness. Make a list of these gaps as action items.
3. Update Policies and Procedures Incrementally: Tackle the needed updates one by one, prioritising the areas of highest risk or biggest impact first. Involve the people who use those policies day-to-day in the revisions – for instance, have your trainers help update the assessment validation procedure so it’s practical. Ensure each updated policy clearly addresses the intent of the new Standards. It can help to include a mapping in your documents (for your internal use) showing which outcome standard each policy addresses. Over a few months, you can systematically update your RTO’s documentation. Aim to have core governance documents (like your quality assurance framework, risk register, etc.) updated early, since they set the foundation.
4. Implement and Communicate Changes: Don’t let the new policies just live on paper – roll them out actively. If you introduce a new industry consultation process, for example, brief your training staff on how and when to do it. If you’ve revamped the student support framework, ensure the student services team knows the new processes. Update any templates or forms that go with the procedures (for example, new feedback forms, improved internal audit checklists, etc.). Communication is key: let everyone in the organisation know what’s changing and how it helps achieve quality outcomes. You could use memos, internal newsletters, or mini training sessions to keep staff informed.
5. Practice Self-Assurance: Begin operating your RTO with the new self-assurance mindset right away. This could include trialing an internal audit against the new Outcome Standards or setting up a mock audit where staff have to demonstrate outcomes rather than just produce documents. Encourage staff and management to continually ask, “How do we know we are doing well? How can we improve?” For example, start a practice of reviewing a couple of random student files or assessment tools each month for quality – even before it’s formally required. This not only prepares you for the new regulatory approach but starts to embed a routine of self-checking and improvement.
6. Monitor and Refine: As you implement these changes, monitor how they are working. Are the new procedures practical, or do they need tweaking? Is your team finding it easier or harder to maintain compliance? Gather feedback internally. Also keep an eye on communications from ASQA and other authorities – they may release additional guidance or examples as the 2025 Standards take effect. Be ready to refine your approach as needed. Continuous improvement applies here too: you might not get everything perfect on the first go, but with a culture of self-assurance, you’ll continuously adjust and get better over time.
7. Celebrate and Encourage a Quality Culture: Finally, acknowledge the progress and effort your team is making. Shifting a culture doesn’t happen overnight, but celebrating early wins helps. Did a new internal review process catch an issue and fix it before it became a real problem? Recognise that. Did trainers engage positively with industry experts to refresh a course? Celebrate the collaboration. These send the message that quality and self-assurance are valued. Over time, as staff see that focusing on quality outcomes actually leads to happier students, fewer last-minute compliance scrambles, and a stronger reputation, they will internalise this as “the way we do things here.” That’s the ultimate goal – a culture where meeting the Standards is a natural result of everyone taking pride in delivering excellent training.

Embracing the New Era of Quality

The transition from the old prescriptive standards to the new outcome-based Standards for RTOs 2025 is a significant change, but it’s a positive one. It’s about moving beyond compliance for its own sake and truly focusing on what matters – delivering high-quality training that meets learners’ and industry’s needs. As a private RTO, you have the opportunity to shape your compliance in ways that align with your mission and strengths, rather than feeling constrained by rigid rules.

Change always comes with challenges, but remember that support is available. DEWR has provided policy guidance documents, and ASQA is actively encouraging RTOs to adopt self-assurance practices. Connect with your peers, attend information sessions or webinars on the new Standards, and don’t hesitate to seek advice or professional guidance if needed. Transitioning is not just about avoiding non-compliance; it’s about seizing this chance to enhance your organisation’s quality and reputation.

By focusing on governance, engaging your whole team in continuous improvement, and keeping the outcomes for learners at the heart of what you do, you’ll not only comply with the new standards – you’ll thrive under them. The tone of the reforms is supportive: regulators want to see RTOs succeed and innovate, as long as quality is maintained. So approach this change with confidence and optimism. Use the flexibility to your advantage, maintain robust self-assurance systems, and let your passion for quality training drive your compliance.

In short, be proactive, be prepared, and be proud of the quality education you provide. By embedding a culture of self-assurance now, come 1 July 2025 your RTO will be ready for the new Standards – and well-positioned to continue delivering excellent outcomes for your learners and industry partners in the years to come. Good luck on this journey, and remember that focusing on quality is not only about meeting standards – it’s about making a positive impact on every student who walks through your door.

About the Author

Matt Peachey

Matt Peachey is the CEO of the Learning Resources Group. Over the past decade, he has grown the small resource development company into one of the largest training resource providers in the country and industry leaders in digital and LLN space of Vocational Education Support.

Matt has spent extensive time working directly with RTO’s all over the country to help them implement their training and assessment programs. He has also assisted a number of RTO’s with their marketing and business strategies.

Matt's goals for The Learning Resources Group is to ensure that the organisation is poised to support the VET industry through future changes.

Prior to his work in the VET sector Matt had 10 years working in the automotive industry firstly in sales management and eventually as a process and strategy consultant.

Outside of the TLRG office, Matt can be found volunteering for Lifeline as a counsellor, scouring the countryside for great wine or touring around on his motorcycle.