Skip to content

Information — Practice Guide

ASQA Practice Guide · Quality Area 2 — VET Student Support · Standards 2.1, 2.2 · Published 17 June 2025 · Version 1.0

Verbatim reproduction of the ASQA Practice Guide, extracted from the source PDF with layout preservation (via pdftotext -layout). The body below preserves the original two-column table structure — performance indicators on the left, example activities and known risks on the right.

Source: https://www.asqa.gov.au/for-providers/standards-for-RTOs/practice-guides

Companion docs: - standards-outcome.md / standards-compliance.md — the underlying legislative text - standards-explanatory.md — the Explanatory Statement commentary - compliance-reference.md — RTOpacks module × standard mapping


Practice Guide
Information
(Standards 2.1, 2.2)
Ver 1.0
S
Published 17 June 2025
           Outcome Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations
                            Quality Area 2 – VET Student Support

What are the key concepts?
The following key concepts are covered in this practice guide:

 Standard 2.1                                              Standard 2.2
 •     Clear, accurate and current information             •       Suitability of training products
 •     What information to provide
 •     When changes occur


Achieving these Standards in practice
The following table lists examples of activities that may demonstrate compliance with the Standards, as
well as risks to mitigate or control. These examples are not a complete list of every activity or risk, nor do
all the activities listed need to be completed to achieve compliance. Rather, they are a guide and should
be considered within the context, size, scale and student cohorts of your RTO’s operations.

       Standard 2.1: VET students have access to clear and accurate information concerning the
     organisation, the relevant training product, and students are made aware of any changes that
                                            may affect them.

              Performance indicators                    Example activities and other considerations for
                                                                          compliance
An NVR registered training organisation                •       You can demonstrate how you systematically
demonstrates:                                                  and regularly review the information provided to
 a. all information provided to VET students by                VET students.
    the organisation or any third parties is clear,    •       You can show how you ensure that, prior to
    accurate and current;                                      enrolment and the payment of any fees,
 b. how it identifies the information VET                      prospective students are given accurate and
    students require prior to enrolment and how                adequate information about the training
    that information is communicated to VET                    products and services you offer. For example,
    students prior to their enrolment;                         you make available to prospective students:
 c. the following information is easily accessible             o the training product code and title
    by VET students:                                           o     mode of delivery, delivery location/s,
     i. the training product code and title,                         duration, scheduling and commencement
         duration, modes of delivery, training                       date/s
         delivery location, training commencement
         dates, scheduling, any requirements to                o     any work placement, work integrated
         commence or complete the training                           learning or community-based learning
         product including assessment                                requirements


        requirements, whether any licencing or           o   any licensing or occupational license
        occupational licence requirements apply,             requirements, including any relevant
        and details of any third party                       industry regulator, state and territory
        arrangements that apply to the delivery of
                                                             requirements
        the training;
    ii. the training support services and                o   information about use of third parties
        wellbeing support services that are              o   fees, costs and charges (including what is
        available to the VET student, and how the            and is not included in the fees and
        student can access those services;                   charges)
   iii. all fees, costs and charges associated
                                                         o   training support services and wellbeing
        with the provision of the training product
        which VET students may incur, including              support services that may be available
        payment terms and conditions, any                o   information on getting a student identifier
        applicable refund policies and the               o   student rights and obligations (e.g.
        availability of any relevant government
        training entitlements and subsidies; and             sourcing their own work placement or
                                                             providing their own work resources).
   iv. any obligations or liabilities which may be
        imposed on VET students to acquire any       •   You can show that the information you provide
        materials, equipment or IT, any costs and        to students (including prospective students) is
        processes associated with withdrawing            clear, accessible, current and tailored to the
        from training, any costs and processes           student cohort, including where that information
        associated with obtaining a Unique               is distributed by third parties.
        Student Identifier, and any requirements     •   You can demonstrate the system you have in
        for VET students to undertake work               place to notify students as soon as practicable
        placements;                                      of any changes to your service that may affect
d. the organisation provides all VET students            them, such as:
    with documentation prior to their enrolment          o contact details for your organisation
    or before any fees are required to be paid
                                                         o course details, cost or duration
    which sets out:
                                                         o changes to the training product they are
     i. the training which the organisation or
                                                             enrolled in (e.g. superseded units;
          third parties will provide the VET
                                                             transition arrangements)
          student;
                                                         o services you offer (including support
    ii. all fees, costs and charges which the
                                                             services)
          VET student will be required to pay; and
                                                         o ownership of your RTO
   iii. any obligations or liabilities which may
          be imposed by the organisation or third        o changes to third party arrangements
          parties on the VET student; and                o unexpected events impacting delivery such
e. That it informs VET students, as soon as                  as a natural disaster.
    practicable, of any changes to training                  Known risks to quality outcomes
    products or the organisation’s operations
    that may affect VET students, including any      •   False or misleading marketing of all or part of a
    changes relating to the transition of                VET course, VET qualification or training
    superseded, deleted, or expired training             delivery and assessment, including
    products.                                            recognition of prior learning (RPL).
                                                     •   Failing to have adequate oversight of, and
                                                         formal arrangements with, third parties that
                                                         market to, or recruit, students including where
                                                         these arrangements are not made clear to
                                                         current and prospective students.
                                                     •   Failing to inform students prior to enrolment
                                                         that they will need to:
                                                         o secure their own work placement
                                                         o supply their own resources or equipment,
                                                              or
                                                         o travel and/or pay for accommodation to
                                                              attend their work placement.
                                                     •   Failing to provide a full and accurate schedule
                                                         of fees, including any prepaid fees, to students
                                                         prior to enrolment.
                                                     •   Marketing unrealistically short courses which
                                                         compromise the integrity of the training product,


                                                         or may result in extension costs for students
                                                         who are unable to complete within advertised
                                                         timeframes.
                                                     •   Marketing tactics that promote an easier path to
                                                         qualifications and do not uphold the integrity of
                                                         the training product - for example offering
                                                         inappropriately short duration courses or
                                                         inadequate or “easy” RPL.
                                                     •   Enrolling unaware students in superseded,
                                                         deleted or expired training products when they
                                                         will not have sufficient time to complete their
                                                         training and assessment.
                                                     •   Failing to provide students with information on
                                                         possible alternative training products where a
                                                         training product has been deleted.
                                                     •   Not communicating promptly with affected
                                                         cohorts when a product becomes superseded,
                                                         deleted or expired, or failing to make clear the
                                                         deadline for transition arrangements.


Standard 2.2: VET students are advised, prior to enrolment, about the suitability of the training
        product for them, taking into account the student’s skills and competencies

           Performance indicators                    Example activities and other considerations for
                                                                       compliance
An NVR registered training organisation              •   You can demonstrate how you provide accurate
demonstrates:                                            and accessible information to prospective
 a. taking into account the requirements of the          students about the language, literacy and
    training product – it has procedures in place        numeracy (LLN) proficiency, and digital literacy
    to review, prior to enrolment, the skills and        skills needed to successfully participate in a
    competencies of prospective VET students,            training product. This includes any requirement
    including their language, literacy and               your RTO has in respect of students
    numeracy proficiency and digital literacy; and       undertaking a specific LLN or digital literacy test
                                                         for a particular training product.
 b. based on the outcome of the review – it
    provides advice to each prospective VET          •   You can show how the approach you use for
    student about whether the training product is        reviewing a prospective student’s prerequisite
    suitable for them.                                   skills and competencies leads to accurate
                                                         advice about their suitability to undertake the
                                                         intended training.
                                                     •   Where a prospective student does not have the
                                                         required skills and competencies, you advise
                                                         them of the alternative training products that
                                                         might be best suited to them and/or the learning
                                                         pathways and programs available that might
                                                         enable them to build the required pre-requisite
                                                         skills and competencies.
                                                     •   You can demonstrate how you inform
                                                         prospective students about the nature and
                                                         extent of reasonable adjustments, training
                                                         support services and wellbeing support
                                                         services your RTO can provide so that they
                                                         can make a fully informed decision about their
                                                         ability to undertake the intended training.
                                                             Known risks to quality outcomes

                                                     •   Not considering the adequacy of prospective
                                                         students’ language, literacy and numeracy
                                                         proficiency or digital literacy in the context of
                                                         the training product they are intending to enrol
                                                         in.


                                                   •   Not considering a prospective student’s
                                                       individual needs in the context of the training
                                                       product they intend to enrol in – for example, if
                                                       a training product requires certain physical
                                                       skills, prior experience, prerequisites or entry
                                                       requirements.


Self-assurance questions
1   How do you identify the information prospective students need prior to enrolment to help them make
    informed decisions about a particular training product and your RTO?
2   How do you ensure that information for prospective students is clear, accurate, accessible, current
    and sufficiently detailed?
3   What mechanisms do you have in place to ensure students are promptly informed of changes to
    their training that impact them?
4   How do you identify the physical requirements, entry requirements, licencing eligibility requirements
    or other prerequisites required to participate in a training product?
5   What methods do you use for checking that prospective students have the necessary skills and
    competencies, including language, literacy and numeracy proficiency and digital literacy capabilities,
    to undertake their intended training product?

Source: ASQA Practice Guide — Information. Published 17 June 2025, Version 1.0. Authority: Australian Skills Quality Authority. These guides interpret the Standards for RTOs 2025 into practical compliance guidance. The PDF was extracted with pdftotext -layout to preserve the two-column table structure of the original document.