General information, not legal advice. The official places to check are ASQA’s pages for providers and the instruments on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Three parts to one rulebook
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations describes the 2025 Standards for RTOs as three elements:
- “the Outcome Standards (legislation)”
- “the Compliance Standards (legislation), including the Fit and Proper Person Requirements and NRT Logo Conditions of Use Policy, and”
- “the Credential Policy (TGA).”
The two pieces of legislation are the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Outcome Standards for Registered Training Organisations) Instrument 2025 (F2025L00354) and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Compliance Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations and Fit and Proper Person Requirements) Instrument 2025 (F2025L00355). Each commenced on 1 July 2025. The second repeals the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (NVR registered training organisations) 2015, the whole of the instrument, so the 2015 Standards are no longer the measure for an RTO that ASQA registers.
The department also publishes the Standards as easier-to-read policy documents, and is plain about their status: “It is important to note the policy documents do not impose legal obligations.” The obligations sit in the two instruments and in the Credential Policy, which ASQA-regulated RTOs must also meet.
Five files
Each file below rests on one part of the law, named at the top of the page, and quotes it where the exact words matter.
- 01Becoming an RTOThe application, what ASQA weighs and the fit and proper person test
- 02The Outcome StandardsFour quality areas and all twenty-three standards, in the instrument’s words
- 03Certificates and statements of attainmentThe 30-day rule, what each document must show, and the 30-year record
- 04Third-party arrangementsWho counts as a third party, the written agreement, and the notices to ASQA
- 05RTOs in Victoria and Western AustraliaThe two regulators that are not ASQA, and the standards each applies
Which regulator registers which provider
ASQA says an organisation seeking to deliver VET courses to domestic students in the ACT, NSW, the NT, Queensland, South Australia or Tasmania applies to ASQA for initial registration. One seeking to deliver only in Victoria applies to the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), and one delivering only in Western Australia applies to the Training Accreditation Council (TAC).
| Regulator | Registers | The standards it applies |
|---|---|---|
| ASQA | Providers delivering to domestic students in the ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA or Tas | The two 2025 instruments and the Credential Policy |
| VRQA | Providers delivering only in Victoria | The Victorian RTO Standards, which include the AQTF 2010 standards for initial and for continuing registration |
| TAC | Providers delivering only in Western Australia | The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations made under section 185 of the Commonwealth Act, applied by WA’s own regulations |
An applicant whose principal place of business is in Victoria or Western Australia can apply to ASQA only if it will offer courses in a state or territory other than Victoria or Western Australia, including online, or to overseas students. The fifth file sets out the two state laws side by side.