🚨 RTO’s - Want to attract ASQA's attention quickly?

 ASQA has already told the sector where they’re looking in 2026.

 Risk Area 1: Shortened Course Durations.

One of the fastest ways is this:

Running qualifications in timeframes unrealistic for the learner cohort.

I continue to see this issue in audits and reviews — particularly where:

 • learners are new to the industry

 • the qualification is in a higher-risk sector

 • the course duration has been significantly shortened “fast tracked” 

 • there is little evidence showing why that duration is appropriate

 • RTO’S who are in competition who RTO's “getting away with it” 

Particularly ASQA are concerned in industries such as:

 • Early Childhood Education and Care & Adult Care 

 • Aviation

 • High Risk Work Licensing industries

Common red flags include:

 • Shortened course durations with no clear rationale

 • Compressed delivery models applied to inexperienced learners

 • Delivery and Assessment Plans that don’t reflect actual delivery

 • Practical skills, supervision, or workplace application not realistically built in

 • Assessment clustered into unrealistic timeframes

 • No evidence showing how the amount of training was determined for that cohort

 • Lots of online and/or self-paced training with no monitoring of volume of learning 

Quick self-check:

 ✔️ Can you justify the duration for each relevant learner cohort?

 ✔️ Does it reflect learner entry capability, support needs, and industry risk?

 ✔️ Would your rationale stand up if ASQA reviewed it tomorrow?

Compliance tip:

 If your rationale only makes sense because “that’s how we’ve always run it” — it needs a review.

Be Audit ready with your course durations:

Comment: DURATION or email: compliance@rtostandards2025.com.au and 

we can share our Course Duration Review Checklist.

#RTO#ASQA #RTOCompliance #StandardsforRTOs2025 #VETCompliance #TrainingAndAssessment #AmountOfTraining #CourseDuration #AuditReadiness #CRICOS #InternationalEducation