Increasingly, regulators appear to be assessing whether compliance is embedded into everyday operations — not just prepared for audits. There’s a big difference between: “audit-ready” and “operationally compliant.” The organisations navigating change best are the ones where compliance is part of everyday practice You may have all the documents - but do you have the actions? Interested in assessing your organisation? E: compliance@assessconsulting.com.au #RTO #CRICOS#GT

This is where regulatory action escalates to: conditions, suspension and cancellations. Common red flags that trigger attention immediately: • Students enrolled but not consistently engaged in training • High completion rates with little evidence of competency • Heavy reliance on agents with limited oversight • Sudden growth that doesn’t match your systems, staff, or infrastructure • Rapid ownership, directors or control changes that raise questions • Links to previously

If ASQA reviewed your student files tomorrow —would they be easy to defend? Gaps in student files can impact compliance across multiple Standards (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11) of the National Code 2018. From recent reviews of CRICOS providers, common patterns include: • evidence spread across too many places, emails, handwritten notes, SMS • limited documentation of pre-enrolment information and suitability decisions • inconsistent application of entry requirements • reliance o

For international students, compliance starts before they accept the offer. Marketing and Information Practices can expose providers as high risk if incorrect. They are a core part of your compliance framework. What a student sees, reads, hears and relies on before they enrol matters. This is a requirement of Standard 1 of the National Code 2018. Issues I continue to see in reviews: • course information that is too broad or unclear • inconsistent information across websit

One of the biggest risk areas I see in practice is this: How did the provider determine that this student should be enrolled in this course? Under Standard 2 of the National Code 2018 – Recruitment of an Overseas Student , providers must recruit responsibly and ensure overseas students are appropriately qualified for the course they are seeking to enrol in. This also means students must be given sufficient information to make informed decisions about studying with the provide

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