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What is the RTO annual registration charge?
The Annual Registration Charge (ARC) recovers costs generated through ASQA’s sector- wide regulatory activity. It is an annual charge paid by all VET and ASQA regulated ESOS providers.
Why is an annual registration charge necessary?
ASQA’s regulation of risks to quality VET safeguards an effective market for providers of VET and course owners: it is important to students, employers in all sectors of the economy and the economy itself. This regulatory activity generates costs: efficient, effective regulatory activity translates to minimum efficient cost of the regulator.
What does the annual registration charge cover?
The ARC recovers costs that are generated through regulatory activity that applies to the whole sector (not directed to a specific provider) including:
- Service delivery
- Regulatory education
- Regulatory intelligence
- Regulatory policy and design
- Regulatory risk and assurance
- Regulatory stakeholder engagement and communication
- Industry engagement
- Regulatory reporting
- Regulatory support
- Monitoring and data analysis
- Processing material change notifications
- Regulatory support through technology
- Qualification integrity
- Phone call interviews
- Lapse of registration processes
For the full list of what is covered in the ARC, refer to ASQA’s Cost Recovery Implementation Statement 2026-27.
How is the annual registration charge calculated?
Section 3.4 of ASQA’s Cost Recovery Implementation Statement 2026-27 sets out ASQA’s approach to calculating the ARC.
Providers holding both an NVR registration and CRICOS registration pay a different ARC to NVR-only or ELICOS-only providers to reflect the additional regulatory effort and oversight required of delivery to overseas students. Each ASQA-regulated provider will therefore fall under one of three ARC matrices:
- Providers with only NVR registration only
- Providers with both NVR and CRICOS registrations
- Providers with only CRICOS (ELICOS) registration
Each of the three ARC matrices have five tiers, based on the number of qualifications and/or units of competency on provider scope. Student enrolment numbers are also factored into the ARC calculation for Matrix 1 and 2 providers (NVR only and NVR and CRICOS registered providers).
Calculating the number of qualifications and/or units of competency
ASQA counts the number of qualifications on a provider’s scope of registration when determining the ARC tier, noting that:
- For providers delivering only units of competency, every 10 units of competency (or part thereof) will count as equivalent to one qualification for ARC purposes.
- For providers delivering a mix of units of competency and full qualifications, their ARC will be calculated based only on the number of full qualifications they have on scope.
- For providers delivering only ELICOS courses, each ELICOS course will count as one qualification for ARC purposes.
- Where a superseded non-equivalent or deleted training product remains on a provider’s scope, it will be counted as a separate qualification. If the superseded product is equivalent to another version the provider has on scope, they will be counted as one product qualification for ARC purposes.
Calculating the number of students
ASQA counts the number of unique students enrolled in a qualification, unit of competency, course or skill set, as reported by each provider in accordance with their AVETMISS reporting requirements when determining the ARC tier, noting that:
- Students who are enrolled with one provider for multiple qualifications, units of competency, courses or skill sets in a calendar year are only counted once.
- Student numbers for ELICOS-only providers will sit within the lowest tier (0-99 students), irrespective of the number of students enrolled in ELICOS courses.
Annual Registration Charge 2026-27
| NVR RTO only ARC - 2026-27 |
0-99 |
100-249 students |
250-499 students |
500-999 students |
1,000+ |
| Tier 1: 0-4 Qualifications |
$ 1,800 |
$ 2,800 |
$ 4,100 |
$ 6,100 |
$ 9,300 |
| Tier 2: 5-10 Qualifications |
$ 5,400 |
$ 6,400 |
$ 7,500 |
$ 9,000 |
$ 10,800 |
| Tier 3: 11-25 Qualifications |
$ 9,500 |
$ 10,500 |
$ 11,600 |
$ 12,900 |
$ 14,300 |
| Tier 4: 26-50 Qualifications |
$ 13,600 |
$ 15,100 |
$ 16,600 |
$ 18,400 |
$ 20,400 |
| Tier 5: 51+ Qualifications |
$ 19,200 |
$ 21,100 |
$ 23,500 |
$ 26,000 |
$ 28,800 |
| NVR + CRICOS ARC - 2026-27 |
0-99 |
100-249 students |
250-499 students |
500-999 students |
1000+ |
| Tier 1: 0-4 Qualifications |
$ 2,000 |
$ 3,200 |
$ 4,600 |
$ 6,900 |
$ 10,500 |
| Tier 2: 5-10 Qualifications |
$ 6,100 |
$ 7,200 |
$ 8,400 |
$ 10,100 |
$ 12,200 |
| Tier 3: 11-25 Qualifications |
$ 10,700 |
$ 11,800 |
$ 13,100 |
$ 14,500 |
$ 16,100 |
| Tier 4: 26-50 Qualifications |
$ 15,300 |
$ 17,000 |
$ 18,700 |
$ 20,700 |
$ 23,000 |
| Tier 5: 51+ Qualifications |
$ 21,600 |
$ 23,700 |
$ 26,400 |
$ 29,300 |
$ 32,400 |
| ELICOS only ARC - 2026-27 | |
| Tier 1: 0-4 Qualifications |
$ 1,800 |
| Tier 2: 5-10 Qualifications |
$ 5,400 |
| Tier 3: 11-25 Qualifications |
$ 9,500 |
| Tier 4: 26-50 Qualifications |
$ 13,600 |
| Tier 5: 51+ Qualifications |
$ 19,200 |
Case studies
The following case studies illustrate how the annual registration charge is calculated:
A provider is registered to deliver training and assessment to domestic students only (i.e. it is an NVR RTO only). It offers 51 units of competency across the Health and Community Services industries, but no full qualifications. The provider reported a total of 480 individual students for the year. Under the 2026-27 ARC, the provider will fall within the scope of 5-10 qualifications (51 units of competency is equal to 6 qualifications based on the ratio of 10 units of competency (or part thereof) to 1 qualification), and 250-499 students of the NVR RTO only ARC. The provider’s ARC will be $7,500, as shown in the table below.
A provider delivers training to both domestic and international students (i.e. it is an NVR RTO and CRICOS provider). The provider has 10 qualifications on its scope of registration, and 20 standalone units of competency. The provider reported 360 domestic students and 50 international students enrolled in the previous calendar year. Their position in the ARC matrix falls into scope of 5-10 qualifications and 250-499 students in the NVR and CRICOS ARC. The provider’s ARC will be $8,400, as shown in the table below.
An ELICOS-only provider delivers training to international students and has 6 ELICOS courses on its scope of registration. Under the ARC matrix, they will fall within the 5-10 qualification tier, noting that student numbers are not considered in the ELICOS-only ARC. The provider’s ARC will be $5,400, as shown in the table below.
Frequently asked questions
What are the timeframes for the 2026 ARC?
| Date | Event |
| 2025 Calendar year | Provider records student enrolments as part of AVETMISS requirements. |
| February 2026 | Provider or funding authority submits AVETMISS data to NCVER. |
| 30 June 2026 | ASQA reviews the number of VET courses on a provider’s scope of registration. |
| Mid-August 2026 | ASQA sends out invoices for the provider’s ARC. |
Do ESOS providers pay the same ARC as non-ESOS providers?
In 2026-27, providers holding both an NVR registration and CRICOS registration will pay a different ARC to NVR only or CRICOS only (ELICOS) providers. This reflects the additional regulatory effort and oversight required for delivery of VET to international students.
ARC amounts will therefore differ for:
- Providers with only NVR registration or only CRICOS (ELICOS) registration
- Providers with both NVR and CRICOS registrations.
What is the ARC for ELICOS-only providers?
ELICOS only providers will have their ARC calculated based on the number of courses on their scope, and lowest tier for students (0-99 Students).
How will I know what my Annual Registration Charge (ARC) amount will be?
Your 2026-27 ARC will be calculated based on your registration type, number of VET courses (qualifications) or units of competency on scope and student numbers.
Examples have been provided above.
If I have a superseded version of a training product on scope, will it be counted as a qualification in calculating my annual registration charge?
If the superseded product is not equivalent to its replacement, then yes, it will count as a qualification when calculating your annual registration charge, in addition to the current version.
If the replacement product is equivalent, it will not count as an additional qualification when calculating your annual registration charge, the 2 products will be counted as one.
We deliver only units of competency or skill sets, does ASQA calculate our student numbers?
The ARC counts unique students regardless of whether they enrol in single units, skill sets or full qualifications.
If a student enrols in multiple courses with my provider, how is that used in the ARC calculation?
The charges are based on unique students, not unique enrolments. A student who is enrolled in multiple qualifications, courses, units of competency, and skill sets with your provider will be counted only once.
What if my organisation has less than full year registration?
The following arrangements apply to providers who are registered for less than a full financial year:
- Registration withdrawn, cancelled, or expired due to non-renewal
Where an NVR registered training organisation or registered provider’s registration ends during a billing period (i.e. registration is withdrawn, cancelled, or expired due to non-renewal), only a pro-rata charge applies for the number of whole months of registration. Where an excess amount is paid the amount refundable is for the number of whole months remaining in the financial year after the registration ends.
- Providers in their first year of operations
For providers that become an NVR registered training organisation for the first time (i.e. are not renewing their registration), the annual charge is calculated based on the number of qualifications on the providers scope of registration and the first tier of student scale (0-99 students).
The calculation then uses the following formula A x B / 12.
Where:
- “A” is the amount of annual registration charge and
- “B” is the number of full months that remain up to 30 June after the provider becomes registered as an NVR registered training organisation.
Why does the Department of Education also charge CRICOS providers?
The Department of Education has its own separate regulatory accountability for ESOS providers which is different from the regulatory work of ASQA.
The Department may charge ESOS providers for the Department’s regulatory activities. For more information please refer to the Department of Education’s annual registration charge page.
Will school RTOs, not for profits, enterprise or regional RTOs have different ARC settings?
No additional provisions are proposed beyond the ARC matrices. Feedback from school and community providers on proportionality, thin markets and low margins has been considered in finalising the fees and charges.
Further information
Please contact us on 1300 701 801 or submit an online enquiry form.