Complying with ASQA requirements

As an RTO, you must comply with ASQA’s general directions and compliance monitoring activities.

You must also:

pay all fees and charges associated with registration as and when due—registration applications will not be processed by ASQA until all outstanding invoices have been paid
comply with any additional licensing requirements applied to VET courses
hold registration for at least two years before applying to deliver qualifications or assessor skill sets from the Training and Education Training Package.

If you wish to offer courses to overseas students on student visas, you must register to become a Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) provider.

General Directions

ASQA issues General Directions to provide further guidance to providers on specific requirements of the VET Quality Framework and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

Complying with all General Directions is a condition of registration with ASQA.

View ASQA's General Directions.

Annual declaration on compliance

Each year, RTOs are required to submit a declaration on compliance.

This annual declaration on compliance is a statement by your organisation about whether it complies with the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015, and whether it complied with the Standards for all certifications issued in the previous 12 months.

When you submit this annual declaration, you will also be required to report to ASQA that:

records held by ASQA of your business operations are accurate
you are systematically monitoring your compliance with the Standards
you have implemented preventive and corrective actions, where necessary.

In February 2021, we will invite the Chief Executive Officers of RTOs, by email, to complete the Annual Declaration on Compliance. Each email contains a unique URL to your survey.

The declaration must be completed by the person who is legally responsible for the registration of the RTO (the Chief Executive Officer).

Detail changes (including address updates)

You must notify ASQA of any changes to your RTO's ownership, management or contact details, or other significant changes that may affect the operation of your RTO. This notification must be made as soon as practicable after the change occurs. Notification of of detail changes are made using asqanet.

You must notify ASQA of changes to:

registered trading names
key staff members or their contact details—this includes chief executive officers, principal executive officers, executive officers (including owners) or high managerial agents
principal place of business or delivery sites
financial administration status (e.g. if your RTO enters bankruptcy or liquidation)
legal name or type of legal entity
third-party agreements (entering into or cancelling)
ownership, directorship or control (including the sale or merger of an RTO)
organisation type
staff turnover (where significant or unexpected)
funding revenue sources (where significant).

Do I need to notify ASQA of a detail change?

If you are not sure if you need to inform us of a change, it is in your best interest to do so. Failure to promptly notify ASQA of a material change or event can constitute a breach of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

Use asqanet to notify ASQA of any of major material changes or events.

Updating current principal place of business and existing delivery site records (update address)

Currently, principal place of business and existing delivery site records are viewable, but unable to be edited directly in asqanet.

You will need to download and submit the Update principal place of business or delivery site form to:

notify a change to the address of your RTO’s principal place of business (only if different to your head office); or
amend the recorded details of one or more existing delivery sites.

The form should be submitted to notifications@asqa.gov.au.

Download the Update principal place of business or delivery site form (DOCX)

Change of legal entity

An RTO’s registration is not transferable. When an RTO sells or otherwise transfers its assets to another person or organisation, this results in a change in that RTO’s ACN/ABN or legal entity status. The person or organisation who has received these assets may not operate as a provider unless they have met specific requirements.

A change in ACN/ABN or legal entity requires a new RTO owner to:

submit an Application for initial registration for the RTO to ASQA
undergo a compliance audit
pay all applicable fees and charges.

If the new owner of an RTO is not a currently registered training provider at the time the sale or transfer occurs, then certain requirements must meet before training services can be provided:

the new owner must apply for initial registration, and receive approval, from ASQA
the previous owner must have submitted an Application to withdraw registration.

You must notify ASQA of changes to legal entity via ASQA’s online portal system, asqanet.

Third party agreements

The Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 require you to notify ASQA whenever you enter into, or cancel, a written agreement with a third party.

You must notify ASQA of third party agreement changes within 30 calendar days. Notification of third party arrangements must be done online via the Third Party Service Arrangement notification form.

For more information on third party arrangements, see our FAQ—Third party arrangements.

Mergers

Sale or transfer of assets

If an RTO’s assets and activities are sold or transferred to a second RTO, specific actions are required before the second RTO may use these assets or activities as part of its operation:

The RTO whose assets are being sold or transferred must apply to ASQA to withdraw its registration.
The continuing RTO must gain approval from ASQA to add any additional items from the sale or transfer that are not already on its scope of registration.

New legal entity merger

When two existing RTOs merge to form a new legal entity, this entity must:

submit a new Application for initial registration
undergo a compliance audit
pay all required fees and charges.

Before the new legal entity is permitted to operate as an RTO, an Application for initial registration must be received and approved by ASQA. In addition, the RTOs that are merging must individually submit applications to withdraw their registration.

ASQA must be notified of any RTO mergers as soon as practicable after they happen, and within 90 calendar days of the change occurring. This notification must be made via asqanet.

Change of ownership

If the shareholdings of an RTO change, but the ACN/ABN or legal entity is unchanged in the process, then the RTO can continue to deliver training and assessment.

ASQA must be notified of a change in RTO ownership as soon as practicable after the change has happened, and no later than 90 calendar days after. This notification should occur through asqanet.

If your RTO is also registered as a CRICOS provider, a notification of a change of ownership must be made as soon as practicable before the change comes into effect.

More information on the requirements for informing ASQA of a change to ownership can be found in our Guide to change of ownership.