Big shifts are landing across Australia’s retail and hospitality training packages, and we’re breaking down what actually matters for RTOs, trainers, and learners. Angela sits with returning guest Lauren Hollows to dig into what’s changing in SIR and SIT, why this reform cycle feels different, and the practical steps you can take now to protect funding, simplify assessment, and improve outcomes. The core story is transparency: using the Markup platform, anyone can see and respond to unit-level feedback in real time, creating a visible trail of what gets accepted, what doesn’t, and why. That’s a big win for industry voice and a chance to cut duplication, update outdated terminology, and design assessments that reflect real kitchens, real stores, and real budgets.

We walk through the nuts and bolts that keep leaders up at night. For hospitality, repetitive unit design drives cost and confusion; we outline ways to streamline demonstrations without watering down standards. For retail, we challenge rigid prerequisites that shut out experienced supervisors, and offer sane alternatives grounded in current work roles. Then we get tactical: how to use draft releases as an 80–90 percent guide, plan dual delivery across staggered state timelines, choose between dual tools and gap assessments, and keep a crisp communication plan that reassures students, employers, and staff from day one.

You’ll also hear how to request apprenticeship extensions, set up governance rhythms that produce compliance evidence, and plug into essential alerts on training.gov.au. And if SIT, SIR, SHB, or CUA sit on your scope, don’t miss the SAXA national roadshow for direct consultation in every major city. Bring your top five unit pain points and leave with clearer options for 2025 delivery. If you’re ready to move from reacting to leading, this conversati

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Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

Connect with fellow RTO professionals in our free Facebook groups: the RTO Community and RTO Job Board. Visit rtosuperhero.au/groups to join today.

Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

Support the show

Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

Stay connected with the RTO Community:

• RTO Job Board Facebook
• RTO Job Board LinkedIn
• RTO Community Facebook

📌 Don’t forget to:
✔ Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
✔ Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au

A glossy promise, a long wait, and an audit that collapsed in four and a half hours—this cautionary tale shows how fast things unravel when a consultant says “we’ll take care of everything.” We walk through a real CRICOS case where outdated policies and false confidence met the hard edge of the 2025 standards, and the regulator made it clear: capability sits with the CEO and PEO, not the consultant on the call.

We dig into the mindset shift that turns compliance from a paperwork chore into a leadership habit. That means reading your policies, sitting in on validation, understanding your training and assessment strategies, and being able to evidence implementation across student support, trainer competence, and records. We talk timelines that actually work, why 30-day miracles backfire, and how to build a weekly rhythm that creates audit-ready evidence without burning out your team.

Choosing help is the hinge point. We share a practical checklist for hiring the right consultant: recent audit experience under current standards, clear scope (initial registration, re-registration, or AAT), verifiable referees on training.gov.au, and a plan that upskills you rather than replaces your function. We call out red flags—blanket “we’ll do it all” offers, expensive retainers without education, and advice that downplays policy currency or implementation. Along the way, we broaden the lens beyond VET: your RTO is a business with WHS, HR, finance, privacy, and insurance obligations that demand the same disciplined approach.

If you want sustainable compliance, build capability, not dependency. Press play to learn the questions to ask, the evidence to prepare, and the habits that make audit rooms calm instead of combative. If this helped you rethink your approach, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a colleague wh

Send us a text

Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

Connect with fellow RTO professionals in our free Facebook groups: the RTO Community and RTO Job Board. Visit rtosuperhero.au/groups to join today.

Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

Support the show

Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

Stay connected with the RTO Community:

• RTO Job Board Facebook
• RTO Job Board LinkedIn
• RTO Community Facebook

📌 Don’t forget to:
✔ Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
✔ Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au

The vocational education landscape is experiencing a seismic shift as artificial intelligence transforms everything from assessment design to compliance management. This thought-provoking conversation with AI expert Lauren explores the practical implications of this revolution for RTOs.

We dive deep into how AI is already reshaping assessment validation processes, with Lauren sharing how her organisation has redesigned hundreds of assessments to incorporate live video components. This critical adaptation allows trainers to validate a student's written submissions against their verbal capabilities—helping to identify potential AI-generated work when written language significantly outpaces verbal expression.

The discussion takes a cautionary turn as we explore the vital questions RTOs should ask before adopting any AI solution. Where is your data being stored? What security protocols protect it? Most importantly, do the people behind AI compliance tools actually understand RTO operations and regulatory requirements? Lauren emphasizes that no matter how impressive the technology, the human expertise behind it remains essential.

For RTOs yet to begin their AI journey, we offer practical starting points based on your scope of registration. Those in business, finance or IT sectors face the stark reality that students are already using AI extensively. Rather than futile resistance, we suggest strategies for incorporating AI authentically into assessments while maintaining academic integrity.

Perhaps most concerning is Lauren's prediction about the future of compliance challenges. While ASQA has recently cancelled thousands of qualifications due to insufficient evidence, tomorrow's challenge won't be lack of evidence—it will be determining authenticity as AI tools become sophisticated enough to generate convinc

Send us a text

Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

Connect with fellow RTO professionals in our free Facebook groups: the RTO Community and RTO Job Board. Visit rtosuperhero.au/groups to join today.

Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

Support the show

Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

Stay connected with the RTO Community:

• RTO Job Board Facebook
• RTO Job Board LinkedIn
• RTO Community Facebook

📌 Don’t forget to:
✔ Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
✔ Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au