High-Risk Products: What You Deliver Could Be Your Weakest Link

In this high-stakes episode, Angela Connell-Richards breaks down the reality of delivering high-risk training products in the VET sector. From early childhood to cookery, some qualifications are magnets for ASQA scrutiny—and Angela shows you how to stay protected.

Key points discussed:
 ✅ What defines a “high-risk” qualification or unit
 ✅ How to assess and strengthen your delivery of risky products
 ✅ Common pitfalls in assessment, placement, and validation
 ✅ Evidence strategies to demonstrate quality and improvement

Angela gives you the tools to handle high-risk delivery areas with confidence and audit-readiness.

Listen now and download Angela’s free High-Risk Product Watchlist to assess and manage your most vulnerable qualifications.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Welcome back to the RTO Superhero Podcast with me,
angela Connell-Richards, andtoday's episode is one every RTO
needs to hear, because, even ifyou've nailed your policies,
updated your TAS and trainedyour team on the new standards,
there's one thing that couldstill catch you off guard the

(01:09):
qualifications and the units youdeliver.
In this episode we're talkingabout high-risk training
products, the ones that ASQApays extra close attention to.
These products carry higherexpectations, more scrutiny and
a much tighter audit lens.
So if you're delivering courseslike early childhood,

(01:33):
individual support, businesscookery or security, this is a
must listen for you.
Today I'll walk you throughwhat defines a high risk product
, how to evaluate and strengthenyour delivery, the pitfalls
Asqua sees again and and theevidence you need to show you're

(01:53):
doing it right.
Let's dive in.
What is a high-risk trainingproduct?
Let's start by defining what Imean by high-risk.
Asqa has been identifyingtraining products consistently
with high levels of complaints,non-compliance at audit, poor

(02:14):
learner outcomes, high attritionor low completion rates,
concerns around assessmentvalidity.
Some of the most watchedqualifications include CHC 30121
, certificate 3 in EarlyChildhood Education and Care.
Chc 33021, certificate 3 inIndividual Support SIT 30821,

(02:43):
certificate 3 in CommercialCookery PSB 30120, certificate 3
in Business, cpp 20218,certificate 2 in Security
Operations and several first aidand white card units.

(03:05):
Now delivering these productsisn't a problem in itself.
The risk comes from how they'redelivered, assessed and
supported.
If ASQA sees that you'rerunning one of these quals, they
expect you to have tightsystems, strong evidence and a
clear track record of quality.
Why these training productsattract extra scrutiny.

(03:26):
So why is it considered thatthese training products are
risky?
Here are the most commonreasons High enrolment and
volumes.
Some providers use theseproducts as cash flow courses,
enrolling large numbers withoutstrong support or outcomes.
Vulnerable learner cohortsthese courses often attract

(03:51):
students who need more support,such as migrants, career changes
or school leavers.
Work placement challenges Manyof these calls include mandatory
hours in child care centres,aged care facilities or kitchens
.
Rtos often struggle to monitorand evidence these placements.
Number four assessmentinconsistencies.

(04:15):
Assessors may not havevocational currency or tools
aren't validated properly,leading to invalid or unfair
judgments.
To invalid or unfair judgments.
Number five repackage content.
Some RTOs reuse content andassessment tools across multiple
quals or units withoutcontextualizing them.

(04:37):
Asqa knows that these are redflag areas, so when you deliver
these products, you'reautomatically on the radar.
How to evaluate your high riskqualifications?
Let's talk about how to audityour own delivery.
Start with these four questions.

(04:58):
Number one are your assessmenttools unit specific, validated
and contextualised?
Do they reflect real worldtasks?
Do they map correctly to theunit requirements?
Are they consistent acrossassessors?
Number two is your workplacement system documented and

(05:21):
monitored?
Do you have signed agreementswith host organisations?
Is supervision and learnerfeedback recorded?
Are hours and tasks tracked perlearner?
Number three do your trainersand assessors have vocational
currency and contextualknowledge?

(05:41):
Have they worked in the sectorin the last 12 to 24 months?
Are they participating in PDrelevant to the industry and
assessment?
Number four is learner supportand progress tracked and
reviewed?
Are students engaging with thematerial?
Are at-risk learners flaggedearly?

(06:02):
Are completions tracked andanalysed?
This kind of evaluation showsASQA that you're not just
delivering, you're assuringquality.
The common pitfalls you mustavoid.
Now let's get into the dangerzone.
These are the most commonpitfalls I see RTOs fall into

(06:25):
when delivering high-risktraining products.
Copy and paste assessmentsUsing the same assessments
across different quals withoutcontextualisation is a major
risk.
For example, a cleaning taskused in a childcare and cookery
that doesn't pass the sniff test.

(06:48):
No workplace evidence Ifplacement hours are signed off
but there's no task breakdown,supervisor verification or
learner reflection.
You don't have sufficientevidence Inexperienced trainers,
trainers delivering aged carewith no current sector

(07:09):
experience, or assessors relyingsolely on their old job history
without updated skills.
This is non-compliant Lack ofvalidation records, no
pre-implementation validation,no moderation and no review of
outcomes.
Assessment chaos, ignoringfeedback.

(07:32):
Learner complaints or employerfeedback are often dismissed or,
worse, never collected.
How to strengthen yourhigh-risk delivery?
Here's how you can flip thescript and deliver high-risk
products with confidence.
Update your validation plan.
Schedule validation before andafter delivery.

(07:57):
Rotate assessors.
Document everything.
Use reflective tools inplacements.
Have learners reflected ontheir tasks.
Link it to the units and havesupervisors sign off on specific
outcomes, not just the hoursthat they've completed.

(08:19):
Audit your assessment tools.
Use mapping documents.
Align to performance criteria.
Eliminate fluff.
Upskill your trainers.
Make sure their PD logs showrecent and industry training,
industry or engagement,shadowing, short courses, site

(08:39):
visits everything counts.
Collect and use feedback.
Implement structured learnerand industry surveys.
Act on what you find.
Show the cycle of improvement.
To help you get a handle on this, I've created a simple tool the
high risk product watch list.

(09:00):
It includes a list of ASQA flagtraining products, key risks to
look for in each delivery area,a checklist of assessment,
placement and trainer indicators, a space to review your own
courses and identify next steps.
You can download the documentat vivacitycomau or click on the

(09:24):
link in the show notes.
It's a great tool for internalreview meetings or as a part of
your self-assurance system.
So here's the truth what youdeliver could be your biggest
compliance risk or your biggestquality advantage.
If you're delivering high-risktraining products, it doesn't

(09:47):
mean you're in trouble.
It just means you need to stepup your systems, evidence and
internal controls.
Use the watch list, train yourstaff and get audit ready even
before ASQA comes a knocking.
Next week we'll be talkingabout complaints, how one bad

(10:07):
review can trigger an audit andwhat your response framework
must include in 2025.
Until then, stay smart, stayprepared and keep thriving.
Thanks for listening to the RTOSuperhero Podcast.