Your Policies Are Still Out of Date. Here’s Why.

In this powerful follow-up episode, Angela Connell-Richards revisits the policy topic with a reality check: even after updates, many RTO policies still fail to meet the new 2025 Standards. Why? Because they lack implementation, contextualisation, or evidence.

Key points discussed:
 ✅ Why many “new” policies are still non-compliant
 ✅ The missing links between documentation and delivery
 ✅ How to embed your policies into team culture and student experience
 ✅ Simple tools to review and update effectively

Angela challenges you to go beyond cosmetic updates and build policies that drive quality, not just paperwork.

Listen now and download Angela’s free Post-July Policy Audit Guide to bring your documentation in line with real-world compliance.

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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. 

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

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, superheroes, and welcome back to the RTO
Superhero Podcast.
I'm your host, angelaConnell-Richards, and today
we're going to have a bit of areality check, because, even
though it's now into July andmost RTOs have technically
updated their policies andprocedures for the 2025
standards, I need to say thisout loud Most of these

(00:26):
non-compliances are stillnon-compliant.
Yep, even the freshly rewrittenpolicies and procedures that
you have in place can benon-compliant.
And that's not to scare you,it's to empower you, because in
this episode, I'm going to showyou why these policies are
falling short and how to fixthem before ASQA becomes a

(00:50):
knocking.
We'll talk about the missinglink between your documentation
and your delivery, how to makepolicies actually usable,
understood and followed, and whycontextualisation and evidence
are now non-negotiable.
Let's stop ticking boxes andstart building real compliance

(01:12):
systems that work.
Updated doesn't mean compliant.
Let's start here.
Just because you've updatedyour policies doesn't mean that
they meet the new requirements.
I've reviewed dozens ofso-called new policies over the
last couple of months and here'swhat I've seen Old terminology

(01:33):
still used, referring to the oldstandards 2015.
Templates copied and pasted,with no changes for delivery
context they've just changed thefooter.
No version control ordocumented reason for the update
.
No evidence of rollout,training or implementation.
That's not compliance.

(01:55):
That's cosmetic compliance andASCLE will spot it immediately.
The outcome standards nowrequire you to provide accurate,
transparent information.
Embed policies into operations.
Use policies to drive qualityimprovement, keep evidence of

(02:17):
training, version updates andimplementation.
If your documents aren't doingthat, they're just paperwork.
Where most RTO policies stillfail.
Let me walk you through thefive biggest gaps I'm seeing,

(02:37):
even in updated policy suites.
One outdated language andstandards references.
Many policies still refer toclauses and requirements from
the 2015 standards.
If your documents mentionstandard 1.8 or uses phrases
like amount of training withoutalignment to the 2025 structure,

(02:58):
update them immediately.
Two no contextualisation.
A complaints policy that lookslike it came off Google is not
enough.
Or, even worse, chat GPT.
Your policies must reflect yourlearner cohort, your delivery
modes, your term, team structure, your systems and tools.
If your policy says studentscan lodge complaints through a

(03:22):
paper form but you only runonline courses, there's a
mismatch.
Three no implementationevidence.
If you updated your policiesbut didn't log the version
update, notify your team,conduct training then ASQA will
consider them not implemented.

(03:43):
Four no alignment with practice.
If your policy says we validateassessments twice a year but
you haven't run a singlevalidation session in 12 months.
That's a breach.
Five no continuous review cycle.
Policies should be reviewed atleast annually and updated based

(04:05):
on student feedback, internalaudits, staff input, changes in
legislation or standards.
The real purpose of a policy.
Let's take a breath andremember something really
important A policy isn't just arequirement, it's a tool.

(04:27):
It's there to guide consistentdecision-making, protect
students and staff, ensurefairness and transparency, drive
improvement in how you operate.
If no one reads your policies,they don't work.
If your team can't explainwhat's in them, they're useless,

(04:48):
and if you're not followingthem, they're a liability.
How to embed policies intoculture and operations?
So how do we fix this?
How do we move from staticdocuments to living, breathing
systems?
Here's my five-step framework.

(05:09):
Step one start with your team.
Introduce each key policythrough a short PD session.
Use real-world scenarios andask how would this play out in
our RTO?
Record attendance and log it inyour training register.
Step two align policy topractice.

(05:32):
Cross-check your policystatements against what's
actually happening on the ground.
If your complaints policypromises a seven-day turnaround,
can you prove that that's whatactually happens?
If your learner support policyoutlines case management, who

(05:55):
owns this role?
Step three link to systems Foreach policy.
Ask where does this show up inour day-to-day systems?
This might be in ClickUp, yourLMS, your enrolment forms or
SharePoint, for example, yourmarketing policy should link
directly to your course flyer,checklist and web audit process.

(06:16):
Step four monitor and review.
Use your compliance calendar toreview two to three policies
per month.
Check are they still accurate?
Do they align to what weactually do in practice?
Has anything changed?
Make notes of updates, evensmall ones, and version control

(06:38):
everything clearly.
Step five engage students.
Yes, even students.
Add summaries of key policiesto your orientation process LMS
dashboards, email welcomesequences.
Lms dashboards, email welcomesequences.
When students know how to givefeedback, make complaints or

(07:01):
access support, they're morelikely to engage and less likely
to complain to ASQA.
What ASQA will look for ataudit?
In audit, asqa will want to seethat your policies are up to
date and version controlled,that they're consistent with
your practice and evidence thatyour team understands them, that

(07:31):
you've reviewed and updatedthem regularly and that they're
accessible to students andstakeholders.
And if there's a policy listedin your TAS website or documents
and it isn't in place or beingfollowed, that is an immediate
compliance risk.
To help you take action today,I've created a post-July policy
audit guide.
This tool will help you reviewyour policy structure, check for

(07:54):
outdated references, testalignment with current
operations, plan a policy reviewand staff training schedule.
You can download it atvivacitycomau or grab the link
in the show notes.
Use it with your team, yourconsultant or as part of your
internal self-assurance review.

(08:18):
So here's your challenge forthis week.
Don't assume your policies arecompliant just because they're
new.
Make sure they're true,especially if you've purchased
them.
Are they aligned?
Are they understood?
Are they followed by all?
Are they documented?
And if the answer's not yet,that's okay, you've still got

(08:41):
time.
Thanks for joining me today onthe RTO Superhero Podcast.
Next week we're talking aboutself-assurance, not just what it
means, but how to actuallybuild a system that works.
Until then, stay compliant andkeep thriving.