Standard 2.1 – Clear & Accurate Information (SRTOs 2025): All Marketing & Enrolment Info Must Be Current

Under the Standards for RTOs 2025, Standard 2.1 sets a clear expectation:

👉 Every piece of marketing, enrolment, and student-facing information must be clear, accurate, current, and free from misleading claims.

This includes:

• Your website
• Student handbooks
• Course brochures
• Enrolment forms
• Third-party marketing material (e.g., agents for CRICOS RTOs)

The Standard exists for one reason: to protect students. If they don’t get accurate info before enrolment, they can’t make informed choices about their training and obligations.

What Standard 2.1 Requires

Your RTO must demonstrate:

1. Clear, accurate, current information
   1. All published info (internal & third-party) must be reliable.
2. Pre-enrolment communication
   1. Identify what students need to know before enrolment and give it to them before collecting fees.
3. Easy access to essential details, including:
   1. Training product code and title
   2. Duration, delivery mode, location, commencement dates, scheduling
   3. Assessment requirements and work placement requirements
   4. Licensing/occupational licence requirements
   5. Third-party arrangements
   6. Support and wellbeing services
   7. All fees, charges, refund policies, subsidies, payment terms
   8. Student obligations (equipment, USI, withdrawal process, placements)
4. Pre-enrolment documentation
   1. Written confirmation of:
      1. Training to be provided (by RTO/third parties)
      2. All fees and charges
      3. Student obligations

5. Notification of changes
   1. Students must be informed as soon as practicable of changes to:
      1. Training products (superseded/deleted)
      2. RTO operations (location, delivery mode, third-party changes)

Common Non-Compliances (Consultant Insights)

From 15+ years in compliance consulting, I see the same issues repeatedly:

Non-compliant FEDS files

• RTOs list course names but omit the course codes.
• Students can’t verify what they’re enrolling in.

Marketing superseded courses

• Outdated qualifications still on websites or brochures.
• ASQA has issued fines of up to $50,000 for this breach.

Out-of-date documents

• Student handbooks still reference the 2015 Standards.
• Old refund policies linked on the website.
• Policies not updated after Standards 2025 release.

CRICOS agent lists not current

• International student agents missing or outdated on RTO websites.
• Breach of ESOS Act obligations.

Hidden or unclear fees

• Tuition listed, but material/placement/withdrawal fees not disclosed.
• Refund policies not upfront.

Slow or no communication of changes

• Students not informed when qualifications are replaced or deleted.
• No process to notify students of RTO operational changes.

Misleading claims in wording or imagery

• Marketing says “in the heart of Melbourne CBD” when campus is in the suburbs.
• Website shows the Opera House while the RTO is based in Melbourne.
• ASQA now checks images and wording for accuracy.

Case Study – Business RTO Audit

Context:
An RTO offering Certificate IV in Business was audited in 2024.

Findings:

• The website listed old elective units not available on training.gov.au.
• The superseded version of the qualification was still advertised.
• Students paid fees before seeing the full schedules of charges.
• The agent list on the CRICOS page was outdated.

utcome:

• ASQA issued major non-compliance under Standard 2.1.
• RTO had to:
  • Update all marketing within 7 days.
  • Archive old documents properly.
  • Publish a current CRICOS agent list.
  • Implement a Marketing & Enrolment Checklist for future compliance.

Result: Rectification accepted, but not before serious reputational damage.

Self-Assurance Checklist

Ask yourself:

• Do all course listings show the code + title from training.gov.au?

• Are website images/wording realistic and location-accurate?

• Have superseded/deleted courses been removed from all materials?

• Are handbooks and student docs updated for Standards 2025?

• For CRICOS: is the agent list current and published?

• Are all fees and refund policies listed upfront?

• Do we notify students promptly about qualification transitions or organisational changes?

FAQs on Standard 2.1

Marketing is your RTO’s first impression. If it’s misleading, outdated, or incomplete, it’s not just a student issue — it’s a compliance and financial risk.

Get Standard 2.1 right, and you’ll protect your students, your registration, and your reputation.