A registered training organisation (RTO), in Australia, is an organisation providing Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses to students, resulting in qualifications or statements of attainment that are recognised and accepted by industry and other educational institutions throughout Australia.

Australia-wide

There are almost 5,000 RTOs in Australia, providing training across a wide range of subject areas including traditional trades, advanced technical training, para-professional and professional studies, as well as pre-employment and basic skills programs. RTOs may be government (state or territory) or privately owned organisations. All RTOs in Australia and the qualifications they are registered to deliver are listed on the training.gov.au website, a national register that replaced the National Training Information Service (NTIS) in 2011. To become registered as an RTO, an organisation must apply to the regulatory body in the jurisdiction it falls. Depending on the organisation's main location and the student cohorts to whom it intends to provide training and assessment services, its regulatory body will be:

Australian Skills Quality Authority

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is the regulatory body for RTOs in: To become registered to deliver Vocational Education and Training in any state or territory outside of Western Australia and Victoria, or to overseas students, an organisation must meet a range of mandatory requirements, including: Organisations must also meet additional requirements when:

Vocational Education and Training (VET) Quality Framework

Organisations registered under ASQA's jurisdiction must comply with the requirements of the VET Quality Framework (VQF), which has the following components:

Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)

To apply for registration as an RTO with the VRQA, an organisation must have its principal place of business within Victoria, and only deliver VET to students within Victoria or Western Australia. Organisations must be able to demonstrate compliance with:

Training and Accreditation Council (TAC) of Western Australia

Within Western Australia, TAC will only accept applications from organisations that deliver and assess within Western Australia and Victoria only, and that have their head office located in Western Australia. Organisations must demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the Australian VET system and comply with:

Maintaining registration

To maintain national registration, ASQA-regulated RTOs must continue to comply with the VET Quality Framework as well as any further conditions that may have been imposed by ASQA. To ensure compliance with these obligations, ASQA conducts two types of audits: To maintain registration, TAC- and VRQA-regulated RTOs must continue to comply with relevant standards. Quality audits are conducted: