Since publishing the article Pre-use Assessment Review and the 2025 Standards for RTOs, we’ve had a steady stream of practical questions from RTOs trying to implement Standard 1.3 in the real world with limited time, mixed-quality resources, and constant pressure to just get it delivered.

This follow-up answers some of the most common questions we receive.

There has been much discussion around the requirements associated with “pre-assessment validation” of assessment tools, or “pre-use review” of assessment tools, or other terms that have been used interchangeably to refer to a process that Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) need to be implementing. This article focuses on the pre-use review (Standard 1.3) rather than the validation requirements of Standard 1.5.

A requirement for some staff to complete professional development (PD) and currency activities to maintain or increase their VET and industry skills and knowledge (“CPD requirements”) has always been a part of the standards that RTOs must meet. But the 2025 Standards have kicked things up a notch in terms of CPD requirements.