Welcome to the RTO Superhero Podcast with me, Angela Connell Richards. Today we look at one of the most common gaps in RTO systems. Many providers keep policies that look neat but hold no link to real practice under the outcome standards. That model no longer works. Policies now serve as evidence of alignment, leadership, and accountability. They must show how your RTO operates in daily practice. They must show how decisions are made, how roles are defined, and how improvement occurs. Today you will hear what makes a policy outcome driven, why input-based policies fail, how ASCOR checks policy alignment, and how to review your policy suite with precision. Let us begin with what the standards require. Policies must be applied in practice. They must be monitored for impact. They must be reviewed and improved. They must sit inside a clear governance structure. Outcome standards 4.1 and 4.2 call for active systems of governance, accountability, risk management, and improvement. This applies directly to policy frameworks. If your policy says one thing and your practice shows another, you hold a compliance risk. Regulators no longer want to see documents alone. They want to see evidence that policies guide decisions and shape action. Now let us compare input-driven and outcome-driven policies. An input-driven policy often starts from a template. It describes steps without intent. It shows tasks but not roles. It sits in folders without review. These policies exist to tick boxes. They do not drive behavior. They do not reflect actual delivery. They do not support compliance. Outcome-driven policies are different. They reflect your real operations. They name owners. They link to evidence. They include review cycles. They show how the policy shapes practice. They show how staff act. They show how decisions are made. They show how improvement occurs. If your policies come from 2018 or from a shared drive and have not been updated, then they lack alignment with the outcome standards. Let us shift to the audit view. ASCOR checks for contextualization. Policies must reflect your internal systems and roles. They check for accountability. Policies must name who holds each responsibility. They check for version control. You must show review dates, reviewers, and changes. They check for evidence of practice. You must show how the policy appears in meetings, onboarding, validation, and support. They check for improvement. Policies must change in response to feedback, complaints, audit findings, and learner data. If none of this is present, your policies are only documents, not compliance tools. To support your review, we created the policy to practice diagnostic tool. It includes gap checks, review questions for each quality area, assignment of owners, and a tracker for urgent updates. It helps you see where practice drifts from policy. It helps you confirm alignment. It helps you find gaps before the regulator does. Use it with your leadership team or quality group. Treat it as a live review tool. Let us cover common gaps that raise red flags. Some providers still use assessment terms that no longer fit their system. Others show staff names that left long ago. Some CRECO's policies ignore cultural orientation. Some review schedules show no updates since 2022. These gaps are not intentional. They form through delay and oversight, but oversight creates findings. You must address these early. Let us explore a real example. A provider came for a health check. Their policies looked polished, but when asked who reviewed program plans, who tracked actions, and how policies linked to practice, leaders had no answers. Their system was disconnected. Their documents did not match daily operations. Through a structured review, they identified owners, set a review calendar, trained their staff, and aligned policies across governance, support, training, and assessment. Within weeks they saw clarity. Their audit outcome was clean. They also gained a leadership system that worked. Outcome-driven policies hold power, they reduce risk, they improve clarity, they help staff see their role, they guide decisions and shape culture. They link to real evidence. This builds a stable RTO. Now let us walk through how to review your own policy suite. Start by checking contextualization. Does the policy describe your system or a generic one? Next, check ownership. Are roles clear? Then check review dates. Are updates recorded? Then check links to practice. Can you show where the policy is used? Can you show how it affects training, assessment, support or governance? Finally, check alignment with the outcome standards. Does the policy support the requirements? Does it link to risk? Does it link to improvement? Another strong step is to review your policies with your leadership team. Bring your program plans. Bring your complaints. Bring your risk register. Bring your validation reports. Bring your support data. Look at how each policy connects to each part of your system. Check where gaps appear. Check where policies need updates. Check where practice has changed. This method gives you clarity and control. Policy alignment also keeps your RTO prepared for audit. When ASCA asks for evidence, you show documents and examples of practice. You show meeting notes, reports, training logs, and improvement actions. You show how staff follow the policy. You show how leadership uses it. This builds trust and reduces pressure. Let us expand on culture. Policies shape expectations. Staff need clear instructions, they need clarity on roles, they need guidance on practice. They need support to follow the policy. Leaders must explain why each policy matters. They must ask for feedback. They must check understanding. They must ensure that practice matches intent. Another factor is version control. Policies must track changes. If a policy change because of feedback or audit findings, you must show that update strong version control proves improvement. Weak version control raises questions. Let us discuss linking policies to daily work. A complaints policy must connect to logs. A training and assessment policy must connect to program plans and validation. A learner support policy must connect to support notes. A governance policy must connect to minutes. A risk policy must connect to the risk register. These links form your compliance map. Missing links create audit findings. Now let us cover leadership. Leaders must review policy alignment often. They must challenge gaps. They must ask how policies shape action. They must ensure accountability stays clear. They must confirm that updates occur. Without leadership attention, policies become static. Policy systems also reduce risk. When policies guide behavior, staff act with consistency. When policies anchor practice, decisions follow a clear path. When policies drive improvement, gaps close early. Let us close with clear direction. Review your policy library. Assign owners. Align policies with practice. Link each policy to evidence. Use the diagnostic tool Build a Calendar. Update your system. Bring your policies to life. Thank you for joining me today. Keep your policies living, your evidence flowing, and your RTO thriving.