Welcome to this deep breakdown of the November ASCAR IQ update. This edition is packed with rules, reminders, and risks that every RTO leader needs to understand. If you miss the details covered here, your organization can fall into non-compliance without realizing it. This episode pulls each section apart and gives you clear points to check inside your own RTO. Start with the nationally recognized training logo. ASCA makes it clear, misuse of the logo is one of the fastest ways an RTO can mislead students without intending to. The logo is not a design accent, it is a controlled trademark. You can only use it when the training is nationally recognised and listed on your scope of registration. This is not flexible. You cannot place the logo on mugs, pens, shirts, folders, staff lanyards, business cards, or building signage. You cannot attach it to any short course that is not nationally recognised. You cannot let a third party use it casually in their marketing. Here is what to check in your RTO. Check your website, check your brochures, check any downloadable resources, check all templates used by your admin team. Check any marketing prepared by contractors or recruitment agents. If the logo appears anywhere that promotes non-accredited training or sits beside mixed offerings with no clarity, fix it now. ASCA treats this as misleading conduct and a breach of the compliance requirements. The update's message is simple. Your RTO must have control over who uses the logo, where the logo appears, and how the logo is protected. If you leave these decisions to chance, you take on unnecessary risk. Next, ASCA turns to issuing AQF certification documentation. This is one of the most common areas where RTOs fail and audit. The 2025 standards require that you issue AQF certification documentation within 30 calendar days of the student meeting the requirements of the training product. This rule now includes students who complete one or more units and then withdraw. ASCOA clarifies a key scenario. If the student has not completed assessment in the last 30 days, you can issue the documentation within 30 days of the withdrawal request. What should you check inside your RTO? Check your student management system to ensure it flags completions automatically. Check that your admin team has a clear process to issue certificates weekly or daily. Check that all fees have been disclosed and captured correctly. Check that you store a complete register of issued documents. If you cannot show the date of issue, the unique certificate number, and the student's full legal name, you carry a compliance risk. ASCAR repeats that all certification must match the AQF issuance policy. That includes exact codes and titles as listed on the National Register. If your certificates include outdated codes, missing fields, or design changes that dilute security, fix them now. Every certificate is a legal document and must be accurate, complete and traceable. You must also retain all certification records for 30 years. This is a long-term responsibility. If your digital storage is unstable or scattered across systems, consolidate it. ASCA then highlights the rules for replacement documents. If you charge for replacements, the fee must be disclosed at enrolment. If you did not disclose it, you cannot charge later. This is a simple mistake that many RTOs still make. The next section covers the unique student identifier. This is another area where a small mistake causes major consequences for students. The 2025 standards require that you verify the USI through the registrar. Never accept a USI without verification. Never issue a certificate if the student does not have a USI unless they fall into a very narrow exemption. If the student does hold an exemption, you must tell them that their results will not appear on a USI transcript. Most RTOs skip this step. Skipping it puts you in breach. ASCA points out that students regularly contact the regulator about missing results. This usually happens because the RTO issued the certificate but did not update AVETMISS or did not check accuracy. Tell your students when the transcript will update. Tell them how the transcript supports future employment. A clear message stops unnecessary complaints. ASCA then answers three common questions. The first is about issuing a statement of attainment when the student withdraws. The rule is workable if you track dates. Track your withdrawal dates, track your assessment dates. Issuing must occur within the 30-day window. Build this into your workflow. The second question is about giving a copy of a student certificate to an employer. The answer is simple. You need written consent. If you cannot produce consent when asked, ASCAR treats the release as a breach. The third question is about wording on statements of attainment. You can use either units or modules. Use the term that matches the training product. Consistency matters. Next, the update covers sector activity. ASCA will host a webinar on the 28th of November. This webinar covers early insights since the 2025 standards took effect. If you are responsible for quality or governance in your RTO, this is not optional. These webinars show the compliance patterns ASCAR is already seeing across the sector. When you know the patterns, you can review your own systems before the regulator steps in. ASCAR also highlights its latest podcast episode. This episode explains the credential policy in practical detail. The credential policy is now embedded in the standards. It tells you who can train, who can assess, who can provide direction, and who can work under direction. It clarifies what industry skills and currency look like under the new rules. If your workforce plan has not been updated since July, this is the time to check every trainer and assessor. The update shifts to an important risk item for RTOS delivering UE30820. Students who want an unrestricted electrician's license must complete the qualification through an apprenticeship pathway. If you deliver this qualification outside the apprenticeship model, you must tell students that they will not meet licensing requirements. This must appear in marketing. It must appear in enrolment information. It must appear in pre-training review. Provide the licensing requirements for all states and territories, not just your own. Understand 2.1, failing to give correct licensing information is a major breach. ASCOA treats this seriously because the risk to the student is serious. The update then highlights Jobs and Skills Australia. These updates help RTOs understand industry demand, skill gaps, and future workforce needs. This intelligence should feed into your industry engagement, scope review, training strategy design, and workforce planning. If you ignore these updates, you risk falling behind real industry need. The final part of the update lists operational reminders. State and territory training authorities have deadlines for funding data. The total vet activity data window opens 1st January and closes 28 February. Your enrolment data must be accurate, your training activity must be reconciled. Your A, V, E, T M, ISS reporting must be validated. Any errors in student data, impact funding, completion accuracy, and national reporting. If your RTO struggles with reporting, start sorting your 2025 data now. ASCOR also reminds the sector that transition extensions are published on its website. You must check these. You must have a transition plan. You must transfer or complete students before deadlines. Transition failures remain one of the most common breaches under audit. The message across this ASCAIQ update is direct. RTOs must strengthen controls around marketing accuracy, certification timeliness, USI verification, licensing advice, workforce credentials and data reporting. These are not small issues. They are signals of the integrity of your training delivery. When your organization gets these areas right, your students benefit and your compliance position strengthens. When you miss them, the risk grows fast. Use this update as your checklist. Audit your certification process. Check your USI accuracy. Review your licensing information. Update your workforce records. Prepare your AVETMISS data. Strengthen your transition management. These are the practical steps that keep your RTO compliant under the 2025 standards. That ends this extended breakdown of the November ASCAR IQ update. Keep your systems tight, keep your evidence clean. Keep your delivery aligned with the standards. That is how you protect your students, your training products, and your registration.