New Standards for RTOs Student Wellbeing Requirements and a Conversation with Dr Robbie Lloyd

Professional Development Webinar Recording

In this webinar we provided an overview of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTO) coming into effect in July 2025, with a specific focus on the new requirements for student well-being.

The Standards require RTOs to:

Identify the wellbeing needs of the VET student cohort and put strategies in place to support these needs.

RTOs must demonstrate that they identify:

• the wellbeing needs of students
• appropriate wellbeing support services

RTOs must advise students of

• the availability of wellbeing support services
• any organisation students can contact, or additional action students can take to support their wellbeing.

In the wording it also says that the RTO must identify “…by reference to the training product content…”

We explored the meaning of this, that it likely refers to how the training itself might impact student wellbeing. For example:

• Does the course deal with sensitive or potentially confronting topics? (e.g. healthcare, community services, mental health, domestic violence, suicide, drug and alcohol, abuse, etc.)
• Training in heights, in confined spaces, with hazardous materials etc.
• Delivery methods, e.g. isolation/overwhelm for online learners, stressors in work placements.

Here’s the recording of the full discussion with Dr. Robbie Lloyd

Session Handouts

We referred to the ASQA Draft Practice Guide for wellbeing, available here:

ASQA Practice Guides

After the initial presentation on the new Standards, we then transition into a conversation with Dr. Robbie Lloyd, an expert in health, human services, and education. Key takeaways from our discussion are below.

Building relationships based on genuine care is fundamental to understanding and supporting student well-being. Creating a warm and friendly environment (“the vibe”) encourages students to feel comfortable.

There’s a risk of over-proceduralising well-being practices, which can diminish the genuine care and empathy required. RTOs should aim for a balance between compliance and fostering a supportive culture.

Professional development for educators is of utmost importance. Trauma-informed care training and Mental Health First Aid were suggested as valuable resources to help staff understand and respond to student needs.

Fostering a culture of well-being involves:

• valuing the learner
• encouraging conversation, imagination, discernment
• recognising the importance of mystery and wonder in the learning process.

Measuring success in student well-being involves qualitative feedback from students about their confidence, sense of empowerment, and overall social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

RTO leadership plays a vital role in fostering a well-being culture by valuing learners, encouraging connection, and even sharing their own vulnerabilities.

Well-being teams within RTOs, meeting regularly, can provide a supportive environment for both students and staff, facilitating debriefing and action planning.

Strategies for connecting with closed-off students include buddying them up with more outgoing peers and arranging one-on-one conversations to understand their needs and challenges.

Evidence of compliance with well-being standards can include student feedback demonstrating a positive and supportive learning environment.

The webinar emphasised that student well-being is an integral aspect of effective vocational education and requires a holistic, empathetic, and relational approach rather than a purely procedural one.

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