RTO Superhero 🎙️ Empowering RTOs to Thrive! cover art

RTO Superhero 🎙️ Empowering RTOs to Thrive!

RTO Superhero 🎙️ Empowering RTOs to Thrive!

By: Angela Connell-Richards
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About this listen

Staying compliant and running a successful RTO can feel overwhelming — but you don’t have to do it alone! The RTO Superhero Podcast is your go-to resource for navigating compliance, training standards, and business growth in the ever-evolving VET sector.


Hosted by Angela Connell-Richards, CEO of Vivacity and compliance expert with over 30 years in the industry, alongside co-hosts Lauren Boon-Hollows, renowned RTO strategist, and Maciek Fibrich, compliance and business transformation specialist, this podcast breaks down complex regulations into actionable strategies.


Each episode delivers expert insights, real-world solutions, and practical tips to help RTOs stay ahead, reduce stress, and build a thriving business. Together, Angela, Lauren, and Maciek bring you a powerhouse of experience, giving you the tools and confidence to succeed.


Why Subscribe?

Stay informed about the latest compliance changes and RTO best practices
Gain expert advice from industry leaders and special guests
Learn practical strategies to streamline operations and improve training outcomes
Discover AI & automation tools to simplify compliance and admin tasks
Be audit-ready with confidence and ease


Join Angela, Lauren, and Maciek as they turn compliance into your superpower — because running an RTO should be about growth and impact, not just regulations!

© 2025 Vivacity Coaching & Consulting Pty Ltd
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Episodes
  • Scope Trap: Why Expansion Can Trigger Audit Disaster
    Jul 8 2025

    In this timely episode, Angela Connell-Richards explores the compliance risks that come with adding courses to your RTO’s scope—especially under the 2025 Standards. What seems like growth can quickly turn into an audit nightmare without the right preparation.

    Key points discussed:
    ✅ The audit risks tied to scope additions and amendments
    ✅ How to pre-assess your readiness before submitting a scope application
    ✅ The evidence ASQA looks for when reviewing new course delivery
    ✅ How to align your TAS, trainers, and resources before expansion

    Angela helps you build a proactive process for safe, strategic scope growth—without putting your registration at risk.

    Listen now and download Angela’s free Scope Expansion Readiness Tool to audit-proof your next course launch.

    Send us a text

    Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

    Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

    Support the show

    Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

    We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

    Stay connected with the RTO Community:

    • RTO Job Board Facebook
    • RTO Job Board LinkedIn
    • RTO Community Facebook

    📌 Don’t forget to:
    Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
    Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

    🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

    📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

    🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

    ✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
    📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
    🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au

    Show More Show Less
    10 mins
  • Funding Chaos: Navigating Australia's Complex VET Landscape with Lauren Hollows
    Jul 3 2025

    🎙 In this episode of the RTO Superhero Podcast, Angela Connell-Richards and co-host Lauren Hollows tackle a confronting reality in Australia’s VET sector—how arbitrary funding decisions are crippling high-performing private RTOs.

    Despite delivering 80% of Australia’s training, private RTOs receive just 30% of government funding. Even worse? RTOs with exceptional outcomes are being denied funding simply because their success happened in the “wrong” state.

    🚨 What’s happening behind the scenes:

    • 📉 Outstanding RTOs excluded from funding programs due to postcode politics
    • 📊 “Mom and pop” RTOs pushed out by skyrocketing compliance costs
    • 📈 One RTO slashed unit completion times from 400 to 84 days—just by using their own data better

    Angela and Lauren unpack how this imbalance is reshaping Australia’s training landscape—and why it’s time to stop pitting TAFE vs. private RTOs and start building collaborative solutions.

    What you’ll learn in this episode:

    • The real cost of underfunding private RTOs—and who’s paying for it
    • Why compliance pressure is forcing quality providers out of the sector
    • How data-driven management can dramatically improve performance
    • What it will take to create a sustainable, student-focused training system

    🎧 Tune in to hear what’s really happening—and how you can help fix it.

    ✍️ Support the cause: change.org/save_private_rtos


    Send us a text

    Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

    Connect with fellow RTO professionals in our free Facebook groups: the RTO Community and RTO Job Board. Visit rtosuperhero.au/groups to join today.

    Ready to elevate your RTO? Join our Superhero Membership community and gain access to expert resources, training, and personalised support to help you thrive.

    Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

    Support the show

    Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

    We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

    Stay connected with the RTO Community:

    • RTO Job Board Facebook
    • RTO Job Board LinkedIn
    • RTO Community Facebook

    📌 Don’t forget to:
    Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
    Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

    🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

    📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

    🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

    ✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
    📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
    🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au

    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Beyond 1 July – Building a Culture of Self-Assurance, Not Just Compliance
    Jul 1 2025

    In this forward-looking episode, Angela Connell-Richards explores what it takes for RTOs to move beyond the 1 July 2025 Standards deadline and embrace a culture of continuous self-assurance. Rather than treating compliance as a checklist, Angela invites you to reframe it as an ongoing journey of quality, improvement, and organisational excellence.

    Key points discussed:
    ✅ What “self-assurance” really means under the 2025 Standards
    ✅ How to embed continuous improvement across all Quality Areas
    ✅ The role of leadership, team culture, and systems in sustaining compliance
    ✅ Tools and strategies to help your RTO thrive—not just survive—beyond audit day

    Angela shares her practical wisdom on how RTOs can future-proof their operations and transform compliance from a burden into a genuine business advantage. This episode will inspire leaders ready to elevate their organisation’s mindset and impact.

    🎧 Call to action: Listen now and download Angela’s free Self-Assurance Starter Guide at Vivacity to start building a culture of excellence in your RTO today.

    Send us a text

    Join host Angela Connell-Richards as she opens each episode with a burst of insight and inspiration. Discover why compliance is your launchpad to success, not a limitation.

    Wrap up with gratitude and guidance. Subscribe, leave a review, and join our community as we continue supporting your compliance journey in vocational education.

    Support the show

    Thank you for tuning in to the RTO Superhero Podcast!

    We’re excited to have you join us as we focus on the Revised Standards for RTOs in 2025. Together, we’ll explore key changes, compliance strategies, and actionable insights to help your RTO thrive under the new standards.

    Stay connected with the RTO Community:

    • RTO Job Board Facebook
    • RTO Job Board LinkedIn
    • RTO Community Facebook

    📌 Don’t forget to:
    Subscribe to the RTO Superhero Podcast so you never miss an episode!
    Share this episode with your RTO network—compliance is a team effort!

    🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the compliance changes before it’s too late!

    📢 Want even more compliance insights? Subscribe to our EduStream YouTube Channel for our FAQ series on the New Standards for RTOs 2025! 🎥

    🔗 Subscribe now: EduStream by Vivacity Coaching

    ✉️ Email us at hello@vivacity.com.au
    📞 Call us on 1300 729 455
    🖥️ Visit us at vivacity.com.au

    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
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