Brands, services, platforms and people
Career Calling Education
Open the checklist

Check before you enrol

You can check most of this yourself, for free, in a few minutes. Do it before you sign anything or hand over money.

Start with what you need

  • What job or next step is this for?
  • Does that job need a licence, and will this course give it to you?
  • Would you study in person or online, and do you have the equipment?
  • Could your earlier study or experience earn credit?
  • What support will you need?

If you need a licence, confirm the course with the body that issues the licence, not only with the course seller. Advertising may say training leads to a licensed outcome only if the industry regulator has confirmed it.

Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA, choose a course and provider (official site), ASQA guide on information and transparency (official site)

Check the provider

For vocational training

  1. Go to training.gov.au (official site) and search under registered training organisations.
  2. Open the record and read its status. Current is what you want to see. Current (suspended), Non-current, Withdrawn and Cancelled are reasons to stop and ask questions. Current (re-registration pending) means a renewal is being considered.
  3. Read its scope. Scope of registration lists the qualifications, skill sets, units and accredited courses that RTO is registered to provide, and whether it may deliver and assess or assess only.
  4. Check the summary for regulatory decisions, and note which regulator manages the registration in case you ever need it.

For higher education

Check the TEQSA National Register (official site). It shows the provider's category, how long it is registered, whether it can accredit its own courses and any regulatory action. Universities and university colleges can usually accredit their own courses, so those courses may not be listed. TEQSA also publishes a list of unregistered entities.

For people on a student visa

CRICOS (official site) lists the providers and courses offered to people studying in Australia on student visas.

Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: training.gov.au glossary (official site), Reading an RTO record (official site), TEQSA, checking a provider (official site), CRICOS (official site)

Check the course

Find the course on training.gov.au using the code and title the provider gives you. Advertising that mentions a training product must show its code and title as they appear on the register.

  • Is it current? Each record shows whether the product is current, superseded or deleted. A provider may refer to a product that is no longer current only while it remains on scope and new enrolments are allowed.
  • Is there time to finish? ASQA lists enrolling students in superseded or expired products without enough time to finish as a known risk. If a product has been superseded or deleted, ask how long you would have to finish.
  • Is it on this provider's scope? Being on the national register is not enough. It must be on the scope of the provider you are paying.

Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: Reading a training record (official site), ASQA guide on information and transparency (official site), ASQA guide on student information (official site)

What a provider must tell you

A VET provider must give you clear information before you enrol or pay, including:

  • the course title, code and whether it is current
  • how, where and for how long it is delivered
  • whether another organisation will train or assess you
  • a full schedule of fees, costs and charges, with payment terms, refund policies and any government subsidies
  • how to get a USI
  • your rights and obligations, such as having to find your own work placement or supply your own resources
  • the support available, and any licensing requirements
  • complaints and appeals processes, refund eligibility and cooling-off periods

Higher education providers must also tell students about fees and refunds, who to contact, academic requirements, complaints processes and third party arrangements.

Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA, student rights and responsibilities (official site), ASQA guide on student information (official site), TEQSA, what students can expect (official site)

Questions worth asking

  • What is the total cost, including materials, and when is each payment due?
  • What do I get back if I withdraw, and by when?
  • How many hours a week should I plan for, including unsupervised study?
  • Who will teach and assess me, and how do I reach them?
  • Is a work placement required, and who arranges it?
  • What will this course not do for me?

Keep the answers in writing. The before you enrol checklist brings all of this together, and you can print it.

Warning signs

Glass graduation caps breaking apart in the air above a rolled certificate

None of these prove a course is bad. Each one is a reason to stop and check.

“You are guaranteed a job at the end.”
Providers must not promise a job outcome they do not control. Ask what the promise is based on, and get it in writing.
“Everyone passes, you can't fail.”
Providers must not guarantee that you will complete a course. A qualification issued without proper assessment can be cancelled later.
“It only takes a few weeks.”
ASQA lists marketing unrealistically short courses as a known risk. Ask how many hours of study are involved and how the time is worked out.
“Sign up now and the laptop is free.”
Offers described as free can be misleading if there are conditions. Read what you are agreeing to pay first.
“Your experience covers it, RPL is easy.”
Proper recognition of prior learning means an assessor checks real evidence. ASQA warns students not to settle for shortcuts.
“I am not from the college, I just help people enrol.”
Third parties often recruit for providers, and advertising must say so. Find out which registered provider you would really be enrolling with.

If someone approaches you

A sale made by someone who calls you, comes to your door or approaches you in public is an unsolicited consumer agreement. You can end the call or visit at any time. The seller must identify themselves and give you a written agreement with a cooling-off notice, and you generally have 10 business days to change your mind.

Official sources, read on 7 November 2026: ASQA guide on information and transparency (official site), ASQA guide on student information (official site), ASQA on credit and RPL (official site), ACCC, telemarketing and door to door sales (official site), ACCC, false or misleading claims (official site), ACCC, gifts and prizes (official site)