Aboriginal Consultation & Advisory:

The Standards for RTOs 2025 (2.6)

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If it's about us, include us


From 1 July 2025, the revised Standards for RTOs place increased emphasis on the wellbeing of learners, introducing Standard 2.6, which requires providers to identify, respond to, and support learner wellbeing throughout the student journey. This shift recognises that learner wellbeing; emotional, cultural, physical, and psychological is foundational to successful engagement, retention, and learning outcomes. RTOs must now demonstrate how they are creating safe, inclusive learning environments and responding effectively when learners face challenges that may affect their ability to succeed.


At Altitude Strategies, we work with RTOs to ensure they are not only compliant with the updated requirements but are also building genuinely safe, inclusive, and supportive environments for their learners.


Find out more below:

  • Implications of Standard 2.6 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learners

    Many Aboriginal students face unique challenges within the training system, including:

    • Cultural disconnection or lack of representation in curriculum and learning environments
    • Intergenerational trauma and systemic disadvantage
    • Barriers to accessing culturally safe support services
    • Experiences of racism, stereotyping, or misunderstanding in education settings
    • Social and family responsibilities that may affect attendance or progression.

    Without culturally safe and responsive support, these challenges often lead to disengagement or underachievement. Not because of capability, but because systems fail to reflect Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing.


    Standard 2.6 requires RTOs to consider these contextual wellbeing needs and actively plan for them.

  • If It’s About Us, Include Us: The Importance of Aboriginal-Led Consultation in Meeting Standard 2.6

    The introduction of ASQA’s Standard 2.6 signals a powerful shift: RTOs are now required to formally address and support the wellbeing of learners as part of their core obligations. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners, this goes beyond simply offering access to support services—it means recognising that wellbeing is holistic, encompassing social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and community dimensions.


    To be genuinely compliant with Standard 2.6, RTOs must ensure that the development, design, and implementation of wellbeing strategies include the voices of Aboriginal people. Aboriginal learners and communities must be consulted, heard, and central to decision-making ... not as an afterthought, but from the outset.


    As the saying goes: “If it’s about us, include us.”


    Without Aboriginal-led input, RTOs risk designing systems that may unintentionally replicate harm, ignore cultural needs, or reinforce disengagement. True cultural safety can only be achieved when Aboriginal people are part of shaping the environment around them.

  • What do we mean when we talk about a Holistic Approach to Aboriginal Wellbeing

    Consulting with Aboriginal people ensures that wellbeing strategies reflect:

    • Self-determination and self-empowerment
    • Community connection and cultural identity
    • Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) frameworks, which are central to Aboriginal models of health
    • Strength-based practices that affirm resilience and cultural pride
    • Trust in learning spaces, particularly where historical trauma and systemic exclusion remain lived realities

    This approach allows RTOs to move beyond reactive support to a model of proactive, respectful inclusion, supporting Aboriginal learners in a way that honours their strengths, identities, and aspirations.

  • What does Altitude Strategies offer

    Our services are tailored to help RTOs meet the intent and outcomes of Standard 2.6, including:


    • Wellbeing Strategy Development: We help you design and embed a whole-of-organisation approach to learner wellbeing that aligns with your values, cohort needs, and delivery model.
    • Risk Identification and Management: We support your team in identifying potential wellbeing risks and creating clear, culturally safe pathways for support and early intervention.
    • Staff Training and Capacity Building: We deliver training and resources to equip staff with the skills to recognise wellbeing concerns, respond appropriately, and refer learners to support.
    • Partnerships and Support Pathways: We assist in establishing external partnerships with Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) and community services; ensuring learners have access to the right support at the right time.
    • Documentation and Continuous Improvement: We help you document policies, procedures, and feedback loops to demonstrate compliance and commitment to continuous improvement, as required under the new Standards.

  • Why does the wellbeing of learner's matter

    The wellbeing of learners directly impacts their ability to engage, learn, and succeed. The new ASQA standards recognise this by embedding wellbeing as a key quality requirement ... not just an add-on.


    Altitude Strategies brings experience across education, Indigenous affairs, and organisational development to ensure your approach to student wellbeing is not only compliant, but genuinely meaningful, ethical, and effective.

Talk to us today!