Background
The RTO Standards Companion progressive Web Application, is personally very important to me not because of its technical specs or excellence. It came about through a time of great change in my life and was the product of a huge amount of personal learning, “from scratch”. The companion is my first completed development project, the product that proved to myself that I can. I now have a number of projects that are larger in scale and more technically demanding than the companion but it stands for me as a first step into the world of Open Sourcedevelopment. The following note is the Readme from its GitHub repository, The full source of this project is available at : https://github.com/stuanderson415-coder/flying-squirrel
RTO Standards Companion
A lightweight, installable Progressive Web App (PWA) designed to help Australian VET practitioners navigate and understand the RTO Standards 2025. The RTO Standards Companion provides a quick, practical reference for educators, trainers, assessors and other VET practitioners who need ready access to the Standards without working through large policy documents during everyday practice.
The web address of the app is https://rtostandards.com
Purpose
The Companion was developed as a practitioner-focused reference tool. It is intended to make the Standards easier to explore by presenting key requirements in a compact, accessible format that works across desktop and mobile devices.
The application is not a compliance management system and does not replace the official Standards, regulatory guidance or professional advice. Users should refer to the relevant regulator and official Commonwealth legislation and guidance when making compliance decisions.
Features
- Quick reference to the 2025 RTO Standards
- Practitioner-focused explanations and summaries
- Simple navigation between Quality Areas and requirements
- Searchable content
- Responsive mobile and desktop interface
- Installable as a Progressive Web App
- Lightweight web-based architecture
- No account required
- Designed as a practical teaching and professional-development resource
Progressive Web App
RTO Standards Companion is a PWA, meaning it can be used as a normal website or installed on supported devices. Once installed, it behaves much like a standalone application and can be launched from the device’s home screen, application launcher or desktop.
Installing
iPhone / iPad
Open the site in Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen
Android
Open the site in a supported browser → select Install app or Add to Home screen
Desktop
Supported browsers may display an Install option in the address bar or browser menu.
Intended Users
The Companion may be useful for:
- VET trainers and assessors
- VET educators
- RTO managers
- instructional designers
- compliance and quality staff
- workplace assessors
- students studying VET practice
- practitioners involved in validation, moderation and continuous improvement
Design Philosophy
The project follows a deliberately simple principle:
Make regulatory information easier for practitioners to access without pretending to replace the regulation itself.
The application is intentionally lightweight. It is designed as a reference companion rather than a large learning-management or compliance platform.
This also makes the project suitable for experimentation with accessible web design, PWAs and small educational technology tools.
Technology
RTO Standards Companion is a web application designed to run across modern browsers and mobile devices. The PWA implementation provides:
- a web app manifest
- installability
- standalone application behaviour
- responsive presentation
- caching/offline capabilities where supported
The source repository also provides an opportunity for other educators and developers to inspect, adapt and improve the project.
Data and Privacy
The Companion is primarily a reference application and is not intended to collect sensitive learner, assessment or organisational information. Users should not enter confidential RTO, learner or assessment information into features unless those features explicitly state that they are designed and secured for that purpose.
Australian VET Context
The application relates to the 2025 Standards for Registered Training Organisations, which form part of Australia’s national Vocational Education and Training regulatory framework. For authoritative information, always consult the current Standards, Commonwealth legislation and guidance published by the relevant Australian Government and VET regulatory authorities.
Disclaimer
RTO Standards Companion is an independent educational and reference project. It is not an official Australian Government, ASQA or RTO product and is not endorsed by a VET regulator. Information provided by the application is intended to support understanding and professional practice. It should not be relied upon as legal, regulatory or compliance advice. Where there is any difference between information presented in the Companion and an official source, the official source takes precedence.
Open Source
This project is provided as an open-source educational resource. Contributions, corrections and suggestions are welcome, particularly where they improve:
- accuracy
- accessibility
- usability
- practitioner relevance
- mobile/PWA behaviour
- alignment with authoritative VET sources
Please use the repository’s Issues or contribution workflow to suggest changes.
Project Status
Production / maintained
The initial application has progressed from prototype to an installable PWA. Future development is expected to focus on incremental improvements, content accuracy, accessibility and practitioner usefulness rather than unnecessary feature expansion.
Acknowledgement
RTO Standards Companion was developed from the perspective of VET practice: exploring how small, accessible digital tools can make complex regulatory and professional information easier to use in everyday educational work.
RTO Standards Companion
An independent, practitioner-built companion to the 2025 RTO Standards.