FSO Skills Accelerator-AI partners join forces to design resources that help registered training organisations (RTOs) begin their AI journey with confidence.
At a glance
FSO Skills Accelerator-AI initiative: AI Governance & Adoption Starter Toolkit (Pilot)
Partners: Lumify Learn, Canberra Institute of Technology, Stratentia, National Institute of Technology Australia, and Prickly2Sweet.
Timeframe: Skills Accelerator Action Learning Sprint 1, Oct-Dec 2025
Primary goal: Help RTOs make informed decisions about AI adoption, reducing risk, increasing confidence, and ensuring ethical, transparent practice.
Key outcomes
- Increased leadership confidence in AI adoption
- Faster, standardised approval processes
- Clearer guidance for educators on AI use
- Stronger alignment between compliance, IT and teaching teams
The challenge
As AI tools rapidly enter workplaces and training environments, VET providers across Australia have been seeking clarity on how to safely, responsibly and confidently adopt AI.
Feedback from our Skills Accelerator partners revealed consistent challenges faced by RTOs:
- No consistent RTO-contextualised AI governance framework to guide ethical and compliant adoption
- Limited internal expertise to assess risk, benefits, and appropriate use
- Uncertainty around legal, privacy and data considerations
- Educators and leaders unsure where to begin or what good practice looks like
- Rising pressure from staff and learners to support AI use in teaching, learning and operations
Across the sector, the demand for practical, easy-to-use tools, rather than theoretical guidance became urgent.
About the initiative
Through a Skills Accelerator Action Learning Sprint, the initiative brought together leaders from Lumify Learn, Canberra Institute of Technology, Stratentia, National Institute of Technology Australia, and Prickly2Sweet to co-design a minimally viable AI Governance & Adoption Starter Toolkit that gives VET organisations a clear, actionable way to evaluate, approve, and embed AI safely.
The team followed an agile, collaborative, action-learning model, meeting weekly to iteratively design, test, and refine the toolkit.
The toolkit is aimed at RTO executives and leaders (strategy, governance, compliance); educators and learning designers; and technology and compliance teams, leveraging the National AI Centre’s Guidance for AI Adoption, the National AI Plan and emerging AI Safety guidelines.
The toolkit includes:
- AI Adoption Kit (step-by-step adoption pathway)
- AI Policy Template
- AI Screening Tool (for assessing proposed tools or use cases)
- AI Register (capturing AI use across the organisation)
- AI Transparency Statement (clear and learner-friendly)
- AI RACI (roles and responsibilities for AI governance)
- AI Readiness Checklist
- Data Sensitivity Matrix
The impact
- Increased leadership confidence in adopting AI technologies
- Faster approval processes using a standardised screening tool
- More consistent decision-making across functions
- Educators reporting improved clarity on when and how AI can be used
- Stronger alignment between compliance, IT, and teaching teams
The toolkit is being piloted by participating organisations and refined based on real feedback.
“Future Skills Organisation brought together people who wouldn’t usually be in the same room and focused us on one question: how do RTOs adopt AI safely, confidently and at pace? Being part of that work meant I could bring my own RTO experience into the mix, so the AI Adoption Starter Kit is grounded in real practice and gives providers a faster, more confident way to move from ideas to implementation.”
Dean Conway, AI Lead, Data and Digitalisation Branch, Corporate Services, Canberra Institute of Technology
What worked well
- Cross-functional collaboration ensured the toolkit reflected real operational needs, not theoretical governance.
- Involving practitioners early revealed practical friction points that needed addressing.
- Shared challenges across organisations reinforced the need for sector-wide solutions.
Challenges faced
- Balancing simplicity with compliance requirements
- Varied AI maturity levels across organisations
- Ensuring tools were adaptable to RTOs of all sizes
- Keeping up with rapid changes in AI technology, frameworks, guidance publications and regulation
Key insight: A practical starter toolkit must be simple enough to use immediately, aligned to where the RTO is in their AI adoption journey, yet robust enough to satisfy governance and compliance needs.
Next steps
The team plans to further test and refine the toolkit with Skills Accelerator partners, publish a sector-ready version for broader VET adoption, and deliver a Masterclass for leaders and educators.
Explore the AI Governance & Adoption Starter Toolkit (Pilot)
Co-designed by Skills Accelerator VET and industry partners, this pilot MVP Starter Toolkit gives RTOs practical, ready-to-use resources to support safe and responsible AI adoption.
Start with the overview to understand the approach and structure, then download the full toolkit to access ready-to-use templates, checklists, and tools.