Danger Banglington
I would suggest you get no to your RTo and say these magic words. "I intend to take the matter up with VETAB, who oversee the Certificate IV"
VETAB is like the police of VET training. You can access their website on
www.vetab.nsw.gov.au
Further the Training package you should have done is AVI08, which is the new one.
You can look at the total training package on the website
www.tlis.com.au . I had a look and there is nothing in this package that state a time frame to complete the course.
The only time frame is out of date. Most VET programme are designed that they expire after 3 years unless you continue to do study or what is called professional improvement. If teh case of the CCommercial Pilot this would be renewal of Instrument ratings of annual check rides or endorsements. Unlike a degree which is forever (think about the doctor who trained 20 years ago and has never been checked since!!!!!!!!!!)
Anway the bottom line is your RTO is out of line, and I suspect he is loking for more money.
Cheers