Supporting integrity in the international education system

As the national vocational education and training (VET) regulator, ASQA welcomes the measures recently announced by the Australian Government to target unethical, dishonest or non-genuine providers that undermine confidence in the VET sector. 

International student delivery continues to be one of our regulatory priorities as we work in partnership across government to detect and deter non-genuine providers, including through the use of our powers to enforce compliance and, where necessary, cancel a provider’s registration.

Closing the loophole on the concurrent study functionality in the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) will support our actions as the regulator and stop unscrupulous practices that enable the movement of international students within 6 months of their enrolment.

We also welcome the government’s consideration of the further use of powers to target high-risk providers under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act and safeguard the integrity of the international VET market.

Strengthening the rules for the fit and proper persons test, as announced by Skills Ministers, will also give us broader authority to scrutinise people who own, operate and manage registered training organisations and ensure they meet higher and broader standards.

Anyone with information or concerns about a provider’s compliance or behaviour is encouraged to contact ASQA via our online complaints portal, asqaconnect.

For more information, see: Ministerial media release.