Information for former students of International Institute of Education and Training Pty Ltd (IIET, trading as EDU VET 40993)

Statement of regulatory action - 31 January 2025

To protect the public and the integrity of the Vocational Education (VET) sector, ASQA took action late last year to cancel the registration of four unrelated and critically non-compliant Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and the qualifications they fraudulently issued during relevant periods.

Following extensive compliance investigations, ASQA found the former providers had systematically issued qualifications without appropriate training or competency-based assessment by qualified assessors; and/or did not ensure students had successfully satisfied all requirements prior to issuing VET certification. These providers were typically purporting to deliver on the basis of a model of ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (RPL) that was grossly inadequate.

ASQA took swift action to notify more than 18,750 former students that their qualifications and/or statements of attainment were at risk of being cancelled. Urgent action was required by ASQA for qualifications and/or statements of attainment issued in care and construction-related industry areas because of the potential safety risks to the former students, others in the workplace, and some of the most vulnerable members of the community.

All former students of the four de-registered VET providers were given the opportunity to demonstrate to ASQA that the relevant provider had delivered for them, the training and/or assessment necessary to achieve or confirm the learning outcomes or competencies required prior to being issued with certification.

ASQA only received responses from around 20 per cent of former students and carefully considered these responses received before deciding whether the evidence provided was adequate.

No individual was able to demonstrate the necessary training or assessment which resulted in ASQA cancelling more than 21,000 qualifications and/or statements of attainment in November and December 2024 of the following:

Luvium Pty Ltd (trading as Australia Education & Career College): qualifications and/or statements of attainment of 7,360 students across individual support, early childhood education and care, community services and first aid cancelled.
IIET (trading as EDUVET): qualifications and/or statements of attainment of 6,818 students across individual support, disability, aged care and community services and first aid cancelled.
Gills College (trading as Elite College Australia and/or Sterling Business College): qualifications and/or statements of attainment of 3,364 students across individual support, early childhood education and care, community services, first aid and automotive cancelled.
DSA Ventures (trading as Australian Academy of Elite Education): qualifications and/or statements of attainment of 1,220 students across building and construction related areas cancelled.

ASQA continues to work with government agencies, state and territory governments, and other regulators to determine impact of qualification cancellations on former students and any workplaces affected.

In 2023, the Australian Government announced an investment of $37.8 million to support VET quality and integrity, including allocating $33.3 million to ASQA for a suite of measures including the establishment of a new Integrity Unit and tip-off line. Since the tip-off line’s launch on 4 October 2024, it has received more than 3200 tip-offs, with more than half providing actionable intelligence.

This investment has strengthened ASQA’s ongoing capacity to take action against illegal behaviour and non-genuine providers that threaten the integrity of VET.

“There is no place for any VET provider who seeks to undermine the sector or exploit students. Australians should have confidence in their vocational education sector and the integrity of qualifications issued,” ASQA CEO Saxon Rice said.

“ASQA has a dual mandate to both protect and enhance the quality of VET. This has never been more important as we focus our strengthened compliance and enforcement activities on non-genuine providers and bad-faith operators that engage in fraudulent, illicit or unethical activities.

“These decisions are part of an ongoing program of regulatory action and we will continue to take action to remove providers who are found to be fraudulently issuing qualifications.”

Updates at: www.asqa.gov.au Media contact: media@asqa.gov.au

Statement of regulatory action 31 January 2025 (PDF)

Updated statement of regulatory action - International Institute of Education and Training Pty Ltd - 6 December 2024

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has cancelled the qualifications and/or statements of attainment of more than 6,000 former students of International Institute of Education and Training Pty Ltd (IIET, trading as EDU VET 40993) as part of its ongoing program of regulatory action.

IIET was registered to deliver to domestic students and was not funded by government to deliver VET qualifications.

An ASQA compliance investigation found it had issued qualifications without appropriate training or competency-based assessment by qualified assessors through a model of full recognition of prior learning.

Given the nature of the issues identified in this matter, and to ensure public safety, ASQA issued notices of intent to cancel qualifications and/or statements of attainment to 6,818 former IIET students who had an opportunity to respond to ASQA before any decision was made.

Of the 6,818 former students who were sent notices, more than 6,000 did not provide a response within the designated timeframe. As a result, ASQA has today cancelled their qualifications and/or statements of attainment.

ASQA has received responses from more than 700 former students and is considering their responses. ASQA will advise those individuals of an outcome as soon as possible.

The affected former students of IIET collectively hold a variety of qualifications across individual support, disability, aged care and community services and first aid.

ASQA continues to work collaboratively with other government agencies and state and territory governments and regulators in relation to the impact of this action and other qualification cancellation decisions on former students, as well as any workplaces affected.

ASQA is committed to lifting quality and integrity across the VET sector and the integrity of our qualifications is a primary focus. There is no place for any provider who seeks to undermine the sector or exploit students.

These decisions are part of an ongoing program of regulatory action supported by ASQA’s strengthened capacity to target illegal behaviour and non-genuine providers that threaten the integrity of VET.

Updates and previous regulatory actions: www.asqa.gov.au

Media contact: media@asqa.gov.au

Former student factsheet

Why have I received a Notice of decision to cancel?

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) cancelled the registration of International Institute of Education and Training Pty Ltd (IIET, trading as EDU VET 40993). The cancellation took effect from 21 November 2024 and was published on the National Register.

As a result of the cancellation of IIET’s registration, ASQA undertook a process to issue notices of intent to cancel qualifications or statements of attainment issued by IIET from January 2023.

ASQA issued a Notice of intent to you to cancel your qualification(s) and/or statement(s) of attainment on 26 November 2024.

For those former students who received their notice of intent via email, you were given seven days to respond after receiving the written notice, i.e. no later than 7:00pm AEDT 4 December 2024.

What happened if I didn’t provide a response?

ASQA provided all former students an opportunity to respond to the notice of intent. As you have decided not to respond, ASQA has cancelled your relevant qualification(s) and or statement(s) of attainment. ASQA has also provided you a Notice of the decision to cancel via email.

Can I provide a response after the period specified in the notice?

ASQA will not consider any responses after the due date and has cancelled your qualification.

What evidence did ASQA consider?

ASQA required former students to submit information and/or evidence that you undertook valid training and assessment and could demonstrate achieving the learning outcomes or competencies required.
Your response and evidence was required to:

Demonstrate that IIET provided you with appropriate training and/or assessment; and
Responses must have been supported by evidence as outlined in the table below:

Relevant evidence	Evidence that, on its own, will not be sufficient in this decision
Documents related to your training and assessment with IIET. For example: completed assessment tasks assessment feedback marked assignments evidence of completing work placements an outline of the period of their enrolment and what training and assessment and/or work placement occurred during that period subject guides or timetables Evidence of current related work/other relevant training: letters of support from current or recent employers (within last 12 months) VET qualifications or Statements of attainment issued by another RTO in a similar or same field higher education qualifications issued in Australia in a similar or same field evidence that overseas qualifications in a similar or same field have been assessed as equivalent to Australian qualifications by another RTO or organisation.	written statements which describe your skills and experience proof of employment in industry letters of support from employers qualifications or statements of attainment from another education provider

Relevant evidence

Evidence that, on its own, will not be sufficient in this decision

Documents related to your training and assessment with IIET.

For example:

completed assessment tasks
assessment feedback
marked assignments
evidence of completing work placements
an outline of the period of their enrolment and what training and assessment and/or work placement occurred during that period
subject guides or timetables

Evidence of current related work/other relevant training:

letters of support from current or recent employers (within last 12 months)
VET qualifications or Statements of attainment issued by another RTO in a similar or same field
higher education qualifications issued in Australia in a similar or same field
evidence that overseas qualifications in a similar or same field have been assessed as equivalent to Australian qualifications by another RTO or organisation.

written statements which describe your skills and experience
proof of employment in industry
letters of support from employers
qualifications or statements of attainment from another education provider

Who made the decision?

The decision was made by the Chief Executive Officer of ASQA in her capacity as the Regulator.

When does the decision take effect?

This decision takes effect on 7 days after the date of your notice of cancellation.

Will the decision be made public?

In accordance with the requirements of section 216(1)(a)(vi) of the NVR Act, ASQA will publish this decision. However, ASQA will not include your personal details in the publication.

What if I disagree with ASQA’s decision to cancel my qualification?

You have the right to have the decision reviewed. As this decision was made by the Regulator, you cannot apply to ASQA to reconsider the decision. You may apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (the ART) (formerly the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) for a review of the decision. The ART is an independent review authority that has the power to affirm, vary, or set aside ASQA’s decisions.

More information on the review process can be found on the ART website (https://www.art.gov.au/.)

What do I need to do next?

If you received a Notice of decision to cancel, you are now required to return your qualification(s) and/or statements of attainment(s) to ASQA at this address:

Attention: Qualification Cancellations
Australian Skills Quality Authority
GPO Box 9928
BRISBANE QLD 4001

If you received your certificates in a digital format from IIET, you must return them to ASQA by email: iietstudents@asqa.gov.au

The documents must be returned to ASQA within 7 days of the date of this notice. You may incur a penalty if you do not comply.

If you continue to use your qualification(s) and/or statements of attainment(s) ASQA may take further action and penalties apply.

ASQA will notify the Office of the Student Identifiers Registrar. They manage the register that holds each individual’s Unique Student Identifier (USI) Record.

Why didn’t I receive a Notice of decision to cancel?

ASQA has received your response and is considering the information and/or evidence that you undertook valid training and assessment and could demonstrate achieving the learning outcomes or competencies required.

What happens next?

ASQA will notify you of the outcome of its decision and provide you with information on the next steps.

What options do I have to get appropriate qualifications?

We recommend searching for a registered training provider or training course on Your Career. Your Career is Australia's directory of training. It includes information on training in Australia for school leavers, students, apprentices, and employers.

When choosing a training or education provider, it is important to consider whether the provider and the course will meet your needs and expectations. Our Choosing a course and provider section includes a consumer checklist with important questions to ask a potential provider.

You could undertake a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment with another provider. RPL may be based on evidence collected through formal, non-formal and informal learning to determine the extent to which a person has achieved the required learning and/or competency outcomes to be awarded a unit of credit; this is often matched with ‘gap’ training, to meet the full competency requirements of a unit or course.

Formal learning, as the term relates to RPL, may mean units of credit which are related, but not equivalent to, the credit being sought, or credits which are no longer current.

Non-formal learning refers to learning, which is structured and focused, but which is delivered outside the Australian Qualifications Framework; for example, seminars, continuous professional development activities, and non-accredited training.

Informal learning refers to learning which is gained without syllabus or curriculum without any formal or non-formal direction – in the vocational sector this often relates to skills acquired through the workplace, which have not been directed by an instructor or structured to lead to a recognised outcome.

You can provide a variety of documentation. This includes, but is not limited to:

records of previously completed training
assessment items
assessment records and/or
declarations from a student’s employer.

You can also speak with your employer about training opportunities.

Am I entitled to a credit transfer?

As your qualification(s) and/or statements of attainment has been cancelled, you will not be able to seek a credit transfer.

I am an overseas student with a IIET qualification, will this affect my visa?

IIET was not registered to deliver qualifications to overseas students so your current student visa and course of study will not be impacted. If you have used the cancelled qualification(s) and/or statements of attainment to gain entry into your current course of study, you should contact the Department of Home Affairs.

Can I get a refund on the cost of getting my qualification with IIET?

There are a number of consumer protection agencies that may be able to assist.

ACT: Access Canberra
New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading
Northern Territory: NT Consumer Affairs
Queensland: Office of Fair Trading Queensland
South Australia: SA Office of Consumer and Business Services (CBS)
Tasmania: Tasmania Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)
Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)
Western Australia: WA Consumer Protection - Department Of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advice for Problem with a product or service you bought | ACCC on their website.

If you have a VET FEE-HELP or VET Student Loans debt that you believe you should not have, you can VET student loan complaints | Commonwealth Ombudsman for information and advice, or phone 1300 362 072.

If you are an overseas student, then you are able to contact the Overseas student complaints | Commonwealth Ombudsman for assistance.

I am not sure I have the necessary Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) for qualification, what can I do?

If you have now gained the relevant experience in industry you could undertake an RPL assessment with another RTO.

Who can I call for help?

Call ASQA on 1300 701 801 (dial +61 3 9613 3910 from outside Australia).

If you are experiencing distress help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in Australia. If you need help now, call:
• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636.