TEQSA, Australia’s independent higher education regulator, has detailed its priorities for assuring compliance with the Higher Education Standards Framework for the year ahead.

The agency’s priorities, outlined in the TEQSA 2021 compliance report, focus on teaching and research quality, sector integrity, student wellbeing and safety, and financial standing of higher education providers.

TEQSA’s compliance priorities have been informed by complaints made directly to the agency, as well as TEQSA’s assessments from its regulatory activity and practices. 

Last year, 289 concerns were lodged with TEQSA about Australian higher education providers, down on the 426 received in 2020. 

TEQSA Chief Executive Alistair Maclean said complaints had spiked during 2020, largely due to the rapid shift to online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“TEQSA has worked closely with the sector throughout the pandemic to ensure the continued high-quality of Australian higher education. We continue to engage with the sector to ensure online and on-campus courses meet the standards and deliver a high-quality student experience,” Mr Maclean said.

Student wellbeing and safety will remain a key concern and compliance priority for TEQSA, including systemic issues relating to sexual assault and sexual harassment, mental health support and barriers for students with a disability.

Complaints to TEQSA in 2021 about commercial academic cheating services increased from 23 in 2020 to 173 in 2021. This followed the establishment of TEQSA’s Higher Education Integrity Unit, and new laws in late 2020 that empowered TEQSA to take enforcement action against cheating services.

Mr Maclean noted that during 2021 TEQSA also prioritised action against unregistered entities offering higher education to Australian students.  

“It is illegal for entities not registered with TEQSA to offer higher education in Australia,” Mr Maclean said. 

“Over the past year, TEQSA has investigated 9 unregistered entities, resulting in 3 ceasing to target Australian students. To help safeguard student interests, we’ve also published a list of known unregistered entities targeting Australian students on our website.”

TEQSA encourages students considering a course of study to check TEQSA’s National Register to ensure their provider is registered and meets Australian standards for higher education. 

The agency also encourages all higher education providers to review TEQSA’s compliance report and priorities for 2022, in order to inform their own risk management and quality assurance mechanisms.

The Higher Education Standards Framework 2021 is a legislative instrument that sets the standards that a provider must meet and continue to meet to be registered to operate as a higher education provider in Australia. The standards are determined by the Minister for Education and Youth on the advice of the expert Higher Education Standards Panel. TEQSA uses the standards to regulate higher education providers and courses.

Further information

• TEQSA compliance report 2021
• Entities that are not registered higher education providers
• Search TEQSA’s National Register
• Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021

TEQSA welcomes and supports the Joint Statement of Principles for the Higher Education Sector COVID-19 Response that has been endorsed by the Australian Council of Professions (ACoP), Universities Australia (UA), the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) and the Independent Higher Education Australia (IHEA).

The Joint Statement outlines consensus-based principles for the higher education sector adapting during the COVID-19 pandemic in the following areas:

• accreditation flexibility and maintaining course quality
• maintaining quality during changed teaching and learning
• supporting online assessments while maintaining rigour
• mitigating a reduced availability of professional placements
• flexibility on (re-)registration/accreditation of professionals
• maintaining international accords for professionals' mobility.

As Australia’s independent quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education, TEQSA will refer to the principles outlined in the Joint Statement as part of our course accreditation activities during this time. 

This continues our approach to work closely with the higher education sector, including peak bodies and individual providers, to understand the wide-ranging effects of COVID-19 and how we can continue to provide supportive regulation, including flexibility and temporary regulatory relaxations where appropriate.

• View the Joint Statement
• View TEQSA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) – latest regulatory advice

TEQSA thanks all students who participated in University Australia’s National Student Safety Survey (2021).

Like many in the sector and wider community, TEQSA is concerned that university students are continuing to experience sexual assault or sexual harassment while studying.

We’re also concerned that many students say they are unaware of how to access support services or complaints mechanisms within their institution.

It is a requirement of the Higher Education Standards Framework (2021) for all registered providers to have in place appropriate policies and procedures to prevent and respond to allegations, reports or incidences of sexual assault or sexual harassment involving their students.

TEQSA’s regulatory and quality assurance work is focused on the effectiveness of provider systems, processes, and approaches for preventing and responding to sexual assault or sexual harassment as part of our broader work to protect student wellbeing within Australian higher education.

This includes assessing and building sector capacity through education, support and quality assessments. As part of this work, TEQSA has supported establishment of communities of practice for providers, and developed resources such as our Good Practice Note, to share best practice approaches to sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention and response within Australian higher education.

TEQSA will continue to engage with the sector to ensure compliance with the Higher Education Standards Framework (2021), in particular standards 2.3 and 6.1.4 (student wellbeing) and standard 2.4 (student grievances and complaints) to safeguard student wellbeing.

We have been monitoring university responses to the survey, and encourage all registered providers to review their policies and procedures and ensure that information on sexual assault or sexual harassment prevention and response, including how students can access support services or institutional complaints frameworks, are shared with all their students.

While TEQSA is unable to investigate individual sexual assault or sexual harassment matters, we do look into concerns about how providers have responded to allegations, reports or incidences of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

Any current or former students who have concerns about how a provider managed an allegation, report or incident can lodge a concern via our website.

Further information:

• National Student Safety Survey (external website)
• Higher Education Standards Framework (2021)
• Good Practice Note: Preventing and responding to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the Australian higher education sector
• Raising a complaint or concern

TEQSA Chief Commissioner Professor Peter Coaldrake AO has written to all Australian higher education providers, encouraging continued action to guard against the integrity risks posed by commercial academic cheating services.

Professor Coaldrake’s letter noted that while TEQSA’s Higher Education Integrity Unit was continuing to lead efforts to combat the risk posed by illegal cheating services, institutions also need to remain vigilant and ensure they have appropriate governance, policies and procedures in place.

Since 2021, TEQSA has successfully obtained Federal Court injunctions, investigated suspect websites, commenced intelligence-gathering and sharing with the sector and international partners, developed additional resources for academics, institutions and students and continued building relationships across Government to enable implementation of the anti-cheating legislation that came into effect in late 2020.

TEQSA has also built productive relationships with major social media platforms and online marketplaces, with platforms including Meta (owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), LinkedIn and Gumtree all taking action to remove pages and promotions for commercial academic cheating services. So far, TEQSA’s work with these companies has resulted in more than 300 posts being removed.

Further information

• View a copy of the Chief Commissioner's letter
• View the Acting Minister for Education and Youth's media release on this issue
• Understanding academic integrity resources for students
• Resources for academics and institutions

TEQSA is continuing to work with the sector to strengthen cultures of academic integrity within higher education and to reduce the integrity risk posed by commercial academic cheating services.

We have updated some of our downloadable resources, including slides that can be added to a presentation and posters for display on campus.

Our focus with these materials is raising awareness that it is illegal to promote or sell academic cheating services to students studying at an Australian higher education provider.

Later this month, TEQSA will be launching a social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram to broaden engagement with students about this issue. We welcome any and all support in helping us spread this message to new and returning higher education students.

Our Protecting Academic Integrity website also has a range of resources including the Good Practice Note, Academic Integrity Toolkit and other materials to support institutions and academics to strengthen cultures of academic integrity and better detect cheating on assessments.

Further information

• Understanding academic integrity download hub 

The TEQSA Commission made this decision after the presentation of new evidence, following a previous decision by TEQSA in July 2021, which satisfied the national higher education regulator that Alphacrucis College meets the standards for registration as a University College.

TEQSA Chief Commissioner Peter Coaldrake said registration as a University College was granted only to institutions that deliver superior-quality higher education.

"TEQSA congratulates Alphacrucis College on achieving registration as a University College,” Professor Coaldrake said. 

“In making our decision, TEQSA noted a number of the college’s strengths including their demonstrated commitment to innovation in teaching and learning and strong engagement with industry and community.”

The University College category was established in July 2021 following reforms to the categorisation of Australian higher education providers. 

The new category will support more opportunities for high-performing providers to develop course offerings that better meet the future needs of students, employers, industry and communities.

Alphacrucis College can trace its history back to 1948 and will next year celebrate its 75th year of operation. 

Alphacrucis College achieved self-accrediting authority in 2016 and today offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research courses in diverse fields including arts, business, education and theology at campuses across Australia and in New Zealand.

Media enquiries 

Bryan Allchin, Assistant Director, Communications: comms@teqsa.gov.au, 0437 143 012

On 1 December, the Minister for Education and Youth made several amendments to the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 legislative instrument.

The following sections were amended:

• Standard 6.1.4 in Part A  
• Category Criterion B1.1 in Part B
• Category Criterion B1.3 in Part B 

The definitions within the Threshold Standards were also updated to define academic freedom as having the same meaning as in Schedule 1 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

TEQSA has updated our website to reflect these amendments.

What are the Threshold Standards?

The Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 sets the standards that an institution must meet and continue to meet to be registered to operate as a higher education provider in Australia. 

As Australia’s independent regulator for higher education, TEQSA uses the standards to regulate higher education providers and courses.

Further information

• Higher Education Standards Framework 2021
• Higher Education Standards Framework 2021 - overview of changes

The Australian Government has announced that Undergraduate Certificates will remain within the Australian Qualifications Framework until 30 June 2025. 

This follows a decision of the Education and Skills Ministers Meeting of the National Federation Reform Council. 

TEQSA will continue to expedite applications for Undergraduate and Graduate Certificate courses where the units are drawn from an accredited course. TEQSA will also contact providers about extending the accreditation of existing Undergraduate Certificate courses beyond 31 December 2021.

TEQSA’s current fee waiver arrangements have also been extended until 31 December 2022. 

Please contact your TEQSA case manager if you have any questions.

Further information

• Applications for accreditation of Undergraduate and Graduate Certificate courses (short courses)
• TEQSA fee waivers
• Australian Qualifications Framework Addendum 4

TEQSA’s 2021 Conference has now concluded.

On behalf of TEQSA’s Commissioners, we would like to thank our expert speakers for sharing their insights on how the higher education sector can apply the learnings from the past year to rise above the challenges facing students, academics and institutions to forge an exceptional, vibrant brand for Australian higher education.

We’d also like to thank the 968 people from Australia and overseas who attended the conference – we appreciate you taking the time to join us.

TEQSA will be posting videos from the conference in the coming weeks. Please sign up for our e-News to receive updates on when these videos are live.

Registered attendees will be able to access recordings and presentations via the Delegate Connect portal shortly.

Information about the TEQSA 2022 Conference dates will be shared early next year.

Chief Commissioner’s slides

• View the slides presented at today’s conference by TEQSA Chief Commissioner Emeritus Professor Peter Coaldrake AO