Registration and accreditation
Report on registration and accreditation of Higher Education Australia Pty Ltd
TEQSA has agreed to orders made by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) on 21 January 2026 which:
- grant, under section 21 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act), the application by Higher Education Australia Pty Ltd (HEA) for registration in the category of Institute of Higher Education for a period of 5 years until 1 February 2031.
- accredit, under section 49 of the TEQSA Act, the application by Higher Education Australia Pty Ltd (HEA) for accreditation of the Master of Information Technology, for a period of 5 years until 1 February 2031.
- Impose, under section 32 of the TEQSA Act, the following conditions on the registration of Higher Education Australia Pty Ltd (HEA) as an Institute of Higher Education:
Condition 1: Financial viability and risk management:
- HEA must at all times throughout the period of registration maintain within HEA controlled bank accounts minimum unrestricted cash reserves of 2 months equivalent operating expenses. The calculation of 2 months' equivalent operating expenses is based on either a rolling cashflow forecast or average monthly expenditure as calculated from annual profit and loss projections.
- If the minimum unrestricted cash reserves referred to within paragraph 1 are not maintained, HEA must notify TEQSA in writing within 5 business days, together with its proposed action to bring the unrestricted cash reserves back into compliance with paragraph 1. Plans of action must:
- include a copy of the rolling cashflow forecast relied upon for the remainder of the current financial reporting period;
- sufficiently address the liquidity issues caused by unrestricted cash reserves falling below two months equivalent operating expenses;
- detail consideration afforded to updating corporate planning documents, including but not limited to business plans; and
- incorporate a planned action to notify TEQSA in writing, within 5 business days, when minimum unrestricted cash reserves are returned to 2 months equivalent operating expenses.
- If the minimum unrestricted cash reserves referred to within paragraph 1 remain in shortfall, HEA must report in writing to TEQSA within 3 months of the initial report to TEQSA referred to in paragraph 2 (unless otherwise agreed to in writing by a Director of TEQSA's regulatory operations team). The board approved report provided to TEQSA must:
- include the annual financial budget and annual profit and loss projections for the current and upcoming financial reporting period;
- include the rolling cash flow forecast or cash flows for the next 12 months from the date of the initial report to TEQSA referred to in paragraph 1
- include a revised financial plan with student projections;
- provide the actual figures for both the number of students enrolled and EFTSL, compared to the projected number of students enrolled and EFTSL;
- include plans of action that aim to sufficiently address the issues raised by the event/s within a reasonable timeframe; and
- include additional supporting documents and evidence to substantiate the above financial documents, including but not limited to, working files and assumptions relied upon to develop corporate planning documents such as annual budget and cashflow forecast.
Main reasons for the decision
On 11 June 2025, TEQSA rejected applications from Higher Education Australia Pty Ltd for registration in the category of Institute of Higher Education and accreditation of the Master of Information Technology course.
HEA made an application to the ART for review of TEQSA's decisions. In the course of the proceedings, HEA provided further information and evidence about the matters raised in TEQSA's decision which resolved TEQSA's original findings.
TEQSA also agreed it was appropriate to impose one condition on HEA's registration to manage risks regarding establishing performance risks and financial viability.
Condition
