12 February 2026

TEQSA is aware of accounts of aggressive and direct promotional activities of commercial academic cheating services that target students studying for an Australian higher education award. The accounts suggest operators of these services are approaching students on campuses to promote their services and collect students’ contact details. This follows concerns TEQSA raised in a previous sector alert, of students being approached in online environments, including directly through email, social media and class groups set up in messaging apps.

These accounts suggest these activities are organised and coordinated and may involve:

• coercing students who have previously used commercial academic cheating services, under threats of blackmail, to sign-up other students
• offering students incentives and convenient ways to register or sign-up for commercial academic cheating services.

Engaging illegal academic cheating services may leave students vulnerable to identity theft and blackmail, and increase cyber security risks for students and higher education providers.

Background

Amendments to the TEQSA Act in September 2020 made it illegal to provide or advertise a commercial academic cheating service in Australia. Since then, TEQSA has worked to block illegal cheating websites and remove social media accounts and posts that advertise these services, disrupting their business model.

In April 2024, TEQSA issued a sector alert to providers advising of changes in the marketing and promotional behaviour of commercial academic cheating services. The alert highlighted the direct promotional activities used by these operators to target students through email or via class groups set up in messaging apps or on social media platforms.

Research shows commercial academic cheating services are frequently coordinated by organised groups and can involve criminal behaviour, putting students who use them at risk of blackmail or identity theft. Blackmail activities can include demands for further payment, class materials or contact details of other students.

If you become aware of information or evidence relating to a commercial academic cheating service targeting your institution, or being used by students at your institution, you can lodge a report via our website.

Immediate provider actions

TEQSA stresses the need for Australian higher education providers to be vigilant in addressing risks to academic integrity by engaging in a range of activities to educate students, detect cheating, upskill staff and report cheating services.

TEQSA expects all providers to reassess the risks and effectiveness of their responses to these risks, including ensuring:

• information on the risks of using these services is shared with students as part of their induction
• the risks associated with using academic cheating services are clearly and regularly communicated to students as part of ongoing discussions about academic integrity
• students are aware of how to access genuine study support, should they need it. Additional resources to support students with academic misconduct are available on our website
• students and staff are aware of, and have clear pathways to, raise an alert with campus security (for example, via a security app or a phone number), should cheating service activities or recruiters on campus require an immediate response
• students know how to access security and support services if, for example, they are experiencing blackmail
• students and staff are made aware of the potential for class groups on messaging apps and social media platforms to be infiltrated by academic cheating services
• students and staff are regularly reminded of their obligation to comply with IT security protocols
• IT systems are monitored for suspicious activity, and spam filters and other tools are updated to quarantine emails to students that advertise illegal cheating services
• consideration is given to reissuing the login credentials and requiring password updates
• posters, business cards and other material posted or left on campus promoting commercial academic cheating services are promptly removed.

Resources

Previous relevant updates from TEQSA

• Sector alert: Changes in commercial academic cheating service activities in 2024
• Sector update: Cyber security and associated risks posed by illegal academic cheating services

Supports for students

TEQSA has the following supports for students available on our website:

• Student academic misconduct resources
• Understanding academic integrity (including in languages other than English)
• Academic integrity toolkit

Additional TEQSA resources

• TEQSA’s Protecting academic integrity page provides a full and up-to-date list of academic integrity materials for providers.
• Staff with relevant responsibilities may wish to complete the free online TEQSA Masterclass: contract cheating detection and deterrence

Information about Australia’s anti-commercial academic cheating laws

• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services) Bill 2019
• Fact sheet about the Prohibiting Commercial Academic Cheating Services Bill 2019 (PDF, 65 KB)
• Blocked commercial academic cheating websites
• Report a suspected commercial academic cheating service

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to describe TEQSA’s approach to considering extensions to the period of provider registration or course accreditation under sections 37A and 57A of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act).

Legislative authority

Section 37A of the TEQSA Act provides that TEQSA may extend the period of a registered higher education provider’s registration. The extended period may exceed seven years.

Section 57A of the TEQSA Act provides that TEQSA may extend the period of the accreditation of a course of study. The extended period may exceed seven years.

Principles

1. TEQSA may consider extending the period of a provider’s registration or the period of accreditation of a course of study for a range of reasons. These include:
   
   1. to reflect an established track record of low-risk, high quality delivery of higher education, either across a provider’s operations or with respect to one or more courses
   2. to harmonise periods of registration and accreditation, or harmonise periods of registration under the TEQSA Act and another act (such as the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000)
   3. to provide for efficient management of TEQSA’s workload.
2. Relevant matters when considering a possible extension under section 37A or section 57A include, but are not limited to, the following:
   
   1. the provider’s history, including the history of its scholarship, teaching, research, students’ experiences, financial status and capacity, and compliance with the Higher Education Standards Framework, TEQSA Act and other laws regulating higher education
   2. matters relevant to the risk of the provider not complying with the Higher Education Standards Framework or the TEQSA Act in the future, including its internal quality assurance mechanisms and its financial status and capacity
   3. any material risks to students or quality identified in the risk assessments for the provider
   4. the quality of data submitted by the provider as part of TEQSA or other Australian Government information collection processes
   5. TEQSA’s anticipated workload during the period when the provider’s registration or course accreditation is due to expire
   6. the period of any other registration or accreditation of the provider (including registration under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 or the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011), and the extent to which harmonisation of the expiry dates of registration or accreditation would benefit the provider
   7. any relevant comments or evidence from the provider
   8. any relevant comments or evidence from other agencies, including (but not limited to) the Department of Education, the Australian Skills Quality Authority
   9. the need for any decision, and the process leading to any decision, to be appropriate, fair, objective, and defensible.
3. The TEQSA Act does not limit the period for which a provider’s registration or course accreditation may be extended. With this in mind, TEQSA will usually extend registration or accreditation for a period no longer than seven years, to provide an appropriate opportunity for a scheduled review of the provider or a particular course. Further, in circumstances where a short extension is being considered (up to 12 months), it may be more appropriate to first consider allowing a provider to submit its application for renewal at a date later than the usual 180 days prior to expiry – this would allow an extension to be considered closer to the expiry date if it becomes necessary.

Contact

A provider can contact TEQSA’s Enquiries Management Team if there are any enquiries about extensions to the period of provider registration or course accreditation.

• send an email to providerenquiries@teqsa.gov.au
• or phone 1300 739 585.