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

• In March 2020, in an initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASQA and TEQSA announced flexibility in regulatory arrangements and requirements to enable providers to support students to study online either in Australia or offshore.
• As long as the student remained enrolled with their provider, and the assessment requirements of the course allowed it, the location of the student and the mode of delivery would not prevent the student from attaining an Australian qualification. 
• The Prime Minister has announced that fully vaccinated international students and temporary graduate (subclass 485) visa holders will be able to arrive in Australia from 1 December 2021.
• As there are around 164,000 international student visa holders outside of Australia, it may take some time for students to gradually return to Australia.
• ASQA and TEQSA will continue to apply regulatory flexibility until conditions allow for the return of a substantial proportion of international students who are currently not in Australia. ASQA and TEQSA will review this approach in mid-2022.
• Providers should assure themselves that current and ongoing arrangements for students maintain assessment and quality standards and are appropriately documented as previously published.  
• If providers have questions about their specific circumstances, including how they may resume delivery, they should contact their relevant regulator.

TEQSA wishes to remind CRICOS-registered providers to be mindful of their obligations under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) and National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code) when enrolling offshore intending overseas students. Importantly, providers are reminded that the enrolment requirements for CRICOS-registered courses are the same for both onshore students (referred to as ‘overseas students’) and offshore intending overseas students. 

Key points

For the purposes of the ESOS Act ‘intending overseas students’ are students who have taken steps to become an overseas student, even if unable to travel to Australia to undertake their study due to border restrictions. Steps to becoming an overseas student include, but are not limited to:

• working with an education agent regarding study in Australia
• enrolling in a CRICOS-registered course, or
• applying for a student visa.

All ESOS-related obligations must be met for these students, including the issuing of a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE).

Intending overseas students whose enrolments are not handled in line with ESOS requirements may be disadvantaged by:

• losing access to the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) 
• being ineligible for some Government policy concessions to post-study work rights.

Providers who do not manage enrolments for intending overseas students in line with ESOS requirements may be found to be non-compliant in meeting their obligations.

Providers

Providers must be transparent with students and potential students about the type of study they are being offered, including the visa, legal protections and post-study work rights implications of each. 

Providers should obtain clarification from students of their intention to study in Australia. Where a student is an intending overseas student the provider must issue a CoE to ensure the student is not disadvantaged when applying for a student visa, is covered by the TPS and is eligible for Australian Government concessions on post-study work rights.

To ensure providers remain compliant with the ESOS Act and National Code, TEQSA advises that:

1. Prior to enrolment in a CRICOS-registered course, providers should ascertain whether an offshore student intends to apply for a student visa to become an overseas student in Australia.
2. Providers enrolling intending overseas students in CRICOS-registered courses should issue a CoE even if the student is commencing their studies offshore.
3. Providers must maintain up-to-date records for both onshore and offshore students enrolled in CRICOS-registered courses.

Enquiries can be emailed to enquiries@teqsa.gov.au.

TEQSA has welcomed the appointment of Stephen Somogyi as TEQSA Commissioner.

The Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, confirmed Mr Somogyi’s appointment earlier today.

TEQSA’s Chief Commissioner Professor Peter Coaldrake AO welcomed Mr Somogyi to the national regulatory and quality assurance agency for higher education, noting his extensive global experience in the financial services, health care, higher education and prudential regulation sectors would benefit the TEQSA Commission.

“Mr Somogyi brings extensive experience in relation to regulatory matters, the higher education and commercial sectors to the TEQSA Commission,” Professor Coaldrake said. 

“His financial background will strengthen our ability to protect student interests and the reputation of Australian higher education as Australia’s higher education sector recovers from the impact of the pandemic.”

Prior to joining TEQSA, Mr Somogyi worked as a Strategic Adviser to Monash University, Victoria University, the University of Melbourne, University of Adelaide, Siemens, Queensland Investment Corporation and the Australian Council of Education Research. He is a member of the Expert Review Group for ACER with respect to Financial Adviser exams.

A Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of the Financial Services Institute of Australia, he formerly served 10 years as Chief Operating Officer at RMIT University. 

Mr Somogyi has also held a range of senior roles in government and industry including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Trowbridge Consulting, Mayne Nickless and CGU Insurance. His work on boards includes service as Member of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, Chair of Guild Group and as Director of UniSuper.

Mr Somogyi’s five-year-term as TEQSA Commissioner commences from 1 November. This returns the TEQSA Commission to four members – the other members are Chief Commissioner Professor Coaldrake, TEQSA Commissioner Emeritus Professor Joan Cooper and TEQSA Commissioner Ms Adrienne Nieuwenhuis.

• Further information about the role of the TEQSA Commission

Media contact

Bryan Allchin, TEQSA - 0437 103 012 or comms@teqsa.gov.au.

To mark today’s International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating, TEQSA has published a new resource to help academics identify and respond to cases of contract cheating in symbol dense assessments.

The new Substantiating contract cheating for symbol-dense, logical responses in any discipline, particularly mathematics: a guide for investigators contains advice to complement existing TEQSA resources.

Developed for TEQSA by La Trobe University’s Dr Katherine Seaton, the new resource outlines how academics can identify contract cheating in symbol dense fields, and includes an investigations checklist and questions for investigators.

International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating is a global event organised by the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) to promote the importance of academic integrity and the risks posed by contract cheating.

Further information

• Substantiating contract cheating for symbol-dense, logical responses in any discipline, particularly mathematics: a guide for investigators (PDF, 315 KB)
• International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating 2021 events

TEQSA has obtained a Federal Court order that requires carriage service providers to block access to the website Assignmenthelp4you.com.

TEQSA lodged the application in July 2021, seeking an injunction requiring 51 carriage service providers to take such steps as the Court considers reasonable to disable access to the website.

The Federal Court yesterday determined the website facilitated a contravention of section 114B of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act). The court also ordered that the 51 carriage service providers block access to this website within 15 business days.

This is the first time TEQSA has exercised its power to apply for an injunction under the amendments made by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services) Act 2020. TEQSA filed the injunction application under Section 127A of the TEQSA Act.

TEQSA Chief Executive Officer Alistair Maclean welcomed the court’s decision.

“TEQSA selected this website because we believed we were able to demonstrate its operators were in breach of Australian law,” Mr Maclean said.

“This decision supports TEQSA’s ongoing work to reduce the risk posed by commercial academic cheating services to student interests and the reputation and standing of Australian higher education.”

Further information

• Protect yourself from illegal commercial cheating services
• Resources for providers and academics
• Resources for students