Respected former TEQSA colleague, Anne McFall, has been awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) in the Australia Day Honours List for her outstanding public service to Australian higher education.

Recently retired, Anne is one of only 100 government employees to be recognised in 2025 for outstanding public service, in these annual awards. Deservedly, her honour focuses on her exemplary guidance to the sector in the regulation of the Higher Education Standards Framework 2021 (Threshold Standards), and her contributions to policy development and design that have achieved significant efficiencies in TEQSA’s management of provider applications.

To summarise the official description of her honour:
“Anne McFall has consistently delivered outstanding service to support Australia’s higher education sector in areas such as compliance and investigations, customer service, stakeholder management, provider registrations / re-registrations and course accreditations / reaccreditations assessments, and contributions to policy development and projects. Her exemplary leadership was noted in the regulating of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) (2011/2015/2021), which 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 design processes and reporting arrangements led to significant efficiencies in the management of applications and successful maintenance of the integrity of entry to Australia’s higher education sector under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Act 2011 (TEQSA). 

“Ms McFall’s leadership skills, her consultative and inclusive management style has resulted in recognition and respect throughout the sector as a person with extensive experience and knowledge of regulation within higher education. She has assumed a leadership role to guide and support staff across TEQSA’s regulatory operations groups, where she worked across multiple roles to provide a supportive and knowledgeable team environment.

"(Her) leadership skills, her consultative and inclusive management style has resulted in recognition and respect throughout the sector as a person with extensive experience and knowledge of regulation within higher education... (she) consistently exhibits excellence in her leadership and has done so while modelling TEQSA’s values of trust, respect, accountability and collaboration.”

•    Read the full PSM honour description

TEQSA has written to all higher education providers to remind them of their obligations to ensure student and staff safety and wellbeing as the academic year commences.

The letter also updates providers on TEQSA's work to develop new regulatory guidance, which will be released for consultation shortly.

TEQSA will share information about the consultation process, including the draft materials, through our website and social media channels shortly.

• TEQSA’s work to support social cohesion and safety in higher education
• Letter to universities
• Letter to higher education providers (non-universities)

TEQSA is aware that scammers are targeting experts listed on TEQSA’s public register.

The scam email asks that individuals click a link to confirm details they have accessed from publicly available information.

TEQSA has not sent any emails to any individual or entity asking that they confirm their details by clicking a link. The scam email is not from a TEQSA email address. All legitimate TEQSA emails include the domain name @teqsa.gov.au.

If you have received an email claiming to be from TEQSA, please do not reply. Delete the email immediately and do not click any links or open any attachments.

No TEQSA systems or non-public data have been accessed by the scammers.

If you have any questions, please contact us on 1300 739 585 or by email at engaging.experts@teqsa.gov.au

Information about cyber security principles, including how to detect and respond to phishing scams, is available at Cyber.gov.au.

TEQSA is seeking feedback on new regulatory guidance that has been developed to support safety and wellbeing in higher education.

TEQSA is consulting on 2 documents:

• Interim statement of regulatory expectations: Student grievance and complaint mechanisms
• Interim guidance: Managing external actors.

These new regulatory materials were developed by TEQSA following roundtable discussions and other engagements last year.

In preparing these materials, TEQSA heard from students, providers and other stakeholders. We also carefully considered information provided to several parliamentary inquiries and parliamentary committee recommendations.

The consultation closes at 5:00pm (AEDT) on Thursday 27 March 2025.

TEQSA will consider all feedback and will aim to publish the final guidance materials in April 2025.

Further information about how to have your say is available on our consultation page or by downloading the respective consultation paper.

• Consultation paper – Interim statement of regulatory expectations: Student grievance and complaint mechanisms (PDF, 183 KB)
• Consultation paper – Interim guidance: Managing external actors (PDF, 148 KB).

Read also:
TEQSA social cohesion page
 

The Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP, today announced that Professor Kerri-Lee Krause will be TEQSA’s next Chief Commissioner.

Joining Professor Krause on the TEQSA Commission will be Emeritus Professor Elizabeth More AM.

Professor Krause brings extensive higher education leadership experience to TEQSA, having worked in senior roles at public and independent institutions. Most recently, she served as Vice-Chancellor and President at Avondale University, and as Chair of the Higher Education Standards Panel.

Professor More is a past Dean of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Macquarie University and the University of Canberra.

Professor Krause’s appointment will commence from 7 April 2025 and Professor More’s term as Commissioner will commence from 24 February 2025, both for five-year terms.

TEQSA CEO Dr Mary Russell congratulated both Professor Krause and Professor More on their respective appointments.

“I look forward to working with Professor Krause and Professor More to ensure TEQSA continues to protect and enhance the integrity, quality and reputation of Australian higher education,” Dr Russell said.

“On behalf of TEQSA, I also acknowledge and thank our Acting Chief Commissioner Adrienne Nieuwenhuis for her leadership this past 9 months.”

Ms Nieuwenhuis will continue as Acting Chief Commissioner until Professor Krause commences.

TEQSA, as a government agency, is now operating in accordance with the guidance on caretaker conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.

TEQSA will be reducing our activity on social media and will not undertake consultation activities or publish new regulatory guidance materials during this period.

Further information

• Guidance on caretaker conventions (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet)