The Minister for Education has announced the appointment of Dr Mary Russell as the next CEO of TEQSA, Australia’s independent national regulatory and quality assurance agency for higher education.

TEQSA Chief Commissioner Professor Peter Coaldrake said the Minister’s decision had the full support of the TEQSA Commissioners.

Dr Russell was appointed as acting CEO in June 2023, and prior to that she was TEQSA's Executive Director of Regulatory Operations.

With the CEO appointment confirmed, Professor Coaldrake has advised the Minister that he will be stepping down from the TEQSA Commission.

Commissioner Joan Cooper has agreed to extend her term on the Commission for up to a year to ensure the continuity of the Commission while recruitment for a new Chief Commissioner takes place. Commissioners Adrienne Nieuwenhuis and Steve Somogyi continue in their roles.

Arrangements are being put in place to appoint an acting Chief Commissioner ahead of Professor Coaldrake’s departure on 10 May.

Quotes attributable to TEQSA Chief Commissioner, Professor Peter Coaldrake AO

“The full TEQSA Commission warmly congratulates Dr Mary Russell on her appointment as TEQSA’s next CEO.

“The Commission is confident that under Dr Russell’s leadership, TEQSA will continue to uphold its values of trust, respect, accountability and collaboration, and foster constructive relationships with the sector we regulate.

“With the CEO appointment confirmed, I have advised the Minister that I will be stepping down from the TEQSA Commission.

“I feel it is an opportune time for the Government to appoint a new Chief Commissioner to guide the next stage of Australia’s approach to higher education regulation as part of the Australian Universities Accord implementation agenda.

“Despite the many challenges at hand and those ahead, Australia continues to have a strong higher education system by international standards, and a strong system needs a robust regulatory framework. TEQSA has an essential role in protecting the quality and integrity of our system. Neither of those are guaranteed in a world of AI, and nor should we underestimate the various other influences which could weaken the cache of an Australian degree qualification or university.

“I would like to warmly acknowledge the efforts and professionalism of all TEQSA staff.  It has been a privilege to work alongside my fellow Commissioners, and I urge you to strongly support Dr Russell as the new CEO.”

Quotes attributable to TEQSA CEO, Dr Mary Russell

“I know all of us at TEQSA are going to greatly miss Professor Coaldrake’s leadership and generous and wise counsel. We wish Peter all the best.

“As the agency’s CEO, I look forward to continuing to work with our Commissioners, staff and wider sector to ensure that TEQSA’s work continues to assure the quality of Australian higher education for the benefit of students, employers and the wider Australian community.”

• Visit: Our leadership and organisation (for Dr Russell’s biography)
   

TEQSA is leading Australia’s regulatory and educative approach to prevent, detect and respond to commercial academic cheating services that threaten the integrity of Australian higher education.

In April 2023, TEQSA launched online training, Masterclass: contract cheating detection and deterrence, to support Australia’s higher education sector in the ongoing fight against academic cheating services. This world-leading approach ensures academics and staff at all Australian institutions have access to expertise and training to uphold award integrity. To date, Australia is the only country to have made such an investment.

Since its launch the high-quality of the Masterclass, which was developed in partnership with Australian academic integrity experts, has drawn interest from regulators overseas and access has been extended to staff in Aotearoa New Zealand’s higher and vocational education sectors.

The online Masterclass has received 3220 registered users since launching, with academics and professional staff from Australian higher education providers and New Zealand tertiary providers participating.

This free, self-directed course remains available online to academic and professional staff. The course is available for professional development, and the online format allows academics and staff to enrol and complete the course at a time that suits them.

Additional in-person Masterclass workshops were also held in all Australian capital cities between May and October 2023, and attended by almost 500 people.

TEQSA has been working with several specialist medical colleges to ensure the terms used to describe postgraduate training for medical practitioners meet the requirements of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Act 2011 (TEQSA Act).

The TEQSA Act places restrictions on use of terms such as Diploma, Bachelor or Masters to describe qualifications. This is to safeguard the interests of students and uphold the integrity of Australian higher education qualifications by ensuring that only courses that align with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and are provided by registered higher education providers use these regulated terms.

With the exception of the College of Dermatologists, no specialist medical colleges are registered with TEQSA to award qualifications using these terms.

Following discussions with several colleges and the Department of Health and Aged Care, the specialist medical colleges have agreed to ensure terms used to describe their qualifications will comply with the TEQSA Act from the end of February 2024.

This change in nomenclature by the respective colleges does not impact previous training recipients or the content of the programs offered. Medical colleges will be able to publish details of how qualifications previously conferred as diplomas align with the new qualification titles.

TEQSA thanks the specialist medical colleges for engaging with us since late 2022 to explore all options for ensuring continuity of the delivery of postgraduate medical training by the colleges, while meeting the requirements of the TEQSA Act.

Frequently asked questions

Under what section of the TEQSA Act has TEQSA made this decision?

Under sections 105 and 106 of the TEQSA Act, it is an offence for a regulated entity that is not a registered higher education provider, to:

• offer or confer a higher education award (including a Diploma) or,
• represent that it offers or confers, or will offer or confer, a regulated higher education award (including a Diploma). 

Financial penalties of up to 600 penalty units (approximately $187,000) can apply for breaches of the Act.

What are the specialist medical colleges doing to achieve compliance?

Specialist medical colleges will ensure the terms used to describe the postgraduate medical qualifications they deliver and confer, are in keeping with the TEQSA Act from February 2024.

Each college, reflective of the needs of their members and specialist disciplines, is determining what the updated nomenclature will be. 

Will this impact people who have completed a program prior to 2024?

No. Medical practitioners who have been conferred a diploma by a medical college in the past, will be able to continue to use the diploma title.

What is the AQF?

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) was established in 1995 and updated in 2013. Key objectives of the AQF are to contribute to the Australian economy by supporting relevant, consistent graduate outcomes, and providing pathways between different education and training sectors and labour markets, building confidence in Australian qualifications.

The AQF also underpins national regulatory and quality assurance arrangements and enables alignment with international qualifications frameworks.

The AQF sets out the learning outcomes for each AQF level and qualification type and the specifications for the application of the AQF in the accreditation and development of qualifications.

TEQSA regulates courses that are at AQF Level 5 (diploma) to Level 10 (doctoral degrees).

The protection of AQF titles and qualification descriptors preceded the TEQSA Act. The National Protocols for Higher Education Approval 2008 set out that AQF qualifications titles were protected by a national legislative framework, with “significant financial penalties for breaching the legislation or guidelines which protect use of the titles”.

Australian Qualifications Framework

TEQSA welcomes the appointment of Adrienne Nieuwenhuis as Acting Chief Commissioner.

Ms Nieuwenhuis, who joined the TEQSA Commission in 2021, has more than three decades of experience across the higher education and vocational education and training (VET) sectors.

• Our leadership and organisation (for Ms Nieuwenhuis’s biography)
• Renewing TEQSA’s leadership

TEQSA is continuing to protect students and the integrity of Australia’s higher education sector by blocking websites and social media accounts which offer academic cheating services.

We recently blocked an additional 79 websites, under protocols with major ISPs.

Australia’s anti-cheating laws make it an offence to provide or advertise academic cheating services in higher education. Since August 2022 TEQSA has blocked almost 370 websites. We’ve also worked with social media companies to remove posts and profiles that advertise academic cheating services.

A list of blocked illegal cheating websites is available on TEQSA’s website. TEQSA has also shared our entire database of suspected academic cheating services with all registered providers via Sigbox.

TEQSA has resources available for higher education students, academics and professional staff to support good practice in, and manage risk to, academic integrity, including TEQSA’s online Masterclass: Contract cheating detection and deterrence.

You can help us support academic integrity by reporting websites you suspect offer commercial academic cheating services.
 

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has registered Adelaide University as a new higher education provider within the Australian University category.

The TEQSA Commission made this decision following an application from the new university, which is being created through the amalgamation of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

TEQSA’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Mary Russell said the national regulatory and quality assurance agency for higher education had determined Adelaide University met the requirements for registration.

This decision means Adelaide University is registered for a period of 7 years. The new university plans to commence operations from 1 January 2026.

TEQSA’s notice of decision can be viewed on the National Register of Higher Education Providers and Courses, which can be accessed via the TEQSA website.

Quotes attributable to TEQSA Chief Executive Officer Dr Mary Russell

“The establishment of the new Adelaide University is a unique occurrence, bringing together 2 established universities to create a new institution.

“TEQSA has been working with all parties involved to ensure the appropriate governance and academic provisions are in place and that the new institution meets the requirements for registration.

“We appreciate the willingness of all involved to work collaboratively with TEQSA during the application process and we look forward to this constructive relationship continuing as the new university prepares to commence operations.

“On behalf of TEQSA, I congratulate all who have been working to establish Adelaide University on achieving this significant milestone.”

Media enquiries: TEQSA Communications 0437 143 012