• Ensuring wellbeing and safety in higher education

    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.

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  • Media centre

    Journalists can contact TEQSA’s media team by emailing comms@teqsa.gov.au

    Stay informed

    You can receive our media releases and e-News directly to your inbox.

    Media releases

    2025

    Date Media release
    8 January 2025 TEQSA registers Australian College of Theology as an Australian University

    2024

    Date Media release
    18 November 2024 TEQSA registers Excelsia College as a University College
    8 October 2024 TEQSA commences legal proceedings against Chegg

    2023

    Date Media release
    7 July 2023 TEQSA registers Sydney College of Divinity as a University College
    20 April 2023 New TEQSA training course to help academic and professional staff detect and deter contract cheating

    2022

    Date Media release
    19 October 2022 International launch of Global Academic Integrity Network (GAIN)
    13 October 2022 TEQSA disrupts access to another 110 illegal academic cheating websites
    7 October 2022 TEQSA registers Australian College of Theology as University College
    31 January 2022 Alphacrucis College registered as Australia's fourth University College

    2021

    Date Media release
    3 November 2021 TEQSA welcomes new Commissioner Stephen Somogyi
    8 October 2021 TEQSA successful in Federal Court action to block access to cheating website
    1 October 2021 TEQSA welcomes new Commissioner
    7 July 2021 TEQSA commences Federal Court action against alleged academic cheating service
    1 July 2021 New university and three University Colleges registered by TEQSA
    7 May 2021 TEQSA leading action to combat illegal commercial academic cheating services
    9 April 2021 TEQSA alerts higher education sector about new cyber threat

     

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  • Information for TEQSA external experts

    Overview of TEQSA’s external experts

    With higher education playing a critical role in driving innovation and productivity for Australia, and providing students the skills required for future success, TEQSA's work is more important than ever. Having access to a register of external experts helps us perform our regulatory functions efficiently and to a high standard.

    TEQSA uses external experts to provide independent advice on specific, identified elements within our regulatory assessments and reviews. Our staff use input from external experts to provide advice that contributes to assessments of providers’ applications for:

    • registration as a higher education provider
    • renewal of registration as a higher education provider  
    • accreditation of a course of study
    • renewal of accreditation of a course of study.

    It is important to note that external expert advice is only one input into our regulatory process and experts do not draft recommendations or make regulatory decisions. External experts are required to respond to specific briefs prepared by our staff on components of an application that have been identified by the assessment manager.

    Conflict of interest and external experts

    We treat confidentiality and managing conflicts of interest with external experts with the upmost seriousness.

    External experts engaged by TEQSA are required to declare any real or perceived conflicts of interest that might arise before they undertake assignments for the agency.

    Conflicts of interest could include: 

    • any financial interest in the assignment
    • any relatives or friends with an interest in the assignment
    • any personal bias or inclination which would affect decisions in relation to their assessment of an assignment
    • any personal obligation, allegiance or loyalty which would affect decisions in relation to the assignment
    • any employment history and/or prior contracts with the applicant involved in an assignment.

    Existing external experts are obliged to notify us as soon as possible if they consider that they have any matters that need to be declared in light of the above, in addition to providing us with a conflict of interest declaration form annually. If you require the conflict of interest declaration form, it may be downloaded from the link below and returned to the team at: engaging.experts@teqsa.gov.au.

    Useful resources for external experts

    External experts may find the below tip sheet helpful when using the portal:

    External experts should ensure that their contact details are always up to date. You can advise us of any changes by emailing the team at: engaging.experts@teqsa.gov.au.

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  • TEQSA aware of targeted scam email

    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.

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  • TEQSA seeking feedback on interim regulatory guidance

    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.

    Read also:
    TEQSA social cohesion page
     

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  • Fees and charges

    TEQSA’s fees and charges recover costs for regulatory activities undertaken to support Australia’s higher education sector.

    Costs are recovered from higher education providers in 2 ways:

    1. Registered Higher Education Provider (RHEP) charge paid annually by all providers, the charge is the sum of a base component and a compliance component
    2. Application fees for regulatory activities related to:
      • registration
      • course accreditation
      • variation or revocation of conditions

    TEQSA fees and charges are determined by legislative instruments

    TEQSA’s fees and charges are determined by way of legislative instrument. TEQSA’s fees and charges from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 are determined by the:

    Learn more about fees and charges

    In this section, you can find detailed information about our fees and charges, including:

    For frequently asked questions about cost recovery, visit our FAQs page.

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  • Registered Higher Education Provider (RHEP) charge

    All higher education providers have to pay the annual Registered Higher Education Provider (RHEP) charge. 

    The RHEP charge is the sum of a base component and a compliance component that will cover compliance activities undertaken in relation to the provider in the preceding calendar year.

    This page contains information about the RHEP charge for 2025, which is based on the updated version of TEQSA’s Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Regulations 2022.

    Figure 1: An illustration of the composition of the Registered Higher Education Provider (RHEP) charge

    Image showing illustration of the composition of the Registered Higher Education Provider (RHEP) charge

    RHEP charge payment due date

    Invoices for the RHEP charge will be issued to providers early in each calendar year. You will have at least 30 days from the date on the invoice to pay your RHEP charge.

    From 2025 onwards

    TEQSA will issue each registered higher education provider with a RHEP charge invoice. The RHEP charge will comprise:

    • the full amount of base component of the charge, and
    • the compliance component of the charge for compliance activity undertaken in in the previous calendar year that is specific to your higher education provider

     

    To learn more about deadlines for payment, see: Section 5 of Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Registered Higher Education Provider Charge) Guidelines 2022 (Charging Guidelines) for further information.

    Base component of the RHEP charge

    TEQSA will use the below formula, found in the updated version of the CRIS, to determine the base component of your annual RHEP charge for 2025:

    Figure 2: Formula for base component of the RHEP charge

    Image showing the formula for base component of the RHEP charge

    More about this formula

    Registered higher education providers will not be required to pay the full amount of the base component in 2024. The full amount of the base component will have to be paid from 2025 onwards.

    As per subsection 5(2) of the Charges Regulations:

    • number of providers means the number of registered higher education providers at the start of the relevant year.
    • provider’s equivalent full-time students means the total number of students enrolled, on an equivalent full-time basis, in each accredited course that was, in the year that is 2 years before the relevant year, provided by the provider.
    • total equivalent full-time students means the total number of students enrolled, on an equivalent full-time basis, in each accredited course that was, in the year that is 2 years before the relevant year, provided by each entity that, at that time, was a registered higher education provider.

    As per subsection section 5(3) of the Charges Regulations:

    In working out, for the purposes of subsection (2), the number of students enrolled on an equivalent full-time basis in an accredited course in a year:

    1. count a student that has a full-time study load for the course and the year as 1 student; and
    2. count any other student as a fraction that represents the student’s amount of study undertaken as part of the course and the year relative to a student that does have a full-time study load for the course and the year.

    Example: A full-time student is enrolled in 8 units of study as part of a course for a year and is counted as 1 student. A part-time student is enrolled in 4 units of study as part of that course and is counted as half of 1 student. Another student is enrolled in 10 units of study as part of that course and is counted as 1 and a quarter of 1 student.

    Table 1: Phased introduction of the base component charge, see section 6 of the Charges Regulations

    Year You pay
    2023 20% of the amount calculated using the base component formula
    2024 50% of the amount calculated using the base component formula
    2025 100% of the amount calculated using the base component formula

     

    Compliance component of the RHEP charge

    The other component of the annual RHEP charge relates to compliance activities.

    It is based on compliance activity undertaken in relation to your registered higher education provider in the previous calendar year.

    In 2025, the compliance component of the RHEP charge will be for compliance activity undertaken in 2024.

    The amounts a registered higher education provider will have to pay, from 2025 onwards, in relation to compliance activities undertaken in the previous calendar year are summarised below:
     

    Item Compliance Activity Amount

    Assessments
    1 TEQSA commenced an assessment under s 59 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Act 2011 (TEQSA Act) to assess whether the registered higher education provider continued to meet the Threshold Standards $36,000 for each assessment commenced in the previous calendar year
    2 TEQSA commenced an assessment under s 61 of the TEQSA Act in respect of one of the registered higher education provider’s accredited courses $36,000 for each assessment commenced in the previous calendar year
    3 TEQSA commenced an audit under s 112A(1) of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) $36,000 for each audit commenced in the previous calendar year (for audits conducted after 1 January 2024)

    Conditions imposed under the TEQSA or ESOS Acts
    4

    If at any time during the previous year, conditions imposed under:

    • ss 10B(1) or 83(3) of the ESOS Act; or
    • s 32(1) of the TEQSA Act

    applied to the provider’s registration.

    		 $4,100 for each condition that applied to the provider’s registration at any time during the previous calendar year (regardless of in which year the condition was originally imposed)
    5 If at any time in the previous year, conditions imposed under s 53(1) of the TEQSA Act applied to the accreditation of a course of study offered by the provider. $3,350 for each condition that applied to the accreditation of a course of study at any time during the previous calendar year (regardless of in which year the condition was originally imposed)

    Compliance undertakings (also known as voluntary undertakings)

    *see definition of ‘compliance undertaking’ in section 4 of Charges Regulation
    6 If, at any time in the previous year, one or more compliance undertakings were in force in relation to the higher education provider $1,675 for each undertaking that was in force during the previous calendar year

    Investigations
    7 If, at any time in the previous year, TEQSA conducted an investigation in relation to a matter that constitutes, or may constitute, a contravention of an offence provision or a civil penalty provision by the provider $165 for each hour spent in conducting the investigation in the previous calendar year (regardless of whether the investigation is ongoing)

    Review rights

    You can request TEQSA reconsider some decisions relating to the RHEP charge or apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of decisions. See sections 8 and 9 of the Charging Guidelines for further information.

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  • Application fees

    This page contains information about TEQSA’s application fees for 2025, which are unchanged from 2024. TEQSA’s application fees are based on the updated version of TEQSA’s Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) and determined by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Determination of Fees No 1 of 2020 (Fee Determination).

    A summary of the fees that apply to applications made on or after 1 January 2024 is set out below.

    Registration fees from 1 January 2024

    Item Activity for which the fee is imposed Amount of the fee on or after 1 January 2024

    1

    Preliminary assessment of application for registration as a higher education provider (s 19 of the TEQSA Act)

     

     

    $13,900

     

    2

    Substantive assessment of application for registration as a higher education provider (s 20 of the TEQSA Act)

     

     

    $105,900

     

    3

    Renewal of registration application (s 35 of the TEQSA Act)

     

    [where the higher education provider is not also applying for self-accreditation, otherwise see row 4 below]

    Where the approved form for the application requires the applicant to address provisions of the Threshold Standards other than the Core Standards: $106,700

     

    Otherwise: $62,400

    4

    Renewal of registration application combined with application for self-accreditation (ss 35 and 41 of the TEQSA Act)

     

    [where the higher education provider applies for renewal of registration and for authority to self-accredit one or more courses of study at the same time]

    Where the approved form for the application requires the applicant to address provisions of the Threshold Standards other than the Core Standards: $122,000

     

    Otherwise: $70,800

    5

    		 Application for change of higher education provider category (s 38 of the TEQSA Act) $48,900

    6

    		 Application to TEQSA as an ESOS Agency for registration to provide a course or courses at a location or locations to overseas students (s 9 of the Education for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act)).

    $23,200

     

    7

    		 Application to TEQSA as an ESOS Agency for renewal of registration (s 10D of the ESOS Act)

    Where the higher education provider has self-accrediting authority: $12,800

    Where the higher education provider does not have self-accrediting authority: $26,000

     

    8

    		 Application to TEQSA as an ESOS Agency to add one or more courses at one or more additional locations to a higher education provider’s registration (s 10H of the ESOS Act)

    For each location for which the higher education provider is not registered at the time of the application:

    1. Where the higher education provider has self-accrediting authority, $1,800
    2. Where the higher education provider does not have self-accrediting authority, $9,100

    For each course for which the higher education provider is not registered at any location at the time of the application:

    1. $4,800 per ELICOS
    2. $4,900 per Foundation Program
    3. In all other cases, $500 per course

    Course accreditation fees from 1 January 2024

    Item Activity for which the fee is imposed Amount of the fee
    9

    Application for authority to self-accredit one or more courses of study (s 41 of the TEQSA Act)

    [where the higher education provider has not applied for renewal of registration at the same time, otherwise see row 4 of above]

    For an application by a higher education provider with no existing authority under the Act to self-accredit a course or group of courses of study: $48,900

    For an application by a higher education provider which is authorised under the TEQSA Act to self-accredit one or more courses of study: $34,700
    10 Preliminary assessment of application by a prospective provider for accreditation of a course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate) (s 47 of the TEQSA Act)

    $5,600 per course*

    where a prospective provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
    11 Substantive assessment of application by a prospective provider for accreditation of a course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate) (s 48 of the TEQSA Act)

    Where an application is for accreditation of a single course of study or multiple courses of study that do not form a nested set of courses: $42,200 per course
     
    Where an application is for accreditation of a nested set of courses:

    • Primary course of study: $42,200
    • Each related course of study: $37,700

    * where a prospective provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
    12 Preliminary assessment of application by a registered higher education provider for accreditation of a course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate) (s 47 of the TEQSA Act)

    Where an application is for accreditation of a single course of study or multiple courses of study that do not form a nested set of courses: $4,900 per course
     
    Where an application is for accreditation of a nested set of courses:

    • Primary course of study: $4,900
    • Each related course of study: $1,200

    * where a higher education provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
    13 Substantive assessment of application by a registered higher education provider for accreditation of a course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate) (s 48 of the TEQSA Act)

    Where an application is for accreditation of a single course of study or multiple courses of study that do not form a nested set of courses: $18,000 per course.
     
    Where an application is for accreditation of a nested set of courses:

    • Primary course of study: $18,000
    • Each related course of study: $4,500

    * where a higher education provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
     
    14 Preliminary assessment of application for accreditation of an undergraduate certificate (s 47 of the TEQSA Act) $300 per course
    15 Substantive assessment of application for accreditation of an undergraduate certificate (s 48 of the TEQSA Act) $1,200 per course
    16 Application for renewal of accreditation for a course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate or an application made on the basis of teach out) (s 55 of the TEQSA Act)

    Where an application is for renewal of accreditation of a single course of study or multiple courses of study that do not form a nested set of courses: $23,100 per course
     
    Where an application is for accreditation of a nested set of courses:

    • Primary course of study: $23,100
    • Each related course of study: $5,500

    * where a higher education provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
    17 Application for renewal of accreditation for teach out course of study (other than an undergraduate certificate) (s 55 of the TEQSA Act)

    Where an application is for accreditation of a single course of study or multiple courses of study that do not form a nested set of courses: $2,900 per course
     
    Where an application is for accreditation of a nested set of courses:

    • Primary course of study: $2,900
    • Each related course of study: $700

    * where a higher education provider has an equivalent full-time student load of less than 5,000, see discussion of discounts below
    18 Application for renewal of accreditation for an undergraduate certificate (s 55 of the TEQSA Act) $1,100 per course

    Conditions

    Item Activity after 1 January 2024 for which the fee is imposed Amount of the fee
    19 Application to vary or revoke a condition of registration or accreditation (s 32(3) or s 53(3) of the TEQSA Act)

    For an application made under subsection 32(3) in relation to a condition imposed on a higher education provider’s registration: $3,600 per condition.

    For an application made under subsection 53(3) in relation to a condition imposed on the accreditation of a course: $2,900 per condition.
     

    Review of decisions

    Item Activity after 1 January 2024 for which the fee is imposed Amount of the fee
    20

    Application for internal review of a decision made by a delegate of TEQSA (s 184 of the Act and s 169AD of the ESOS Act)

     

    		 $1,000

    Discounts for providers with an equivalent full time student load of less than 5,000

    TEQSA’s fees and charges model provides for discounts of up to 70% to some course accreditation or renewal of course accreditation application fees.

    The discounts apply to applications made on or after 1 January 2023 by providers with an equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) of less than 5,000.

    See section 2 in Schedule B of the Fee Determination for further details.

    Review rights

    You can request TEQSA reconsider some decisions relating to application fees or apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of some decisions. See sections 8 - 10 of the Fee Determination for further information.

    How to pay

    All applications must include the full payment for the service being provided.

    Assessments of applications will not commence until payment has been received in full.

    Payment must be made by:

    • electronic bank transfer to BSB: 093-003, Account no: 110520, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, Official Administered Receipts Account
    • TEQSA's ABN is 50 658 250 012

    NOTE:

    • a receipt will not be issued unless requested
    • payment by credit card is not accepted
    • fees do not attract GST
    • fees are not refundable.
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  • Reporting and accountability

    As a statutory agency, we must meet specific government accountability requirements.

    The publications available in this section show how we operate as an open and transparent agency:

    Reporting requirements

    We report on our performance through our annual report to the Australian Parliament.

    Our work is also examined by the Australian Parliament at Senate Estimates committee hearings three times each year.

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