TEQSA Act

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act) established TEQSA as an agency. 

The objects of the TEQSA Act call for us to:

• provide for national consistency in the regulation of higher education
• regulate higher education using a standards-based quality framework and principles relating to regulatory necessity, risk and proportionality
• protect and enhance Australia’s reputation for, and international competiveness in higher education, as well as the excellence, diversity and innovation in Australian higher education
• encourage and promote a higher education system that is appropriate to meet Australia’s social and economic needs for a highly educated and skilled population
• protect students undertaking, or proposing to undertake higher education by requiring the provision of quality higher education
• ensure that students have access to information relating to higher education in Australia.

The following legislative instruments have been made under the TEQSA Act:

• The Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 that sets out the requirements for provider entry to, and continued operations within Australia’s higher education sector.
• The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 that set out the Commonwealth authorities and the State or Territory authorities we may disclose higher education information to.
• a Determination of Fees that sets out the amount we may charge for things done in the performance of our functions.
• Register Guidelines that set out the information we must include on the National Register of Higher Education Providers.