At least 30,000 people have had their vocational qualifications cancelled over the past year as Australia’s regulator intensifies its crackdown on non-compliant training providers. Since late 2024, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has cancelled the registrations of 11 vocational education and training (VET) organisations, voiding diplomas, certificates and statements of attainment they had issued.
Affected graduates had completed courses in fields such as early childhood, aged care, community services, disability, first aid, and building and construction, with some courses costing up to $20,000. ASQA also deregistered an additional four providers, though graduates have not yet been notified that their qualifications were cancelled. More than 144 providers remain under investigation over “serious matters”.
Among the deregistered providers, Luvium (trading as Australia Education & Career College) saw over 7,300 graduates have their certificates voided, followed by IIET (6,800 graduates), SPES Education Pty Ltd (4,200 graduates), Arizona College (3,500 graduates) and Gills College (3,300 graduates). ASQA said it was still considering the legitimacy of some qualifications.
The crackdown follows the federal government’s $37.8 million investment in 2023 to improve VET quality, including a dedicated ASQA unit and a tip-off line. Since 2024, about half of the 3,127 tip-offs received concerned providers offering courses for international students, though only two of the 11 cancelled providers were registered for overseas students.
Higher education consultant Claire Field said the VET sector welcomed strong regulatory action but noted that cancelling student qualifications was an escalation. “In cases where students have been issued qualifications without doing the requisite study, they should be offered the chance to undergo an independent skills assessment,” she said. This month, two graduates of Sydney’s Gills College – Dikshit Khadka and Sandeep Kaur – sought to challenge the cancellation of their qualifications at the administrative review tribunal.
ASQA chief executive Saxon Rice warned students to be wary of qualifications marketed with phrases like “no classes to attend” or “receive your qualification in 7 days”. “Put simply, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” she said. New standards for registered training organisations came into effect in July, described as the most significant regulatory reform since ASQA’s establishment.
