Mass Qualification Cancellation Rocks Australian Education Sector
In a sweeping regulatory crackdown, more than 30,000 Australians have had their vocational qualifications revoked after the national education watchdog deregistered eleven training providers for serious compliance failures.
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has taken unprecedented action since late 2024, cancelling the registrations of multiple vocational education and training (VET) organisations and voiding diplomas, certificates and statements of attainment they had issued to students.
Affected Courses and Students
The qualifications crisis has impacted graduates across numerous essential service sectors, including aged care, early childhood education, community services, disability support, first aid and building and construction. Many students had paid up to $20,000 for courses now deemed invalid.
Among the worst-affected institutions were Luvium (trading as Australia Education & Career College), where 7,300 graduates lost their certificates, 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 confirmed that an additional four providers have been deregistered, though affected graduates haven't yet been formally notified about their qualification cancellations.
Regulatory Action and Student Impact
The crackdown comes after the federal government allocated $37.8 million in 2023 to improve VET quality, including establishing a dedicated enforcement unit at ASQA and a tip-off line for reporting suspicious providers.
Since 2024, approximately half of the 3,127 tip-offs received by the regulator concerned VET providers offering courses to international students, despite these institutions representing only 20% of all providers.
Higher education consultant Claire Field expressed concern about the approach, stating that while the sector supports strong regulatory action, cancelling student qualifications represents a significant 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," Field argued.
Legal Challenges and Real Consequences
The human impact of the mass qualification cancellations has become evident through legal challenges. Two former students of Sydney's Gills College – Dikshit Khadka and Sandeep Kaur – recently sought to challenge the cancellation of their qualifications in kitchen management and ageing support at the administrative review tribunal.
Kaur, who paid between $2,000 and $3,000 in cash for her Certificate IV, stated in her application that she wasn't given adequate opportunity to respond to the cancellation notice and now risks losing her "job and livelihood" without the qualification.
The tribunal ultimately upheld ASQA's decisions in both cases, with the regulator noting in Kaur's case that aged care workers provide services to "potentially very vulnerable people" and must be properly trained and qualified.
Warning Signs for Prospective Students
ASQA CEO Saxon Rice issued strong warnings to students considering vocational education courses, urging caution when providers use marketing phrases like "no classes to attend", "no study or exams required", "receive your qualification in 7 days" and "fast-tracked pathway to skilled migration".
"Put simply, if it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is," Rice emphasised.
The regulatory action coincides with new standards for registered training organisations that took effect in July, described by ASQA as the "most significant regulatory reform" since its establishment. These standards include stricter credentials for assessors and teachers, greater compliance requirements and enhanced industry engagement.
Ongoing Investigations and Student Recourse
The scale of the problem appears extensive, with ASQA confirming that more than 144 providers remain under investigation by its enforcement team for "serious matters".
Field raised concerns that ASQA's actions appear to focus more on domestic providers and students rather than addressing criminal conduct by some international VET providers identified in the 2023 Nixon Review. That review found private VET providers might be acting as vehicles to exploit the international student visa system by offering lower-level qualifications primarily for migration pathways.
An ASQA spokesperson confirmed that individuals can respond to notices issued before final decisions about qualification cancellations are made, including through merits review processes. Graduates seeking refunds have been advised to contact their state or territory's consumer protection agency.
