Registration and Accreditation 8 December 2020

Registration

Report on registration of Apex Institute of Higher Education Pty Ltd

TEQSA has agreed to orders made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) under which Apex Institute of Higher Education Pty Ltd (Apex) is registered in the provider category of Higher Education Provider pursuant to section 21 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act) for a period until 30 November 2025.

The AAT orders also provide for the accreditation of the Bachelor of Business course of study to be offered by Apex, pursuant to section 49 of the TEQSA Act, for a period until 30 November 2025.

Background

Apex applied to TEQSA for registration in the category of Higher Education Provider under Part 3 of the TEQSA Act.

An assessment team considered Apex's application and provided a draft assessment report with details of the assessment of the application to TEQSA's Commission. TEQSA's Commission considered Apex's response to the draft report and made a decision to reject Apex's application for registration on 6 November 2019, on the basis that it was not satisfied that Apex met the Threshold Standards.

Apex applied for review of TEQSA's decision in the AAT. In the course of the proceedings, Apex made submissions and provided further information and evidence about the matters raised in TEQSA's decision.

It is well established that absent a specific legislative provision to the contrary, the AAT is generally required to make a decision on review based on the evidence available at the time of the AAT's decision on review, and that the AAT is not confined to the evidence available at the time of the primary decision. Accordingly, TEQSA accepted that the AAT was required to take account of the further material submitted to TEQSA after TEQSA had rejected Apex's application.

Main reasons for the decision

After reviewing the further material submitted by Apex, TEQSA was satisfied that Apex meets the Threshold Standards.