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 2024, which is based on the updated version of TEQSA’s Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) and determined by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Regulations 2022 (Charges Regulations).
Figure 1: An 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.
2024
TEQSA will issue each registered higher education provider with a RHEP charge invoice. The RHEP charge will comprise:
- the base component of the charge at 50% of the full rate, and
- the compliance component of the charge for compliance activity undertaken in 2023 that is specific to your higher education provider
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 Charges Regulations, to determine the base component of your annual RHEP charge for 2024:
Figure 2: 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:
- count a student that has a full-time study load for the course and the year as 1 student; and
- 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 2024, the compliance component of the RHEP charge will be for compliance activity undertaken in 2023. In 2025, the charge will be for compliance activity undertaken in 2024, and so on.
The amounts a registered higher education provider will have to pay, from 2024 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:
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.
Fees and charges