TEQSA rejects application to renew registration of Elite Education Institute Pty Ltd

On 5 February 2020, TEQSA made a decision to reject the applications to renew Elite Education Institute’s registration as a higher education provider and its registration to provide courses to overseas students.  

TEQSA made this decision based on evidence that Elite Education had failed to meet a number of the requirements of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015, and the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), which must be met by all higher education providers in Australia.

This decision comes after TEQSA last year imposed conditions on the provider’s registration, preventing the enrolment or commencement of new students, and due to serious concerns the Agency had identified through an ongoing compliance assessment.

Anthony McClaran, TEQSA's CEO, commented: “TEQSA’s compliance assessment found a number of issues with Elite’s operations, including inadequate academic quality of course delivery and concerns around academic integrity, and we also found that Elite had delivered courses to overseas students which it was not registered to deliver." 

“TEQSA’s fundamental role is to protect students and to assure the quality of higher education in Australia. Where providers do not meet the relevant standards, they can expect TEQSA to require improvements and, if we are not satisfied the steps taken are adequate to deliver the quality of education that students expect in Australia, we will act.” 

“We will now work with the Institute and the Tuition Protection Service to ensure, where possible, all continuing students affected by Elite’s closure are supported to continue their studies at other institutions, and/or are duly refunded monies owed.”

TEQSA has also imposed four conditions on the registration of Elite Education, to allow for transitional arrangements for students enrolled at Elite Education.

Elite Education has applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of TEQSA’s decisions and for a stay of those decisions. 

Media enquiries 

Michelle Alexander, Assistant Director, Communications: comms@teqsa.gov.au, 0437 143 012