Australasian College of Education and Training Pty Ltd and Australian Skills Quality Authority

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) considered an application by Australasian College of Education and Training Pty Ltd (ACET) for review of decisions made by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to cancel ACET's registration as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and to refuse its application to change its scope of registration. ACET sought to set aside these decisions.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether ACET had breached its conditions of registration under the *National Vocational Education and Training Regulation Act 2011* (Cth) and failed to comply with the *Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015*. Specifically, the issues included instances of cheating during examinations, inadequate supervision and assessor conduct, non-adherence to assessment guides, insufficient duration of a security course, failure to identify and support student learning needs, and crucially, whether ACET's executive officers and high managerial agents met the "fit and proper person" requirements, particularly in light of past conduct involving false statements, non-disclosure of associations with a suspended RTO, and a history of assisting students to cheat.

The Tribunal found that ACET had failed to comply with its obligations under the *National Vocational Education and Training Regulation Act 2011* and the *Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015*. The reasoning focused on significant breaches, including inadequate assessment systems and a failure to ensure its key personnel met the fit and proper person requirements. The Tribunal noted that the current and former CEOs had demonstrated a lack of insight and contrition regarding past breaches and a minimalist, reactive approach to compliance. Consequently, the Tribunal lacked confidence that ACET would meet its future obligations.

The Tribunal affirmed ASQA's decisions to cancel ACET's registration as an RTO and to refuse its application to change its scope of registration.