Australia Institute of Business & Technology - International Pty Ltd and Australian Skills Quality Authority

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed decisions made by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) concerning the Australia Institute of Business & Technology – International Pty Ltd (AIBTI). The dispute arose from ASQA's intention to cancel AIBTI's registration as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (NVR Act) and its registration on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act). AIBTI also sought to have applications for changes to its registration scope granted.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether AIBTI was non-compliant with the NVR Act, the ESOS Act, the 2015 Standards, and the National Code. Further issues included whether AIBTI had breached a previous stay order issued by the Tribunal, whether its conduct demonstrated a cavalier disregard for legislative requirements, and whether it had failed to cooperate with ASQA. The Tribunal also had to decide the correct and preferable decisions regarding AIBTI's registration and its applications for changes to its scope of registration.

The Tribunal found that AIBTI, through its employees, facilitated a practice designed to mislead the Department of Home Affairs to enable students to obtain visas. This involved issuing Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for courses that were not the students' intended study, thereby allowing students to evade higher evidentiary thresholds for visa requirements. The Tribunal was satisfied that this conduct was intended to mislead and was an extremely serious matter. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted AIBTI's lack of cooperation with ASQA during a compliance monitoring visit, describing the organisation's actions as discourteous and indicative of an uncooperative attitude. The Tribunal affirmed ASQA's decisions to cancel AIBTI's registration under both the NVR Act and the ESOS Act, and to reject its applications for changes to its scope of registration.