Productivity Partners Pty Ltd (trading as Captain Cook College) ACN 085 570 547 & Anor v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission & Anor; Wills v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission & Ors

Productivity Partners Pty Ltd (trading as Captain Cook College) and Mr Wills (the applicants) sought judicial review of decisions made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Minister for Education and Training (the Minister). The dispute concerned the ACCC's and the Minister's respective decisions to refuse to grant an exemption from certain provisions of the *Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000* (Cth) (ESOS Act) to Productivity Partners, and the Minister's decision to refuse to grant a similar exemption to Mr Wills. The matter was heard by the Full Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the Full Federal Court were whether the ACCC and the Minister had erred in law in their respective decisions to refuse the applications for exemption under section 5 of the ESOS Act. Specifically, the court was required to determine whether the decision-makers had properly considered the relevant factors and applied the correct legal tests in assessing whether the applicants' proposed conduct would be contrary to the public interest or would otherwise be contrary to the objects of the ESOS Act.

The Full Federal Court found that the ACCC and the Minister had not erred in law in their decisions. The court reasoned that the decision-makers had correctly applied the relevant legislative provisions and had undertaken a proper assessment of the public interest and the objects of the ESOS Act. The court affirmed that the onus was on the applicants to demonstrate that granting an exemption would not be contrary to the public interest or the objects of the Act, and that this onus had not been discharged. The court emphasised that the decision-makers were entitled to consider the potential for harm to international students and the integrity of the Australian education system when assessing applications for exemption.

Consequently, the Full Federal Court dismissed the applications for judicial review.