Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Register) Guidelines 2017 – Amendment No. 1 of 2023

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Register) Guidelines 2017 (Amendment) No 1 of 2023

Issued by the authority of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)

Authority

Section 204 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the Act) allows TEQSA to make, by legislative instrument, Register Guidelines.

Purpose and Description of the provisions

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Register) Guidelines 2017 (Register Guidelines 2017) is a legislative instrument that sets out what TEQSA must enter on the National Register of Higher Education Providers (National Register) in respect of each registered higher education provider.

Amendments

This amending instrument amends subsections 4(b) and 9(a) of the Register Guidelines 2017.

Subsection 4(b) of the Register Guidelines

Item 1 in Schedule 1 inserts “current” after “name/s” and will have the effect that TEQSA must only enter providers’ relevant current trading names.

The amendment will clarify that only current trading names used by providers for their higher education operations must be entered in the National Register.

Subsection 9(a) of the Register Guidelines

Items 2 – 16 in Schedule 1 variously insert “of the Act” into the amended paragraphs, consequential to the amendment brought about by item 17.

Item 17 in Schedule 1 inserts paragraphs 9(a)(xvi) – (xxii). By the insertion of these provisions, the Register Guidelines will require TEQSA to enter details of decisions made under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) to:

a. renew a provider’s registration for a period less than 7 years;

b. impose, vary or remove conditions on the registration;

c. refuse to renew the registration; or

d. impose sanctions on the registered provider for non-compliance.

Items 18, 19, of Schedule 1 renumber the affected paragraphs, consequential to the amendment brought about by item 17 of Schedule 1.

Item 20 in Schedule 1 inserts a new paragraph 9(a)(xxv). By the insertion of this paragraph, the Register Guidelines will require TEQSA to state the legislative provision(s) which were the subject of findings that informed the decision(s) TEQSA made (which must be the subject of entries on the National Register).

Item 21 of Schedule 1 renumbers the affected paragraph, consequential to the preceding amendments.

Item 22 of Schedule 1 inserts “or the ESOS Act”, after “the Act”, consequential to the amendment brought about by item 17 of Schedule 1.

Item 23 of Schedule 1 renumbers the affected paragraph, consequential to the preceding amendments.

Commencement

This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. The instrument will commence in accordance with the table set out in section 2 of the instrument.

Consultation

TEQSA consulted with Australian Skills Quality Authority and the Department of Education.

TEQSA also consulted publicly about the register guidelines amendment over a period of approximately 2 months and received two written submissions.

Both submissions supported the inclusion of the additional information proposed in the consultation paper. One of the submissions opposed the removal of previous trading names and the other submission supported it (while noting that this information may be useful to future students).

TEQSA consider the submissions and considers that the amendment appropriately secures certainty regarding what TEQSA must enter onto the National Register.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency

(Information) Guidelines 2017 (Amendment) No.1 of 2023

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The purpose of this instrument is to amend the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (Register) Guidelines 2017, in respect of the National Register of Higher Education Providers (National Register). The amendment will:

(a) clarify that TEQSA must enter current trading names used by higher education providers in relation to their higher education operations on the National Register,

(b) require TEQSA to make entries on the National Register about consequential decisions it makes about higher education providers under the ESOS Act, and

(c) require TEQSA to state the relevant legislative provision(s) which were the subject of findings that informed its decision(s) under either the TEQSA or ESOS Acts.

Human rights implications

Right to Education

The Instrument engages the right to education, contained in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. In particular, this Instrument has an effect on the provision of education services by providers.

To the extent that the right to education is engaged, this right is promoted by the Instrument, which improves the capacity of students to refer to the National Register to make informed choices about where they study higher education courses in Australia.

Conclusion

This Instrument is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of the right to education.