Joint sector alert sends a clear compliance message to Australian higher education and VET providers
- Australia’s tertiary education regulators have issued a joint statement cautioning institutions and schools to adhere to the now-in-effect ban on onshore student transfers
- The alert signals increased regulatory scrutiny and provides specific guidance for providers to ensure their recruitment practices – and those of their agents – are compliant with the onshore transfer ban
- As in Australia, governments in several destinations are clearly signalling to educators that they expect proactive quality assurance across all recruitment activities
There are two national quality-assurance regulators for tertiary education in Australia. TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) is the regulatory body for Australian higher education while ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) is responsible for the vocational education and training (VET) sector.
There is some overlap between the two in that they jointly regulate institutions that provide programming across higher education and VET, and they share jurisdiction over CRICOS-registered providers (the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) delivering courses to international students.
The interests of the two regulators are naturally aligned in some ways, but TEQSA and ASQA rarely issue joint statements. However, earlier this month, they did just that, that they are watching how providers and agents are behaving with regards to onshore student transfers.
The joint message says:
"TEQSA and ASQA are aware of concerns that some advertising by registered providers appears inconsistent with the intent of the ban on the payment of education agent commissions in relation to onshore transfers.
"Both agencies view any attempts by providers or education agents to bypass this restriction as unacceptable and providers who are not adequately managing these risks or not meeting the relevant Standards may be subject to a compliance assessment and/or regulatory action."
The caution speaks directly to a new rule that was introduced in January 2026, and that came into force on 31 March 2026. Under the new rule, education agents are no longer permitted to receive commissions from Australian schools and universities when an international student already in Australia (an “onshore student”) transfers from one institution to another without having completed their course with the previous provider.
The rule appears in revisions to the National Code of Practice – formally, – and it was part of a package of amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act (ESOS) passed in November 2025.
The joint TEQSA-ASQA alert goes on to say that the two regulators have specific concerns in the following areas:
- Recruitment or incentive arrangements that preserve commission-based behaviour (for onshore transfers);
- Practices that encourage and facilitate unnecessary transfers of students from other providers;
- Insufficient provider oversight of education agents;
- Providers failing to declare their arrangements with third parties facilitating student transfers;
- Improper management of data around agent activities and student enrolment, including inaccurate or delayed reporting;
- Weak governance, controls, monitoring or record-keeping practices around recruitment and student enrolment;
- Providers with poor risk management practices in respect of accepting higher risk students who have transferred from another provider and do not appear to be academically prepared for their new course.
The alert then outlines the compliance expectations the regulators have for providers working with agents on onshore transfers:
"Providers need to be able to demonstrate, through robust governance oversight, that their arrangements, practices and controls are consistent with the recent changes to the National Code preventing the payment of education agent commissions in relation to onshore overseas student transfers."
TEQSA and ASQA expect all providers to undertake a check of their current processes and practices, including:
- Reviewing agreements with education agents and other third parties;
- Checking what education agents are promoting in-market;
- Reviewing admissions and transfer practices to ensure they do not contravene the ban on onshore transfers;
- Demonstrating compliance through clear policies, monitoring, and record-keeping.
The instruction concludes with a more specific warning: "Providers who are not adequately managing these risks or not meeting the relevant Standards may be subject to a compliance assessment and/or regulatory action."
The joint alert makes it clear that TEQSA and ASQA are concerned about onshore transfers; that they expect providers to take any actions needed to address these concerns; and that they may ramp up compliance checks or other interventions going forward.
Regular readers will appreciate that this is not strictly an Australian story. Rather, the direction of travel is clear across destinations: providers should expect greater scrutiny of their international recruitment activities by governments and regulators. Implementing effective quality checks and oversight of recruitment programmes is key to compliance.
For additional background, please see:
