VET News

New Higher Education Standards Commence Today

On 10 June 2021 the Governor-General signed a Proclamation that set a commencement date for new Higher Education Standards Framework Threshold Standards (the 2021 Threshold Standards).

The Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon. Alan Tudge, recently made a new Higher Education Threshold Standards legislative instrument, which will replace the previous 2015 instrument today (1 July 2021). The 2015 Threshold Standards has been automatically repealed and now no longer apply.

The 2021 Threshold Standards 

• set the standards that a provider must meet and continue to meet to be registered to operate as a higher education provider in Australia and, 
• underpin and provide assurance of quality and integrity in the delivery of Australian higher education. 

The new 2021 Threshold Standards implement and bring together:

• recommendations of the 2019 Review of the Higher Education Provider Category Standards (PCS Review), led by Emeritus Professor Peter Coaldrake AO.
• an outstanding recommendation from the 2017 Review of the impact of the TEQSA Act on the higher education sector (Impact Review) undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics.

The higher education sector will move from six provider categories (five ‘university’ categories and just one non-university category) in the 2015 Standards, to four categories (Australian and Overseas University and two types of non-university) in the 2021 Standards.  Once the 2021 Threshold Standards commence, there will be just one overarching type of ‘Threshold Standards’.

The 2021 Standards legislative instrument is available for download from the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation.

Date posted Jul 1, 2021