VET News

Tuition Protection Review - A Final Report

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) commissioned a review of the operations of the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) and to report on the effectiveness and  efficiency of the legislative, operational, administrative and governance arrangements. 

The Review has also  assessed the response of the TPS to the COVID-19 pandemic and considered the suitability and feasibility of  extending the coverage of the TPS to up-front fee-paying students in the vocational education and training  (VET) sector. 

The TPS was originally established in 2012 in response to a range of challenges to provide ‘last-resort’  tuition assurance to international students in Australia, in the event their provider fails to meet its obligations in relation to pre-paid tuition fees. 

It has since been expanded to cover some cohorts of  domestic students, including students in receipt of a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan and upfront fee-paying higher education (HE) students at private providers; and VET Student Loans (VSL) students.  It comprises a set of industry levy-funded funds to cover the costs of refunding student fees and recrediting  Commonwealth loans; and a placement service to help affected students continue their studies.

The Review has been undertaken as a requirement of the four Acts that comprise the TPS  legislation: 

• the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), 
• the Higher Education Support  Act 2003 (HES Act), 
• the VET Student Loans Act 2016 (VSL Act), and 
• the Tertiary Education Quality and  Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act). 

The  Review has been informed by qualitative and quantitative data including: 

• consultations with internal  stakeholders; 
• structured interviews with external stakeholders; 
• surveys of students and education providers;  and 
• a review of program documents and analysis of program performance data. 

Read the full Tuition Protection Review Final Report here.

Date posted Apr 28, 2022