These questions are directed at the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) where I wanted to get clear answers on the scale of misconduct within our vocational education and training (VET) sector, and to find out exactly what is being done to shut down rogue Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).
As of late 2025, ASQA had cancelled 16 critically non-compliant providers, issued notices of intent to cancel credentials to over 36,600 individuals, and ultimately stripped more than 30,000 people of improperly issued qualifications.
My primary focus remains on criminal accountability for blatant scams, such as RTOs selling qualifications for cash. To ensure these operators face justice, ASQA is actively sharing intelligence with the Fraud Fusion Taskforce, including the ATO, ASIC, and the ACIC, and passing critical financial details to law enforcement.
We must ensure these rogue operators cannot simply close up shop and re-enter the market under a different name.
At the same time, any student caught purchasing fake credentials must be deported.
— February | Senate Estimates
Transcript
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you for appearing tonight. Good evening. My question is pretty brief. I understand that, by the end of 2025, ASQA deregistered 11 critically non-compliant registered training organisations and 31,000 qualifications they had issued, affecting 25,000 people. Is this accurate? Is it the latest data?
Ms Rice: The latest data is that, as at 31 December 2025, we have cancelled 16 critically non-compliant providers. We have issued notices of intent to cancel qualifications and/or statements of attainment to more than 36,600 individuals. Of that figure, we have cancelled the qualifications and/or statements of attainment of just over 30,000 individuals.
Senator ROBERTS: Thirty thousand people. How many qualifications? Roughly 37,000?
Ms Rice: Sorry, no. It is 36,600. We’ve issued a notice of intent to individuals.
Senator ROBERTS: That is in addition to the 30,000 you’ve cancelled?
Ms Rice: No, sorry. It is a subset. It is 36,600. Of that 36,600, just over 30,000 we have actually cancelled. That is as at 31 December 2025.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. Your enforcement team investigated 189 serious matters involving 154 providers with 74 per cent relating to serious fraud. Wouldn’t they all be committing fraud? They are handing over a certificate that they knew was improperly issued and kept the money the student paid for the tuition. Shouldn’t they all have been charged with fraud?
Ms Rice: Those are investigations on foot. The current data in relation to that is we have, I believe, 201 serious matters currently under investigation relating to 136 providers. The difference in there is because we also have serious matters under investigation in relation to non-RTOs or individuals or joint investigations with other partner agencies or law enforcement. I guess it is pre-emptive. We certainly have concerns about fraud in relation to all of those matters, but they are all at various stages of investigation.
Senator ROBERTS: You can’t categorise them yet?
Ms Rice: No. That’s right.
Senator ROBERTS: So I’m on the right track. I can see the cancellations in the CRICOS panel.
Ms Rice: Yes.
Senator ROBERTS: Where are the charges for fraud on the owners, managers and administrators of these companies?
Ms Rice: That’s a good question, Senator. We have undertaken a number of civil and criminal prosecutions or worked certainly with the CDPP. We don’t bring those matters ourselves.
Senator ROBERTS: You don’t run them yourselves?
Ms Rice: No. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions does. We provide a brief around some of those matters. In many of these cases, we have certainly made adverse findings from a fit and proper person perspective as part of the investigations. That is certainly relevant in order to, again, work with other partner agencies on the implications of that. It is also important in terms of preventing their re-entry into the VET sector. But it remains an ongoing program of work in relation to the individuals associated with this work.
Senator ROBERTS: Once it is completed, the names will come out?
Ms Rice: Typically, there will be names associated with the cancellation decisions that we’ve—
Senator ROBERTS: I mean the officers of companies—administrators, managers—will be exposed?
Ms Rice: That’s right. We work closely with ASIC and other regulators from that perspective, including the ATO.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. Some of the RTOs were running obvious scams. One sold the qualifications for cash. How many others were dealing in cash? Was any of this reported to the ATO for tax fraud?
Ms Rice: Certainly in all of the matters we have dealt with in this space, we have shared our intelligence and information with our Fraud Fusion partners, which includes the tax office.
Senator ROBERTS: What partners did you call them?
Ms Rice: The Fraud Fusion Taskforce partners.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. What is to stop these people opening up another RTO ad running the same thing but this time different, having learned how not to get caught?
Ms Rice: Well, Senator, we are certainly very alert to the risk of individuals re-entering the market. That is where we have been particularly focused on including the reforms to the fit and proper person requirements so that we can be alert to individuals as much as entities seeking—
Senator ROBERTS: Do you track individuals?
Ms Rice: Yes, we do. We’ve also been uplifting our focus of assessment on market entrants. It remains a significant area of focus for us. We’re also alert to it, though, as I mentioned earlier, in relation to the change of ownership of RTOs.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. Did you seize any money from the fraudulent RTOs as proceeds of crime?
Ms Rice: No, Senator. That would be for law enforcement.
Senator ROBERTS: That is what I expected. Did you report it to the police?
Ms Rice: Again, I guess we have certainly informed our Fraud Fusion partners about—
Senator ROBERTS: Who are they?
Ms Rice: There’s 22, I think, Fraud Fusion partners. It certainly includes the ATO, ASIC, the ACIC, NDIA and our portfolio department in DEWR. I can certainly provide you with the—
Senator ROBERTS: So basically, other government departments?
Ms Rice: That’s right. I can certainly provide you on notice with the list of members and the terms of reference for the taskforce.
Senator ROBERTS: If you could, please. Why not the police? That would put these criminals behind bars.
Ms Rice: Well, certainly in some cases, Senator, we’ve worked with state law enforcement in relation to some of those matters. If it would assist, Senator, I’m happy to come back to you on notice with some more of the specifics from that perspective.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. This is my last question. Has the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 that was passed last year made it easier to deal with rogue RTOs, or is it too early to tell?
Ms Rice: It’s a good question, Senator. I think it is part of a suite of integrity measures. Together with the other measures, it has certainly helped to ensure greater alignment between the two pieces of legislation that we deal with the most in the ESOS Act and the NVR Act. It has certainly ensured consistency between those two acts from an integrity perspective. So we’re working through the implementation of that and certainly supportive of those changes.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. Chair, I want to put it on the record that for the second time today I’m going to compliment someone for the answers they’ve put—prompt, clear and concise. Thank you so much.
Ms Rice: Thank you, Senator.
Senator ROBERTS: It’s good to see someone on top.
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