The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has published new requirements for higher education providers seeking authorisation to deliver courses overseas. Published on New Year’s Day, the guidance sets out the process for applying for authorisation to deliver transnational education (TNE), where providers do not qualify under transitional arrangements.
The new webpage outlines the assessment scope under the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021. It also details the application submission process, which includes:
- Prepare your application
- Submit your application
- TEQSA’s assessment
- Findings and recommendations
- Decision
- Publication
In addition to the authorisation to provide Australian courses offshore form in the TEQSA Provider Portal, higher education providers will also need to provide a self-assurance report as part of the evidence requirements. TEQSA says that the self-assurance report is an opportunity for providers to demonstrate their “capacity to identify, mitigate and manage risks to quality and integrity in the provision of Australian courses offshore”.
Additional guidance is given on the TEQSA website to prepare the self-assurance report around key considerations relating to corporate governance, academic governance and student participation, support and experience.
TEQSA has nine months to decide on an application, although the legislation enables a longer period of another nine months if determined by TEQSA. Its assessment for authorisation is based on whether the applicant is a registered higher education provider and meets the Threshold Standards.
A fee is also charged for each application. Although the new webpages point to TEQSA’s application-based fees page, as at time of writing no new fees have been added, and if applications for offshore authorisation fall under an existing category, it is not clear to this author.
These requirements follow the passage into law of the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025 (ELA Act) on 5 December 2025. The ELA Act amended the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, introducing a requirement for registered higher education providers to be authorised to offer or confer Australian higher education courses or awards offshore.
Under the amended TEQSA Act, providers are required to:
- apply for authorisation to provide Australian courses offshore on or after 1 January 2026
- notify TEQSA of existing arrangements by Tuesday 3 February 2026 under the transitional arrangements
- notify TEQSA of changes to offshore delivery, such as new course delivery, a change in location of delivery or cessation of offshore delivery
- report annually to TEQSA by 31 October on all offshore delivery, using an annual reporting template that TEQSA says it will co-design during the first few months of 2026
For higher education providers with existing or planned offshore delivery, TEQSA’s expectations around governance, quality assurance and ongoing oversight of TNE are clear. Providers delivering Australian courses offshore will need to ensure they either fall within the transitional arrangements or are prepared to apply for authorisation, supported by a robust self-assurance report based on the Threshold Standards. Ongoing notification and annual reporting obligations will also require providers to maintain accurate, up-to-date records of all offshore activity, with compliance risks now explicitly tied to authorisation, conditions and penalties.
TEQSA wrote to higher education providers in December 2025 outlining the transitional arrangements for existing TNE. These arrangements apply to registered higher education providers that:
- were providing one or more Australian courses of study at offshore premises, or had entered into an arrangement to do so, as at Friday 5 December 2025
- began providing the course(s), or entered into the relevant arrangement, before 9 October 2025, and
- give TEQSA written notice by Tuesday 3 February 2026 of the course being provided offshore, or the arrangement to provide the course offshore.
Further information on notification requirements has also been published on TEQSA’s website, including:
- notification types
- how to submit notifications
- information to be included in notifications
Legislative changes also allow TEQSA to withdraw authorisation or impose additional conditions on providers. It is an offence under the legislation for a higher education provider to deliver TNE without TEQSA authorisation, and civil penalties apply.
