During Q&A at last month’s TEQSA Talks, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency’s (TEQSA) revealed that the release of the revised Transnational Education (TNE) toolkit had been delayed and would occur sometime this year. It now appears likely that the toolkit won’t be released until after the passage of legislation requiring higher education providers to be authorised to offer courses offshore.
Last week, the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, introduced the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 (TKN 091025). Part 9 of the Bill covers amendments to the TEQSA Act giving the regulator the power to grant, withdraw and cancel authorisation to offer TNE. Subject to passage of the legislation, an application for authorisation will be required on or after 1 January 2026.
“These changes safeguard our reputation as a world leader in education, here and overseas,” said Clare in Parliament when introducing the Bill. The changes mean that “students who study with an Australian provider overseas will have the same confidence in the quality of an Australian qualification as those who study here”, he said.
The amendments also impose conditions on providers, including a requirement to notify TEQSA of changes to new or existing TNE arrangements, as well as new annual reporting obligations.
New annual reporting requirements
Under the amendments, higher education providers will need to provide TEQSA with information about each offshore course by 31 October each year. A new legislative instrument will specify what must be included in this report.
“The amendments are designed to provide oversight of offshore arrangements whilst also minimising the regulatory burden on Australian providers,” said Clare. Providers will be hoping the instrument is reflective of this intent.
Transitional arrangements
The Bill includes transitional arrangements for existing providers of TNE. While authorisation will be automatic, higher education providers will still be required to notify TEQSA in writing of their current TNE arrangements.
TEQSA Act consultation
The inclusion in the Bill of Part 9 comes at the same that a consultation process is underway into the future regulation of Australian higher education and potential changes to the TEQSA Act; it doesn’t close until Friday, 17 October (TKN 091025).
In July, TEQSA had indicated that the Toolkit would be released in the “next month or so” (TKN250725), but when asked about it in September, the agency said the delay was due to further consultation and changes.
