A critically non-compliant former registered training organisation (RTO) will remain deregistered after the Administrative Review Tribunal (the Tribunal) affirmed the Australian Skills Quality Authority's (ASQA) May 2024 decision to shut it down.
To protect the integrity of the vocational education and training (VET) sector, ASQA cancelled the registration of Barkly International College (BIC) after an extensive compliance investigation.
In December 2024, BIC made an application to the Tribunal for a review of the decision.
Applications from BIC for a stay of the decision were rejected by the Tribunal and on 26 January 2026, General Member R Smith affirmed ASQA's decision, meaning that BIC will remain deregistered.
In her Decision, General Member Smith commented on the serious nature of non-compliance from BIC and its CEO: "The non-compliance was extensive and spanned multiple aspects of [BIC's] operations," she said.
"It was not confined to isolated administrative errors but went to core regulatory obligations relating to training and assessment, quality assurance, governance, certification, marketing, student management and reporting
"Taken cumulatively, the historical non-compliance prior to being put on notice of ASQA's concerns, was serious and systemic. They were not technical or isolated lapses or errors capable of being easily corrected without sustained regulatory oversite. The non-compliance was a direct consequence of poor governance and quality assurance.
"In my view, allowing an organisation to remain registered despite intentional, long standing and serious non-compliance would undermine the regulatory regime and voluntary compliance within the sector."
ASQA CEO Saxon Rice welcomed the Tribunal's decision.
"ASQA's purpose is to ensure quality vocational education and training so that students, industry, governments and the community have confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers," Ms Rice said.
"The quality and integrity of VET providers is a primary focus for ASQA. We are ensuring that there is no place for any provider who seeks to undermine the sector or exploit students, using our regulatory powers to their fullest extent, where necessary, to protect students and the public.
"Students enrolled with a training provider should have confidence that the training and qualification they are receiving is high quality, and industry, governments and the community should have confidence that the Australian VET sector is world class.
"A high-quality VET sector ensures students receive the skills and training necessary to access the work and career opportunities that are critical for securing Australia's future economic growth."
In a separate matter, the Queensland Magistrate's Court convicted the CEO and owner of former RTO Real Estate Training Australia Proprietary Limited, Shane Lowe, for advertising VET courses after ASQA cancelled its registration.
Under section 122 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act (NVR Act), it is an offence for a person to make false or misleading representation about a VET course or qualification in an advertisement, which can include representations on a provider's website. This can include civil penalties.
Late last year, Magistrate Duroux found Mr Lowe guilty of making false or misleading representation in advertisement and fined him $3,000 plus costs, from a possible maximum fine of $18,780, which Magistrate Duroux said was a reduced penalty "to what I would have otherwise imposed" due to the early guilty plea from Mr Lowe.
Magistrate Duroux noted in his sentencing remarks that the representations made by Mr Lowe's companies were "misleading as they would induce a person to believe that the courses on offer were VET courses, specifically a Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice".
"I do not believe the offending is trivial at all, in any way, shape or form," he said.
Ms Rice said the conviction was an important reminder for providers and other non-registered entities connected to the VET sector to ensure that they accurately and honestly represent the courses they advertise so that students can make a fully informed decision prior to enrolment.
"It is vitally important that current students, potential students and the wider public have complete and clear information when choosing a course to enrol in, including about with whom they are enrolling.
