Thousands of students stripped of diplomas as Australia shuts down 8 colleges in fake qualification scandal

Australia has shut down eight vocational colleges and cancelled 25,000 qualifications, leaving thousands of students, many international, suddenly without valid diplomas.

The crackdown, led by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), found that the schools failed to meet quality standards, Australia Today reported. The most recent closure was Arizona College, which lost its license in July.

Seven other providers, including Learning Options, SPES Education, Nextgen Tech Institute, Australia Education & Career College, the International Institute of Education and Training (IIET), Gills College and DSA College, have been deregistered since 2024.

These schools mainly offered courses in high-demand migration pathways such as aged care, childcare, social work, automotive repair and IT. But ASQA found the training and graduate outcomes fell far short of requirements.

The revoked qualifications affect about 23,000 students, with diplomas issued between 2023 and 2025 now invalid. About one in five affected students responded to government notices and were given the chance to prove their credentials were legitimate. None succeeded.

ASQA warned the situation poses serious risks in sensitive fields like aged care, mental health, youth work and disability services, ABC News reported.

The revelations come as Australia faces mounting scrutiny over its student visa system. Early last year, the Department of Home Affairs estimated 70,000 foreigners were living in the country illegally, many of them on expired student or tourist visas.

In 2023, a separate investigation led by former Victoria police chief Christine Nixon found criminal networks were exploiting loopholes in the visa system to bring "fake students" into Australia. Around 15% of international vocational students were found to have dropped out but remained in the country to work.

To strengthen enforcement, the Australian government will allocate AU$4.7 million (US$3 million) in 2025–2026 for ASQA to continue investigating suspicious training providers. The agency is currently probing 189 cases across 154 schools, more than half involving international students.

According to the Department of Education, there are about 263,000 international vocational students currently studying in Australia.

Australia has shut down eight vocational colleges and cancelled 25,000 qualifications, leaving thousands of students, many international, suddenly without valid diplomas.

The crackdown, led by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), found that the schools failed to meet quality standards, Australia Today reported. The most recent closure was Arizona College, which lost its license in July.

Seven other providers, including Learning Options, SPES Education, Nextgen Tech Institute, Australia Education & Career College, the International Institute of Education and Training (IIET), Gills College and DSA College, have been deregistered since 2024.

These schools mainly offered courses in high-demand migration pathways such as aged care, childcare, social work, automotive repair and IT. But ASQA found the training and graduate outcomes fell far short of requirements.

The revoked qualifications affect about 23,000 students, with diplomas issued between 2023 and 2025 now invalid. About one in five affected students responded to government notices and were given the chance to prove their credentials were legitimate. None succeeded.

ASQA warned the situation poses serious risks in sensitive fields like aged care, mental health, youth work and disability services, ABC News reported.

The revelations come as Australia faces mounting scrutiny over its student visa system. Early last year, the Department of Home Affairs estimated 70,000 foreigners were living in the country illegally, many of them on expired student or tourist visas.

In 2023, a separate investigation led by former Victoria police chief Christine Nixon found criminal networks were exploiting loopholes in the visa system to bring "fake students" into Australia. Around 15% of international vocational students were found to have dropped out but remained in the country to work.

To strengthen enforcement, the Australian government will allocate AU$4.7 million (US$3 million) in 2025–2026 for ASQA to continue investigating suspicious training providers. The agency is currently probing 189 cases across 154 schools, more than half involving international students.

According to the Department of Education, there are about 263,000 international vocational students currently studying in Australia.