{"id":"F2012L00003","name":"Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2011","slug":"higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":126210,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2012L00003-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Chapter 1 PROVIDER REGISTRATION STANDARD","sectionType":"part","heading":"Chapter 1 PROVIDER REGISTRATION STANDARDS","content":"# Chapter 1 PROVIDER REGISTRATION STANDARDS","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Summary Statement to Provider Registrati","sectionType":"part","heading":"Summary Statement to Provider Registration Standards","content":"## Summary Statement to Provider Registration Standards\n\nIn these Standards, unless the contrary intention appears, the terms and phrases used have the same meaning as in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.\n\n1 Provider standing\n\nThe higher education provider is reputable and accountable for the higher education it offers.\n\n2 Financial viability and sustainability\n\nThe higher education provider has the financial resources and financial management capacity to sustain higher education provision consistent with the Provider Registration Standards.\n\n3 Corporate and academic governance\n\nThe higher education provider shows sound corporate and academic governance of its higher education operations.\n\n4 Primacy of academic quality and integrity\n\nThe higher education provider maintains academic quality and integrity in its higher education operations.\n\n5 Management and human resources\n\nThe higher education provider’s higher education operations are well-managed and human resources are appropriate.\n\n6 Responsibilities to students\n\nThe higher education provider defines and meets its responsibilities to students, including the provision of information, support and equitable treatment.\n\n7 Physical and electronic resources and infrastructure\n\nThe higher education provider ensures there are well-maintained physical and electronic resources and infrastructure sufficient to enable the achievement of its higher education objectives, across all its locations in Australia and overseas.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Provider standing","content":"## Section 1 Provider standing\n\nThe higher education provider is reputable and accountable for the higher education it offers.\n\n1.1 The higher education provider has education as a principal purpose, with governance and management of its Australian higher education operations located in Australia.\n\n1.2 Members of the higher education provider’s corporate governing body and the higher education provider’s key personnel demonstrate that they are ‘fit and proper’ persons.\n\n1.3 The higher education provider takes responsibility for the quality of every course of study leading to the higher education award it is accredited to award.\n\n1.4 The higher education provider accurately discloses to TEQSA all information, documents and assistance required by TEQSA, which will include:\n\n• details of the history of the higher education provider, its parent entities, its predecessors and related entities, and the history of all these entities of prior applications for approval to provide education or related services in Australia and overseas;\n\n• any conditions or sanctions placed on approvals including deregistration;\n\n• details of its arrangements with other entities for the delivery of course of study, their history of prior applications for approval to provide education or related services, and of any conditions or sanctions placed on their approvals including deregistration;\n\n• details of the higher education provider’s agents; and,\n\n• details of the higher education provider’s operations, including information which may be classed as commercial-in-confidence information.\n\n1.5 The higher education provider’s history, and the history of its parent entities, its predecessors and related entities, shows a sound track record in managing business operations and in the provision of education or related services at an acceptable level of quality and in accordance with any applicable regulatory or accreditation requirements.\n\n1.6 The higher education provider complies with applicable State/Territory and Commonwealth laws and regulatory requirements.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Financial viability and sustainability","content":"## Section 2 Financial viability and sustainability\n\nThe higher education provider has the financial resources and financial management capacity to sustain higher education operations consistent with the Provider Registration Standards.\n\n2.1 The higher education provider is financially viable and has the capacity to sustain quality in its current and planned higher education operations, using realistic projections of student demand and income from all sources.\n\n2.2 The higher education provider applies, and demonstrates the capacity to continue to apply, sufficient financial resources to ensure the achievement of its higher education objectives.\n\n2.3 The higher education provider has business continuity plans and financial and tuition safeguards in place for students should the higher education provider cease to provide a course of study, cease to operate as a higher education provider or suffer a major incident affecting the operations of the higher education provider.\n\n2.4 Financial aspects of the higher education provider’s higher education operations are well-managed in accordance with legal requirements and Australian accounting standards and the higher education provider has effective arrangements for the detection and prevention of fraud and mismanagement.\n\n2.5 The financial records of the higher education provider are accurate and independently audited by an appropriately qualified auditor.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Corporate and academic governance","content":"## Section 3 Corporate and academic governance\n\nThe higher education provider shows sound corporate and academic governance of its higher education operations.\n\n3.1 The higher education provider has a corporate governing body that has responsibility for oversight of all of the higher education provider’s higher education operations, including conferral of its higher education awards, and to which management is accountable.\n\n3.2 The higher education provider’s corporate governing body has a majority of external members and uses a full range of expertise required for effective governance of the higher education provider, including higher education expertise and independent financial expertise, through its membership and/or through external advisors.\n\n3.3 The higher education provider’s corporate governance arrangements demonstrate a clear distinction between governance and management responsibilities.\n\n3.4 The higher education provider’s corporate governing body regularly monitors potential risks to the higher education provider’s higher education operations and ensures the higher education provider has strategies to mitigate risks that may eventuate.\n\n3.5 The higher education provider’s corporate governing body ensures that all delegations (including financial, academic and managerial) are appropriate, documented, observed and regularly reviewed.\n\n3.6 The higher education provider’s corporate governing body has approved a current strategic plan that:\n\n• shows the higher education provider has clarity about its future directions for higher education;\n\n• identifies key performance indicators;\n\n• is adequately communicated to internal and external stakeholders; and,\n\n• guides management decision-making.\n\n3.7 The higher education provider’s corporate governing body protects the academic integrity and quality of the higher education provider’s higher education operations through academic governance arrangements that provide a clear and discernible separation between corporate and academic governance, including a properly constituted academic board and course advisory committees.\n\n3.8 The higher education provider’s corporate and academic governance arrangements demonstrate:\n\n• the effective development, implementation and review of policies for all aspects of the higher education provider’s academic activities including delivery of the higher education provider’s courses of study by other entities;\n\n• the maintenance of academic standards, with appropriate mechanisms for external input, in accordance with international conventions for good academic practice; and,\n\n• effective quality assurance arrangements for all the higher education provider’s higher education operations, encompassing systematic monitoring, review and improvement.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Primacy of academic quality and integrity","content":"## Section 4 Primacy of academic quality and integrity\n\nThe higher education provider maintains academic quality and integrity in its higher education operations.\n\n4.1 The higher education provider’s objectives for its higher education operations include the cultivation in students of critical and independent thought and the capacity for learning throughout life.\n\n4.2 The higher education provider promotes and protects free intellectual inquiry and expression in its higher education learning, teaching, and research activities.\n\n4.3 The higher education provider protects academic integrity in higher education through effective policies and measures to:\n\n• ensure the integrity of student assessment;\n\n• ensure the integrity of research and research activity;\n\n• prevent, detect and address academic misconduct by students or staff, including cheating and plagiarism;\n\n• ensure that academic staff are free to make public comment on issues that lie within their area of expertise; and,\n\n• ensure that the awarding of multiple awards, including higher education awards offered in conjunction with another entity, protects the integrity of the higher education awards offered by the higher education provider.\n\n4.4 Research carried out under the higher education provider’s auspices meets appropriate codes of conduct, safety, and ethics clearance requirements, and is consistent with legislative or other regulatory requirements and any applicable national guidelines.\n\n4.5 Where the higher education provider has an arrangement in place with another entity to manage or deliver some or all of a course of study on its behalf, the higher education provider has effective mechanisms to manage and quality assure all aspects of the arrangement, including admission and support of students and delivery of the course of study to ensure student learning outcomes equivalent to those for the same or a cognate course of study when delivered by the higher education provider.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"part","heading":"Management and human resources","content":"## Section 5 Management and human resources\n\nThe higher education provider’s higher education operations are well-managed and human resources are appropriate.\n\n5.1 The higher education provider has sufficient appropriately qualified personnel to manage and to provide academic leadership for the higher education provider’s higher education operations.\n\n5.2 The higher education provider has the necessary staff positions, filled by appropriately qualified and experienced personnel, and access to other human resources, to achieve its higher education objectives, which include the achievement of expected student learning outcomes.\n\n5.3 The higher education provider manages its human resources to ensure effective:\n\n• workload management; merit-based selection and promotion processes;\n\n• induction;\n\n• performance review;\n\n• grievance procedures; and,\n\n• professional development of its personnel.\n\n5.4 The higher education provider’s administrative systems, policies, procedures and practices ensure the effective management of its higher education operations.\n\n5.5 The higher education provider maintains adequate records for all its higher education operations, with appropriate confidentiality and security.\n\n5.6 The higher education provider compares its performance on teaching, student learning outcomes, graduate outcomes, and research with other higher education providers, and uses regular, valid and reliable feedback from internal and external stakeholders to improve its higher education operations.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"part","heading":"Responsibilities to students","content":"## Section 6 Responsibilities to students\n\nThe higher education provider documents its responsibilities to students and meets its responsibilities to students, including through the provision of information, support and equitable treatment.\n\n6.1 Prior to enrolment and during their studies, all students are informed about their relationship with the higher education provider, which includes:\n\n• any contractual arrangements;\n\n• the obligations of the higher education provider; and,\n\n• the rights and obligations of the student.\n\n6.2 All students have ready access to information about all charges, conditions, refunds, and costs involved in studying with the higher education provider, including course-specific costs and tuition assurance arrangements.\n\n6.3 The higher education provider and its agents and other entities with which it has arrangements for the delivery of a course of study provide current, accurate, adequate, and openly accessible information for prospective and enrolled students on all matters relating to their studies for higher education awards offered by the higher education provider, including information on:\n\n• the higher education provider offering the higher education award and the higher education awards that will be awarded for each course of study;\n\n• the higher education provider’s registration status and the accreditation status of each course of study;\n\n• formal recognition of each course of study by professional bodies;\n\n• structure, credit points and duration or volume of learning for each course of study;\n\n• admission criteria, recognition of prior learning and credit and articulation to and from other studies;\n\n• content and assessment for each unit in the course of study;\n\n• when and where the course of study will be offered, including the units that will be offered in any teaching period; and,\n\n• availability of student support.\n\n6.4 Students have ready access to effective grievance processes, which enable them to make complaints about any aspect of the higher education provider’s higher education operations, including operations provided by other entities on behalf of the higher education provider, without fear of reprisal, and which provide for review by an appropriate independent third party if internal processes fail to resolve a grievance.\n\n6.5 The higher education provider identifies and adequately meets the varying learning needs of all its students, including:\n\n• the provision of orientation courses and transition support; and,\n\n• ongoing academic language and learning support.\n\n6.6 Students are informed of and have appropriate access to:\n\n• advocacy support, for example in relation to the higher education provider’s academic and procedural rules; and,\n\n• a range of personal support services adequate to meet the needs of the student body, such as counselling, health, welfare, accommodation and career services, provided by appropriately qualified personnel.\n\n6.7 The higher education provider promotes an inclusive and safe culture, ensures there are appropriate security arrangements for all its locations, and advises students of actions they can take to enhance their safety and security both on and off campus.  \n\n6.8 As appropriate to its scale and scope, the higher education provider has student representation within its deliberative and decision-making processes and encourages students to participate in these processes.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"part","heading":"Physical and electronic resources and infrastructure","content":"## Section 7 Physical and electronic resources and infrastructure\n\nThe higher education provider ensures there are safe, well-maintained physical and electronic resources and infrastructure sufficient to enable the achievement of its higher education objectives, across all its locations in Australia and overseas.\n\n7.1 The higher education provider ensures that there are safe, well-maintained facilities and infrastructure sufficient to achieve expected student learning and research outcomes, as appropriate to the scale, scope, location, mode of delivery and nature of its courses of study, including:\n\n• classrooms and other teaching and learning spaces;\n\n• library and/or learning resource centre spaces and collections, and electronic learning resources;\n\n• laboratories and technical facilities;\n\n• appropriate work environments for personnel who are on site, including research students;\n\n• facilities for student support services; and,\n\n• student meeting and recreation areas.\n\n7.2 The higher education provider has adequate IT infrastructure and software to support student learning in its courses of study, including a website with current content, and ensures that students and personnel have ready access to online information and resources.\n\n7.3 The higher education provider ensures that all students, regardless of mode of study, have access to one or more contact people who can respond to queries in a timely manner and has effective arrangements to actively maintain contact with and support students who are remote from or away from its locations.\n\n7.4 The higher education provider maintains the adequacy and security of facilities and resources through effective capital and IT planning and project management, adequate for its scale and scope.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"Chapter 2 PROVIDER CATEGORY STANDARDS","sectionType":"part","heading":"Chapter 2 PROVIDER CATEGORY STANDARDS","content":"# Chapter 2 PROVIDER CATEGORY STANDARDS","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Summary Statement to the Provider Catego","sectionType":"part","heading":"Summary Statement to the Provider Category Standards","content":"## Summary Statement to the Provider Category Standards\n\nDiversity in Australia’s higher education system, both within and between higher education providers, is important to meet diverse and changing student, employer and community expectations. The Provider Category Standards are designed to reflect and formalise key elements of this diversity, through the use of titles that are well-understood internationally and which are meaningful to the general public.\n\nAll providers of higher education that gain registration by TEQSA through meeting the Threshold Standards become ‘Higher Education Providers’. This category title signals to the public that the provider is a bona fide provider of quality higher education in Australia.\n\nHigher education providers are able to seek approval within a particular provider category under subsection 18(1) of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011. There are several provider categories that use the word ‘university’:\n\n• Australian University\n\n• Australian University College\n\n• Australian University of Specialisation\n\n• Overseas University\n\n• Overseas University of Specialisation.\n\nA higher education provider must meet the additional criteria for use of a provider category that uses the word ‘university’.\n\nIf a higher education provider was, immediately before the commencement of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, registered under State or Territory law relating to higher education, the higher education provider will automatically be taken to be a registered higher education provider for the purposes of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.\n\nIn these Standards, unless the contrary intention appears, the terms and phrases used have the same meaning as in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"Chapter 3 PROVIDER COURSE ACCREDITATION ","sectionType":"part","heading":"Chapter 3 PROVIDER COURSE ACCREDITATION STANDARDS","content":"# Chapter 3 PROVIDER COURSE ACCREDITATION STANDARDS","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"Summary Statement to Provider Course Acc","sectionType":"part","heading":"Summary Statement to Provider Course Accreditation Standards","content":"## Summary Statement to Provider Course Accreditation Standards\n\nUnder the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, universities and other higher education providers will have, or may be authorised to have, the authority to self-accredit one, more, or all of their courses of study. Higher education providers that are registered in the “Australian University” provider category and meet the requirements under section 45(1) of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 are authorised under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 to self-accredit each course of study that leads to a higher education award that it offers or confers. Where a higher education provider has this authority with respect to a given course of study, the higher education provider will not need to apply to have that course of study accredited by TEQSA against the criteria listed in the Provider Course Accreditation Standards.\n\nHowever, higher education providers who are authorised to self-accredit remain responsible under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 for ensuring that their self-accredited courses of study comply with the Provider Course Accreditation Standards, and will need to consider the detailed criteria as part of their self-accreditation practice.\n\nWhen conducting compliance assessments under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, consistency with the Provider Course Accreditation Standards will be assessed in relation to both TEQSA-accredited and provider-accredited courses of study.\n\nIn these Standards, unless the contrary intention appears, the terms and phrases used have the same meaning as in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.\n\nStandards for each higher education award\n\n1 Course design is appropriate and meets the Qualification Standards\n\n2 Course resourcing and information is adequate\n\n3 Admission criteria are appropriate\n\n4 Teaching and learning are of high quality\n\n5 Assessment is effective and expected student learning outcomes are achieved\n\n6 Course monitoring, review, updating and termination are appropriately managed","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"Chapter 4 QUALIFICATION STANDARDS","sectionType":"part","heading":"Chapter 4 QUALIFICATION STANDARDS","content":"# Chapter 4 QUALIFICATION STANDARDS","sortOrder":26},{"sectionNumber":"Summary Statement to Qualification Stand","sectionType":"part","heading":"Summary Statement to Qualification Standards","content":"## Summary Statement to Qualification Standards\n\nIn these standards, unless the contrary intention appears, the terms and phrases used have the same meaning as the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.\n\nThese standards apply to the accreditation of all new awards and the reaccreditation of all current higher education awards. As a result, implementation of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) will be complete by 1 January 2015.\n\n1. Higher education awards delivered meet the appropriate criteria\n\n1.1 The higher education provider ensures that awards which may lead to a qualification located at levels 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 of the AQF meet the corresponding specifications (including the levels criteria and qualification type descriptors) described in the AQF (http://www.aqf.edu.au).\n\n1.2 The higher education provider ensures that non-AQF qualifications and awards which may not lead to a qualification located at levels 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 of the AQF meet the criteria defined under Section 1.2 of this document for the delivery of these awards.\n\n2. Certification documentation issued is accurate and protects against fraudulent use\n\nThe higher education provider ensures that it issues appropriate certification documentation and maintains processes to authenticate awards and protect against fraudulent use.\n\n3\\. Articulation, recognition of prior learning and credit arrangements meet the appropriate criteria\n\nThe higher education provider ensures that it maintains processes to provide for the recognition of prior learning, credit transfer and articulation of awards. These processes are designed to maximise the credit students may gain for learning already undertaken, subject to preserving the integrity of learning outcomes and/or discipline requirements of the award to which it applies.","sortOrder":27}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-realtime","completionTokens":2872},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original scope as the foundational standards framework for higher education provider registration and course accreditation under the TEQSA Act 2011. The 2013 amendments noted in the compilation appear to be technical updates to specific provisions rather than expansion into new regulatory areas."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 and Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)","Multiple nested numbering levels (e.g., 1.1.1.1) creating dense structural hierarchy","Conditional requirements varying by provider category (university vs college vs specialist)","Integration of four distinct standard sets (registration, categories, courses, qualifications) in one instrument","Technical terminology requiring external statutory context (e.g., 'self-accrediting authority', 'fit and proper persons')"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation is the national rulebook, enforced by TEQSA, that all Australian higher‑education providers must meet to operate legally. \n\nIt sets minimum standards for registration, who may use the “university” title, course accreditation, and qualification quality—protecting students from poor providers, preventing fraud, and safeguarding Australia’s education reputation."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":8,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument has been amended since first registered: Amendment No. 1 (F2013L00194) altered specific provisions listed in the Table of Amendments. Affected provisions include Chapter 1 Point 2 and Section 2 (financial viability) and several parts of Chapter 3 (Section 4 point 4.2; Section 7 self-accreditation criteria) and Chapter 4 (Section 2 points 2.1.1 and 2.4 relating to certification documentation and statements of attainment). These amendments refine financial, staffing/teaching and self-accreditation criteria and the requirements for identification and presentation of awards (see Table of Amendments entries referencing F2013L00194)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple, detailed substantive domains across Chapters 1–4 (provider standing, finance, governance, academic quality, HR, student responsibilities, infrastructure, course accreditation, qualifications) creating a broad compliance footprint (see Chapter 1 sections 1.1–1.6; Chapter 3 sections 1.1–6.2; Chapter 4 section 1.1).","Extensive documentary and disclosure requirements to TEQSA, including historical, commercial-in-confidence and arrangements with third parties (Chapter 1 s1.4).","Financial assurance and audit obligations (Chapter 1 s2.1–2.5) impose ongoing accounting, audit and continuity planning burdens on providers.","Detailed governance and academic separation expectations with prescribed board composition and quality-assurance processes (Chapter 1 s3.1–3.9) increasing oversight and reporting complexity.","Operational criteria for course design, staffing, assessment, monitoring and teach-out create granular obligations across delivery modes and locations (Chapter 3 s1.1–1.10; s4.1–4.5; s6.1–6.2).","Discretion and thresholds for authorising self-accreditation rest with TEQSA and involve qualitative tests (Chapter 3 s7.1–7.4), producing regulatory uncertainty for some providers.","Dependence on external frameworks and actors: cross-reference to the AQF for qualification rules (Chapter 4 s1.1), professional accreditation expectations (Chapter 3 s1.2; s7.4.6), and state/territory laws (Chapter 1 s1.6).","Requirements affecting student-facing documentation and fraud prevention (testamurs, graduation statements, records of results) create compliance workstreams across admin and registry functions (Chapter 4 s2.1–2.4).","Differentiated provider categories and title-usage criteria (Australian University, University College, Specialisation, Overseas categories) add layered eligibility and transitional rules (Chapter 2 sections 1–6).","Record-keeping, student support, grievance mechanisms and evidence of outcomes (Chapter 1 s6.1–6.8; Chapter 3 s5.4–5.6) increase operational and evidentiary demands on providers."],"plain_english_summary":"This Framework sets minimum, enforceable standards for higher education providers in Australia: who may register, how courses must be designed and resourced, governance and financial requirements, student protections, infrastructure, and rules for using ‘university’ titles and self-accreditation. It applies to any organisation seeking or holding TEQSA registration (Australian and overseas providers) because meeting these standards determines registration, course accreditation, and the ability to self-accredit — which in turn affects providers’ operations, student protections and market position."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011","history":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011/history","analysis":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/higher-education-standards-framework-threshold-standards-2011/documents"}}