{"id":"F2019L01682","name":"Higher Education Support (Fit and Proper Person) Instrument 2019","slug":"higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440347,"registerId":"F2019L01682-fast-fetch-1775956011803","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Higher Education Support (Fit and Proper Person) Instrument 2019","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nHigher Education Support (Fit and Proper Person) Instrument 2019\n\nI, Dan Tehan, Minister for Education, make the following instrument.\n\nDated 18 December 2019\n\nDan Tehan\n\nMinister for Education\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Schedules\n\nPart 2—Fit and proper person\n\n6 Fit and proper person\n\n7 Compliance with the law\n\n8 Financial record\n\n9 Management history\n\n10 Provision of information\n\n11 Previous conduct and involvements\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nFit and Proper Person Specified Matters 2012\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Higher Education Support (Fit and Proper Person) Instrument 2019.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 21 December 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the following provisions of the Higher Education Support Act 2003:\n\n (a) subsection 16‑25(4);\n\n (b) subclause 6(4) of Schedule 1A.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in Schedule 1 to the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) higher education provider;\n\n(b) National VET Regulator;\n\n(c) TEQSA;\n\n(d) VET provider.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Higher Education Support Act 2003.\n\n5  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\nPart 2—Fit and proper person\n\n \n\n6  Fit and proper person\n\n (1) This Part is made for the purposes of:\n\n (a) subsection 16‑25(4) of the Act; and\n\n (b) subclause 6(4) of Schedule 1A to the Act.\n\n (2) The Minister must, in deciding whether the Minister is satisfied that a person is a fit and proper person, take into account the matters specified in this Part.\n\n7  Compliance with the law\n\n (1) The Minister must have regard to whether the person has been convicted of an offence against, or ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty under, a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory.\n\nNote: Part VIIC of the Crimes Act 1914 includes provisions that, in certain circumstances, relieve persons from the requirement to disclose spent convictions and require persons aware of such convictions to disregard them.\n\n (2) If the person has been so convicted or ordered, the Minister must have regard to the seriousness of the offence or contravention concerned.\n\n (3) The Minister must have regard to whether the person is currently involved in proceedings before a court or tribunal.\n\n8  Financial record\n\n  The Minister must have regard to whether the person:\n\n (a) has been insolvent or bankrupt; or\n\n (b) has taken steps to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or\n\n (c) has compounded with one or more creditors; or\n\n (d) has assigned remuneration for the benefit of one or more creditors; or\n\n (e) has been under external administration (within the meaning of subsection 600H(2) of the Corporations Act 2001); or\n\n (f) has outstanding debts to the Commonwealth.\n\n9  Management history\n\n (1) The Minister must have regard to whether one or more of the following has been cancelled, revoked or suspended:\n\n (a) the person’s registration as a registered training organisation or registered higher education provider;\n\n (b) the person’s approval as an approved course provider (within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016), VET provider or higher education provider;\n\n (c) subsidy funding arrangements with a State or Territory for the provision of education by the person.\n\n (2) The Minister must have regard to whether the provider has:\n\n (a) had a condition imposed on a registration, approval or arrangement mentioned in subsection (1); or\n\n (b) breached such a condition.\n\n (3) The Minister must have regard to whether the person has been disqualified from managing corporations under Part 2D.6 of the Corporations Act 2001.\n\n10  Provision of information\n\n  The Minister must have regard to whether the person has provided false or misleading information to any of the following in circumstances where it is reasonable to assume that the person knew that the information was false or misleading:\n\n (a) a body of a State or Territory that registers educational providers;\n\n (b) the National VET Regulator;\n\n (c) TEQSA;\n\n (d) a tuition assurance administrator (within the meaning of the Higher Education Provider Guidelines 2012);\n\n (e) the Minister, the Department or the Secretary;\n\n (f) an authority of a State or Territory that deals with subsidy funding arrangements for education.\n\n11  Previous conduct and involvements\n\n (1) The Minister must have regard to whether the person has previously been found not to be a fit and proper person for the purposes of one or more of the following:\n\n (a) the Act;\n\n (b) the Australian Education Act 2013;\n\n (c) the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000;\n\n (d) the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011;\n\n (e) the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011;\n\n (f) the VET Student Loans Act 2016;\n\n (g) the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015;\n\n (h) subsidy funding arrangements with a State or Territory for the provision of education.\n\n (2) The Minister must have regard to whether the person, or any person engaged to act for or on behalf of the person, has engaged in conduct that reasonably suggests a deliberate pattern of unethical behaviour, or of acting inconsistently with laws of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, in relation to the provision of education or training.\n\n (3) The Minister must have regard to:\n\n (a) whether the person has previously been involved in a business that provided education; and\n\n (b) whether, at the time of that involvement, the business would have been a fit and proper person for the purposes of paragraph 16‑25(1)(g) of the Act.\n\n (4) The Minister must have regard to any other matter relevant to the honesty, knowledge or ability of the person.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nFit and Proper Person Specified Matters 2012\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument maintains its original narrow purpose: specifying matters for the 'fit and proper person' test under the Higher Education Support Act 2003. It directly replaces the 2012 instrument without expanding into new policy areas or adding significant new categories of consideration beyond updating references to contemporary legislation (e.g., VET Student Loans Act 2016 replacing earlier schemes)."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 11 substantive sections plus preliminary matters","Minimal defined terms: only 1 explicit definition ('Act'), with others incorporated by reference from the parent Act","Simple structure: linear list of mandatory considerations without nested exceptions or conditional triggers","No cross-referencing maze: references are straightforward citations to parent Act sections and other education legislation","Clear operative language: repeated use of 'The Minister must have regard to' creates predictable, uniform obligations"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets mandatory rules the Minister for Education must follow when deciding if someone is a “fit and proper person” to run a higher-education or VET provider that receives government funding. It affects applicants, existing approved providers, and their directors/key managers.\n\nIts purpose is gatekeeping: to block dishonest, financially unstable, or poorly managed operators from accessing taxpayer-funded student loans and subsidies, protecting students and public funds."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the earlier Fit and Proper Person Specified Matters 2012 (Schedule 1) and restates the matters the Minister must consider when assessing fitness and propriety (Part 2, ss6–11). The text therefore replaces the prior instrument, but the instrument itself does not explicitly state whether the substantive criteria are broader or narrower than the 2012 instrument; a direct comparison of both instruments is required to determine substantive change. Definitions and some operative terms remain dependent on the Act (s4)."},"complexity_factors":["Discretionary standard: the Minister must 'have regard to' listed matters but the instrument does not set a determinative test or threshold for satisfaction (s6).","Multiple substantive categories to assess (compliance, financial record, management history, information provision, previous conduct) increase decision points (ss7–11).","Cross‑references to other statutes and external definitions require reading alongside the Act, Corporations Act and other education laws (definitions drawn from Schedule 1 to the Act; insolvency/external administration references to Corporations Act s600H(2); spent convictions note refers to Crimes Act) (s4 note; s8(e); s7 note).","Inter-agency factual sources: assessments may rely on findings or actions by TEQSA, the National VET Regulator, state registration bodies, tuition assurance administrators and others, creating evidentiary complexity (s10).","Retrospective and reputational inquiries: the instrument requires consideration of past cancellations, suspensions, conditions or disqualifications, which can involve historical records and variable standards of proof (s9, s11).","Overlap with other regulatory decisions: prior findings under various education Acts and standards feed into the evaluation, so the Minister’s exercise may duplicate or rely on other regulators' determinations (s11(1)).","Ambiguity in scope of 'person' and what documentary proof is required — the instrument defers definitions and procedural detail to the Act and other instruments (s4; s6(2)).","Repeal action: the instrument repeals the 2012 Fit and Proper Person Specified Matters, requiring practitioners to compare instruments to determine practical changes (Schedule 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument tells the Education Minister what specific factors to consider when deciding whether a person is a “fit and proper person” for higher‑education registration, approvals or funding. It lists matters such as criminal convictions, insolvency or external administration, cancelled registrations or conditions, false or misleading information, and prior conduct. The Minister must “have regard to” these matters. The instrument also repeals the 2012 fit‑and‑proper instrument. It affects higher‑education and VET providers, their managers, and applicants for registration or funding."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019","history":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/higher-education-support-fit-and-proper-person-instrument-2019/documents"}}