{"id":"F2017L00630","name":"Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017","slug":"tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":96402,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L00630-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017","content":"![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\nTertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017\n\nmade under section 204 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011\n\nCompilation No. 04\n\nCompilation date: 4 August 2022\n\nIncludes amendments up to: Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 – Amendment No. 2 of 2022 (F2022L01040)\n\nAbout this compilation\n\nThis compilation\n\nThis is a compilation of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 that shows the text of the law as amended and in force on 4 August 2022 (the compilation date).\n\nThe notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information about amending laws and the amendment history of provisions of the compiled law.\n\nUncommenced amendments\n\nThe effect of uncommenced amendments is not shown in the text of the compiled law. Any uncommenced amendments affecting the law are accessible on the Legislation Register (www.legislation.gov.au). The details of amendments made up to, but not commenced at, the compilation date are underlined in the endnotes. For more information on any uncommenced amendments, see the series page on the Legislation Register for the compiled law.\n\nApplication, saving and transitional provisions for provisions and amendments\n\nIf the operation of a provision or amendment of the compiled law is affected by an application, saving or transitional provision that is not included in this compilation, details are included in the endnotes.\n\nModifications\n\nIf the compiled law is modified by another law, the compiled law operates as modified but the modification does not amend the text of the law. Accordingly, this compilation does not show the text of the compiled law as modified. For more information on any modifications, see the series page on the Legislation Register for the compiled law.\n\nSelf‑repealing provisions\n\nIf a provision of the compiled law has been repealed in accordance with a provision of the law, details are included in the endnotes.\n\n1 Name of Guidelines\n\nThese Guidelines are the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017.\n\n3 Objects\n\n(a) These Guidelines set out the Commonwealth authorities and the State or Territory authorities to which Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) may disclose higher education information under section 189 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act).\n\n(b) These Guidelines also set out the Commonwealth authorities and the State or Territory authorities to which TEQSA may disclose higher education information under section 194 of the TEQSA Act.\n\n4 Interpretation\n\nIn these Guidelines:\n\nAct means the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011.\n\nCommonwealth authority has the same meaning as it has in the Act.\n\nHigher education information has the same meaning as it has in the Act.\n\nState or Territory authority has the same meaning as it has in the Act.\n\nTertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency or TEQSA has the same meaning as in the Act.\n\n5 Disclosing higher education information\n\nThe authorities to which TEQSA may disclose higher education information under sections 189 and 194 of the TEQSA Act can be found in Schedule A.\n\nSchedule A\n\n```html\n

Profession-specific Commonwealth, State or Territory authorities

Item

Name of authority

1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board

2

ACT Architects Board

2A

ACT Audit Office

3

ACT Education Directorate

3A

ACT Integrity Commission

4

ACT Ombudsman

5

ACT Policing

6

ACT Teacher Quality Institute

7

Architects Board of Western Australia

8

Architects Registration Board of Victoria

9

Architectural Practice Board of South Australia

9A

Auditor-General’s Department (SA)

9B

Audit Office of New South Wales

9C

AUSTRAC

10

Australian Bureau of Statistics

11

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

12

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority

12A

Australian Communications and Media Authority

13

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

14

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

15

Australian Federal Police

16

Australian Financial Security Authority

17

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

17A

Australian National Audit Office

18

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

19

Australian Research Council

20

Australian Securities and Investment Commission

21

Australian Skills Quality Authority

22

Australian Taxation Office

23

Australian Trade and Investment Commission

24

Board of Architects of Queensland

25

Board of Architects of Tasmania

26

Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland

27

Board of Surveying and Spatial Information (NSW)

28

Chinese Medicine Board of Australia

29

Chiropractic Board of Australia

30

Commission for Children and Young People (VIC)

30A

Corruption and Crime Commission (WA)

30B

Crime and Corruption Commission (QLD)

31

Dental Board of Australia

32

Department for Innovation and Skills (SA)

33

Department of Communities (WA)

34

Department of Education (NSW)

35

Department of Education (NT)

36

Department of Education (QLD)

37

Department of Education (SA)

38

Department of Education (TAS)

39

Department of Education (WA)

40

Department of Education and Training (VIC)

41

Department of Education

41A

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

42

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

43

Department of Health and Human Services (VIC)

44

Department of Home Affairs

45

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

46

Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (VIC)

47

Department of Premier and Cabinet (NSW)

48

Education Standards Board SA

49

Fair Work Ombudsman

49A

Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (VIC)

49B

Independent Commission Against Corruption (NSW)

49C

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (SA)

49D

Integrity Commission Tasmania

50

Land Surveyors Licensing Board of Western Australia

51

Legal Practice Board of Western Australia

52

Legal Practitioners Admission Board (ACT)

53

Legal Practitioners Admissions Board (QLD)

54

Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council (SA)

55

Legal Profession Admission Board (NSW)

56

Legal Profession Board of Tasmania

57

Medical Board of Australia

58

Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia

59

New South Wales Education Standards Authority

59A

Northern Territory Auditor-General’s Office

60

Northern Territory Police

61

NSW Architects Registration Board

62

NSW Fair Trading - Building Professionals Board

63

NSW Police Force

64

NT Architects Board

65

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

66

Occupational Therapy Board of Australia

66A

Office of the Auditor General (Western Australia)

67

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman

67A

Office of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (NT)

68

Office of The Surveyor-General (ACT)

69

Office of the Training Advocate (SA)

70

Ombudsman NSW

71

Ombudsman NT

72

Ombudsman SA

73

Ombudsman Tasmania

74

Ombudsman Western Australia

75

Optometry Board of Australia

76

Osteopathy Board of Australia

77

Pharmacy Board of Australia

78

Physiotherapy Board of Australia

79

Podiatry Board of Australia

80

Psychology Board of Australia

80A

Queensland Audit Office

81

Queensland College of Teachers

82

Queensland Ombudsman

83

Queensland Police Service

84

South Australia Police

85

Surveyors Board of the Northern Territory

86

Surveyors Board of Queensland

87

Surveyors Board (SA)

88

Surveyors Registration Board of Victoria

89

Tasmania Police

89A

Tasmanian Audit Office

90

Tax Practitioners Board

91

Teachers Registration Board of South Australia

92

Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania

93

Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory

94

Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia

95

The Legal Practitioners Admission Board (NT)

96

The Office of the Surveyor General (TAS)

97

Trade & Investment Queensland

98

Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board

99

Valuers Registration Board of Queensland

100

Veterinary Board of Tasmania

101

Veterinary Board of the Northern Territory

102

Veterinary Practitioners Board (ACT)

103

Veterinary Practitioners Board of NSW

104

Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria

105

Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland

106

Veterinary Surgeons Board of South Australia

107

Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Western Australia

108

Victoria Police

108A

Victorian Auditor-General’s Office

109

Victorian Institute of Teaching

110

Victorian Legal Admissions Board

111

Victorian Ombudsman

112

Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority

113

Western Australia Police Force

\n```\n\n \n\n> Note: Endnotes\n\n> Note: Endnote 1—About the endnotes\n\nThe endnotes provide information about this compilation and the compiled law.\n\nThe following endnotes are included in every compilation:\n\nEndnote 1—About the endnotes\n\nEndnote 2—Abbreviation key\n\nEndnote 3—Legislation history\n\nEndnote 4—Amendment history\n\nAbbreviation key—Endnote 2\n\nThe abbreviation key sets out abbreviations that may be used in the endnotes.\n\nLegislation history and amendment history—Endnotes 3 and 4\n\nAmending laws are annotated in the legislation history and amendment history.\n\nThe legislation history in endnote 3 provides information about each law that has amended (or will amend) the compiled law. The information includes commencement details for amending laws and details of any application, saving or transitional provisions that are not included in this compilation.\n\nThe amendment history in endnote 4 provides information about amendments at the provision (generally section or equivalent) level. It also includes information about any provision of the compiled law that has been repealed in accordance with a provision of the law.\n\nMisdescribed amendments\n\nA misdescribed amendment is an amendment that does not accurately describe how an amendment is to be made. If, despite the misdescription, the amendment can be given effect as intended, then the misdescribed amendment can be incorporated through an editorial change made under section 15V of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\nIf a misdescribed amendment cannot be given effect as intended, the amendment is not incorporated and “(md not incorp)” is added to the amendment history.\n\n> Note: Endnote 2—Abbreviation key\n\n| ad = added or inserted | orig = original |\n| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |\n| am = amended | par = paragraph(s)/subparagraph(s) |\n| amdt = amendment | /sub‑subparagraph(s) |\n| c = clause(s) | pres = present |\n| C[x] = Compilation No. x | prev = previous |\n| Ch = Chapter(s) | (prev…) = previously |\n| def = definition(s) | Pt = Part(s) |\n| Dict = Dictionary | r = regulation(s)/rule(s) |\n| disallowed = disallowed by Parliament | reloc = relocated |\n| Div = Division(s) | renum = renumbered |\n| exp = expires/expired or ceases/ceased to have | rep = repealed |\n| effect | rs = repealed and substituted |\n| F = Federal Register of Legislation | s = section(s)/subsection(s) |\n| gaz = gazette | Sch = Schedule(s) |\n| LA = Legislation Act 2003 | Sdiv = Subdivision(s) |\n| LIA = Legislative Instruments Act 2003 | SLI = Select Legislative Instrument |\n| (md not incorp) = misdescribed amendment | SR = Statutory Rules |\n| cannot be given effect | Sub‑Ch = Sub‑Chapter(s) |\n| mod = modified/modification | SubPt = Subpart(s) |\n| No. = Number(s) | underlining = whole or part not |\n| o = order(s) | commenced or to be commenced |\n| Ord = Ordinance | |\n\n> Note: Endnote 3—Legislation history\n\n| Name | Registration | Commencement | Application, saving and transitional provisions |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |\n| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 | 31 May 2017F2017L00630 | 1 June 2017 | _ |\n| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 – (Amendment) No. 1 of 2020 | 23 December 2020F2020L01702 | 24 December 2020 | _ |\n| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 – Amendment No. 2 of 2021 | 18 June 2021F2021L00783 | 19 June 2021 | _ |\n| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 – Amendment No.1 of 2022 | 1 April 2022F2022L00487 | 2 April 2022 | _ |\n| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Information) Guidelines 2017 – Amendment No.2 of 2022 | 3 August 2022F2022L01040 | 4 August 2022 | _ |\n\n> Note: Endnote 4—Amendment history\n\n| Provision affected | How affected |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| s 2 | rep LA s 48D |\n| Schedule ARepeal Item and Substitute | rs F2020L01702 |\n| Schedule ARepeal Item and Substitute | rs F2021L00783 |\n| Schedule AItem 2A………………………….Item 3A………………………….Item 9A………………………….Item 9B………………………….Item 9C………………………….Item 12A………………………...Item 17A………………………...Item 30A………………………...Item 30B………………………...Item 40………………………......Item 41………………………......Item 41AItem 49A………………………...Item 49B………………………...Item 49C………………………...Item 49D………………………...Item 59A………………………...Item 60………………………......Item 61………………………......Item 62………………………......Item 63………………………......Item 64………………………......Item 66A………………………...Item 67A………………………...Item 80A………………………...Item 85………………………......Item 86………………………......Item 87………………………......Item 89………………………......Item 89A………………………...Item 90………………………......Item 91………………………......Item 92………………………......Item 108A………………………. | ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L01040ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487am F2022L00487am F2022L00487am F2022L01040ad F2022L01040ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487rs F2022L00487rs F2022L00487rs F2022L00487rs F2022L00487rs F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487ad F2022L00487am F2022L00487am F2022L00487am F2022L00487rs F2022L00487ad F2022L00487rs F2022L00487am F2022L00487am F2022L00487ad F2022L00487 |\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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument's core purpose — to name recipient authorities — is the same as originally intended. However, successive amendments have materially broadened the list in Schedule A by adding multiple Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies (see endnote/amendment history). That expansion increases the practical scope of authorised disclosure recipients: more auditing, law‑enforcement, regulatory and professional bodies are explicitly authorised to receive TEQSA higher education information than under the original 2017 schedule. The Guidelines therefore remain narrowly focused in form but have grown in recipient scope through additions recorded in the amendment history."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with 5 numbered provisions (including name, objects, interpretation, disclosure point) plus Schedule A","Schedule A contains a long, explicit list (over 110) of named recipient authorities, increasing practical complexity though not legal logic","Key terms are not redefined locally; the Guidelines rely on definitions in the TEQSA Act (cross‑reference to external Act increases cognitive overhead)","Legal effect depends on cross‑referenced statutory sections (TEQSA Act s 189 and s 194) — requires reading the Act to understand disclosure tests and limits","Amendment history shows multiple additions to Schedule A across several years (frequent updates to list increases maintenance complexity)","Low conditional/branching logic — largely a declarative list rather than nested exceptions, which lowers structural complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanics)\n\n- These are administrative \"Information Guidelines\" made under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011. They do one narrow, concrete thing: specify which Commonwealth, State or Territory authorities TEQSA (the national higher‑education regulator) is allowed to disclose \"higher education information\" to under two specific powers in the Act (sections 189 and 194). (See Objects, s 3; Disclosing, s 5.)\n\n- The Guidelines adopt the same technical terms used in the Act (for example, \"Act\", \"Commonwealth authority\", \"higher education information\", \"State or Territory authority\", and \"TEQSA\") rather than redefining them locally (Interpretation, s 4).\n\n- The list of authorised recipients is contained in Schedule A. That schedule names over a hundred specific bodies — federal agencies, state education departments, professional registration boards, police forces, ombudsmen and audit offices, anti‑corruption/compliance bodies, and others — each identified as an authority to which TEQSA may disclose higher education information (Disclosing, s 5; Schedule A).\n\nWho it affects\n\n- TEQSA: the Guidelines tell TEQSA who it may lawfully share higher education information with when exercising its disclosure powers in the Act. TEQSA remains the decision‑maker about whether to disclose in a particular case, subject to the Act's conditions.\n\n- The listed recipient authorities: these bodies gain a lawful route to receive TEQSA's higher education information for their statutory functions (for example audits, investigations, regulation, national statistics, law enforcement and professional registration matters).\n\n- Higher education providers, students and staff: they are indirectly affected because information TEQSA holds (which can include provider performance, registration, compliance and other higher education data as defined in the Act) may be shared with the authorities named in Schedule A. The Guidelines do not change what TEQSA may collect or the Act's privacy/handling rules — they only identify authorised external recipients.\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose, tested against trade‑offs)\n\n- Official purpose: the Guidelines operationalise the Act's disclosure powers by listing the legitimate recipients. That enables data sharing for oversight, investigation, audit, policy and other statutory functions without additional case‑by‑case instruments (Objects, s 3; Disclosing, s 5).\n\n- Practical trade‑offs and incentive structure:\n - Who decides: TEQSA decides whether to disclose particular information in particular cases, relying on the Act's disclosure rules; the Guidelines simply set the pool of eligible recipient agencies (s 5, Schedule A).\n - Concentrated benefits: the named recipients — audit offices, police, registration boards, education departments and others — get direct benefit from faster lawful access to TEQSA data to perform their statutory roles.\n - Diffuse costs and risks: the primary costs are potential risks to privacy and reputational exposure for providers, students and staff if more parties can access regulator data. Those costs are spread across many people and institutions rather than concentrated on one recipient.\n - Administrative cost and implementation: TEQSA bears the implementation cost of managing disclosures (assessment, redaction, secure transfer, record‑keeping). Recipients must handle, secure and use the data appropriately under their own rules. The Guidelines simplify recipient identity but do not remove operational workload.\n - Effects on private actors: the Guidelines do not directly change market prices, ownership or competition. They can influence private behaviour indirectly — providers may be more cautious in communications or in the documents they give TEQSA if they expect broader sharing of regulator information, and professional bodies may use the information to enforce standards affecting practitioners' ability to work.\n - Bureaucratic discretion and capture risk: the instrument centralises a broader set of authorised recipients; that increases the number of bodies that can request/receive information. The Guidelines themselves do not create new discretion, but a broader recipient list increases the number of actors with legitimate access, which can raise the risk of mission creep unless disclosure decisions remain tightly bound by the Act's conditions.\n\nCosts, opportunity cost and unintended consequences to note\n\n- The Guidelines reduce friction for authorised inter‑agency sharing (benefit), but they can also increase privacy footprints and the number of hands through which sensitive regulator information passes (cost). The text does not quantify these costs; it simply names recipients.\n\n- The instrument is administrative and lists recipients; it does not change TEQSA's statutory disclosure thresholds or the Act's privacy and confidentiality protections. Any changes in outcomes therefore depend on how TEQSA and recipients exercise existing powers.\n\nKey legal pointers (where to look in the instrument)\n\n- Objects describing purpose: s 3.\n- Definitions: s 4 (the Guidelines rely on the Act's definitions).\n- Which authorities may receive information: s 5 and Schedule A.\n\nConcise takeaway\n\n- This is a short, technical instrument that lists which public authorities TEQSA may disclose higher‑education information to under the TEQSA Act. It matters because it broadens or clarifies who can lawfully receive regulator data, with benefits for oversight and enforcement but with corresponding privacy and administrative trade‑offs. The Guidelines do not themselves change the Act's substantive disclosure tests — they only name the eligible recipients (s 3, s 5, Schedule A)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Guidelines have remained true to their original purpose: listing authorities authorised to receive TEQSA information. While the list has grown from the original 2017 version (adding anti-corruption bodies, audit offices, and various police forces through amendments in 2020–2022), this expansion represents the natural evolution of information-sharing needs rather than a fundamental shift in scope. The core mechanism — a simple permissions list — remains unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument: only 5 substantive sections plus a schedule","Minimal defined terms (4 definitions, all referencing the parent Act)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or cross-referencing beyond the parent Act","Schedule A is a simple table list of 113 authorities with no hierarchical structure or operational rules","No substantive amendments altering the structure — only additions to the list of authorities"],"plain_english_summary":"These Guidelines publish a formal list of Commonwealth, State and Territory government bodies that TEQSA may share higher‑education information with. It affects universities and providers (whose data may be disclosed), the named agencies (police, accreditation boards, auditors, education regulators, etc.), and students and staff whose personal or operational information TEQSA holds.\n\nWhy it matters: TEQSA normally keeps data confidential; this is a permissions list allowing—but not requiring—information sharing for accreditation, enforcement, oversight, and similar purposes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017","history":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/tertiary-education-quality-and-standards-agency-information-guidelines-2017/documents"}}