15Unlawful conferral of higher education qualifications

#### 15 Unlawful conferral of higher education qualifications 15 Unlawful conferral of higher education qualifications > > (1) A person must not represent that an Australian institution has conferred, or is authorised to confer, a degree or post-graduate qualification unless: > > > > > (a) the institution was or is, as the case requires: > > > > > > > (i) an Australian or overseas university, or > > > > > > > (ii) an Australian or overseas higher education institution, and > > > > > (b) the degree or post-graduate qualification was conferred or is authorised to be conferred, as the case requires, in connection with a person’s successful completion of: > > > > > > > (i) a higher education course, or > > > > > > > (ii) a thesis, dissertation or other body of research, and > > > > > (c) in the case of a degree or post-graduate qualification conferred, otherwise than by an Australian university, in connection with a person’s successful completion of a higher education course: > > > > > > > (i) the course was or is, as the case requires, accredited under Division 2 in relation to the institution, or > > > > > > > (ii) if the institution was or is an overseas university or higher education institution, the course was or is, as the case requires, approved in accordance with the National Protocols. > > > > Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units. > > > (2) Subsection (1) (b) and (c) do not apply to the conferral of honorary degrees: > > > > > (a) by an Australian or overseas university, or > > > > > (b) by any other education institution that the Minister may from time to time authorise to confer honorary degrees. > > **s 15:** Am 2008 No 14, Sch 1 \[10\].