The TEQSA standards Australia applies to every higher education provider are the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021, a single legislative instrument that replaced a patchwork of state and territory approval regimes when TEQSA began operating in 2012. They exist so that a degree from any registered provider, university or not, means the same thing, and so that students, employers and overseas governments can rely on the National Register rather than on a provider's own claims.
This article explains why national standards were needed, what they replaced, how they protect students and the sector's reputation, and how they fit with the AQF and the ESOS Act. It is written from fifteen years of TEQSA registration work and, before that, some memory of the system the standards replaced.
What the Threshold Standards replaced
Before 2012 a non-university provider seeking to offer degrees applied to the state or territory in which it operated. Each jurisdiction had its own criteria, its own assessors and its own timelines, and a provider operating in two states could be approved in one and refused in the other. Universities were largely self-governing under their own Acts. There was no single register a student could check and no consistent standard an employer could rely on.
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 changed that by creating a national regulator with authority over every provider, and the Threshold Standards gave it a single test. Our article on the TEQSA Act covers the statutory mechanics; the point here is that the standards were the first time Australia had one definition of what a higher education provider must be.
What the TEQSA standards Australia now uses contain
The current instrument is the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021. Part A sets out seven domains: student participation and attainment, learning environment, teaching, research and research training, institutional quality assurance, governance and accountability, and representation, information and information management. Part B sets out the criteria for provider categories and for self-accrediting authority.
Two features matter more than the content. The first is that the standards are written in the present tense: a provider meets them or does not, at the time it is assessed and continuously afterwards, which is why TEQSA asks for evidence of operation rather than evidence of documents. The second is that they are threshold standards, the minimum below which a provider may not operate, rather than a description of excellence. Our plain-English guide to the Threshold Standards walks through each domain.
How the standards protect students
The protection is structural. Because the standards apply to every provider, a student choosing a small private college in a regional city is entitled to the same admission transparency, the same quality of teaching staff, the same grievance process and the same certification standards as a student at a large metropolitan university. Domain 1 requires that admission is fair and informed, that credit is granted on defensible grounds, that assessment confirms learning and that qualifications are certified accurately. Domain 2 requires a safe environment and a working complaints process.
The standards also protect students from providers that fail. Registration is granted for a fixed period of up to seven years, renewal requires fresh evidence, and section 29 of the TEQSA Act requires providers to notify material changes within fourteen days. A student on the National Register's list of providers is dealing with an institution that has been examined and will be examined again.
How the standards protect the sector's reputation
Australia's higher education sector earns a large part of its income from international students, and that market depends on the belief that an Australian qualification is reliable. A single national standard, applied by a single regulator, is the guarantee behind that belief. When a provider is found to have breached the standards and TEQSA acts, the action is public, and the sector's reputation is protected by the visible consequence. The role of TEQSA standards in Australian higher education is, in that sense, as much about the sector's collective interest as about any individual provider.
The standards alongside the AQF and ESOS
The Threshold Standards do not stand alone. The Australian Qualifications Framework defines what each qualification level means, from a level 5 diploma to a level 10 doctorate, and the Threshold Standards require that every course meets the AQF specification for its level. TEQSA does not define a bachelor degree; the AQF does, and TEQSA checks that the provider's course conforms.
The ESOS Act 2000 and the National Code 2018 govern the enrolment of overseas students on student visas. A provider must meet the Threshold Standards to be registered and, separately, the National Code to be on CRICOS. The three instruments divide the work: the AQF says what a qualification is, the Threshold Standards say what a provider must be, and ESOS says how overseas students must be treated. A provider that understands the division reads each instrument for what it governs rather than searching one for the requirements of another.
Why I think the standards have worked
In fifteen years I have watched the TEQSA standards Australia adopted turn a fragmented sector into one where a private provider can be, and be seen to be, as rigorous as a university. The standards are not perfect and the regulator is not fast. But the alternative was a system in which the value of a degree depended on which state approved it, and no one who remembers that system wants it back.
Download the Threshold Standards Map
— a one-page map of the seven domains and Part B with the evidence TEQSA reads against each, drawn from our TEQSA registration work with private providers. Get the map
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Frequently asked questions
Are the TEQSA standards the same for universities and private providers?
Yes. Part A of the Threshold Standards applies to every registered provider regardless of category. Part B adds the criteria that distinguish categories such as Australian University and the requirements for self-accrediting authority.
What did TEQSA replace?
Before 2012 non-university providers were approved by individual states and territories under differing criteria, and there was no single national register. The TEQSA Act 2011 created one regulator and the Threshold Standards created one test.
How do the Threshold Standards relate to the AQF?
The AQF defines what each qualification level means. The Threshold Standards require that every accredited course meets the AQF specification for its level, so TEQSA assesses conformity with the AQF rather than defining qualifications itself.
Are TEQSA guidance notes part of the standards?
No. Guidance notes explain how TEQSA interprets particular standards and are useful reading, but they are not themselves Threshold Standards and are not legally binding.
Dr Brendan Moloney is CEO of Darlo Higher Education, Australia's largest specialist TEQSA consultancy. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, is a Cambridge University Press author on governance in higher education, and has advised private providers on registration and course accreditation for more than fifteen years.