Almost 150 tertiary colleges have been shut down for failing to show proof they were offering any training to students, figures have revealed.
The vocational education providers were closed down as part of a crackdown by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, targeting colleges that did not offer proof of providing courses in the past year.
Of the roughly 3800 training organisations in Australia, about 150 had been shut down by the federal government, while warnings had been given to a further 140 so-called “ghost colleges”.
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The colleges given a warning will have until the end of the year to prove they are carrying out quality training.
In one instance, a college had not delivered any training or assessments for students since 2020.
Skills Minister Andrew Giles said colleges that had not been operating for the purposes of providing quality education had been weeded out and shut down.
“The Albanese government is calling time on the rorts and loopholes that have plagued the VET sector for far too long,” he said.
“Under our government, there is no place for anyone who seeks to undermine the sector and exploit students.”
Of the colleges that had been shut down in the past year, 35 per cent came from NSW, while 29 per cent from Queensland and 19 per cent were Victorian institutions.
The closures took place following vocational education laws passing federal parliament earlier this year.
The Senate is currently examining broader changes in the vocational education sector, as part of changes going after unscrupulous colleges targeting foreign students.