Designated State Authority reports: who investigates school-sector breaches in 2026

When a school provider registered to teach overseas students is suspected of breaching the rules, the body that has to be told before the regulator acts is the designated State authority — and that authority, rather than the regulator, is the one the agency may ask to run the investigation. That allocation is set out in section 87 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), on the Federal Register of Legislation's official text of the Act as of September 2026. The same section also lets the agency move first where, in its own opinion, the circumstances require urgent action.

What has to happen before the ESOS agency acts on a school-sector breach?

Section 87(2) sets the sequence. Before the ESOS agency takes any action under the Act in relation to a possible breach, it must notify the designated State authority for the provider of the possible breach, and it may request that authority to investigate the matter or take any other suitable action.

The two limbs are not the same kind of obligation. Notification is mandatory; the request is discretionary. The Act permits the agency to ask the State authority to investigate, but it does not compel the authority to do so, and the agency is not required to make the request at all.

When does section 87 apply at all?

Three conditions have to line up under section 87(1). The registered provider must be an approved school provider. The ESOS agency must have information suggesting the provider may have breached the Act, the national code, or — where they apply to that provider — the ELICOS Standards or Foundation Program Standards. And the source of that information must not be the designated State authority for the provider.

That third condition is what makes the rule a referral mechanism rather than a general reporting duty. If the State authority is already the source of the information, there is nothing to refer back to it, and section 87 does not apply.

Who is the "ESOS agency" for a school provider?

Section 6C(1) assigns the ESOS agency according to the type of provider:

To the extent that a provider is	the ESOS agency is
a registered higher education provider	TEQSA
a registered VET provider	the National VET Regulator
an approved school provider	the Secretary
a person or entity that provides an ELICOS or a Foundation Program	the entity determined under subsection (2)
a provider not covered by another item of the table	the entity determined under subsection (2)

Two qualifications follow from the rest of the section. Under subsection 6C(2), the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine which entity is the ESOS agency for a provider covered by item 4 or item 5. Under subsection 6C(3), where a provider falls within more than one item, the Minister may determine that one or more entities are the ESOS agencies for that provider and specify the circumstances in which each one acts.

A provider delivering both school courses and an ELICOS is therefore the kind of case where the answer can be split rather than single, depending on what has been determined for it.

Can the ESOS agency act before notifying the State authority?

Yes, but only through the urgent pathway. Section 87(3) provides that despite subsection (2), the ESOS agency may take any action under the Act in relation to the possible breach if, in the agency's opinion, the circumstances of the possible breach require urgent action.

The trigger is the agency's own assessment. The section does not define urgency by reference to a fixed list of situations or a threshold of harm, so the judgment is exercised case by case. Suppose the agency receives information, from a source other than the State authority, suggesting that an approved school provider has breached the national code in a way that affects students who are currently enrolled. Section 87(3) is what allows the agency to act on that information without first completing the notification-and-request sequence in subsection (2).

Why is the designated State authority the one being told?

Because it is the same authority that certifies the provider in the first place. Under section 6B(1), a DSA assessment certificate for an approved school provider states that the authority is satisfied the provider is complying, or will comply, with the Act, the national code and any applicable ELICOS or Foundation Program Standards; that the provider is fit and proper to be registered, where the provider is not an exempt provider; that the provider has the principal purpose of providing education; and that the authority has no reason to believe the provider lacks the clearly demonstrated capacity to provide education of a satisfactory standard, or has not been providing, or will not provide, education of a satisfactory standard.

The certificate also recommends any conditions that should be imposed on the provider's registration and recommends a registration period of no longer than seven years, along with any other matters prescribed by the regulations. A note to the section requires the authority, in deciding whether it is satisfied the provider is fit and proper, to have regard to the matters in subsection 7A(2).

The authority that has already put its name to those statements is the natural body to check whether they still hold. Section 6B also provides for a second instrument: a DSA recommendation certificate, under which the authority recommends that the ESOS agency add one or more courses at one or more locations to the provider's registration, and recommends any conditions to be imposed (subsection 6B(2)). Both kinds of certificate must be in the form approved in writing by the ESOS agency for that provider (subsection 6B(3)) — which is why the agency and the State authority are in ongoing correspondence rather than in contact only when something goes wrong.

Does anything change for public or exempt providers?

One thing does. Section 6D(1) defines an exempt provider as a provider administered by a State education authority; a provider entitled to receive Commonwealth funds under a law of the Commonwealth for recurrent expenditure for the provision of education or training that is not prescribed by the regulations for that purpose; or a provider specified in the regulations. Subsection 6D(2) adds, to avoid doubt, that a private corporate body established in connection with such a provider is not itself covered by that connection alone.

For exempt providers, the assessment certificate does not need to contain the "fit and proper" statement that section 6B(1)(b) requires for providers that are not exempt. The other statements — compliance, principal purpose, and capacity to provide education of a satisfactory standard — still apply.

What this means in practice

Responsibility is divided rather than single. The ESOS agency holds the power to take action under the Act, while the designated State authority holds the school-sector assessment role and is the body the agency must notify and may ask to investigate. This page describes that allocation in general terms only; it is not personalised legal or migration advice, and anyone applying it to a particular enrolment, registration or compliance situation should work from the official text of the legislation and, where the consequences matter, from professional advice. Legislative detail can be amended over time, so the official published text is the version to rely on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who investigates a suspected breach by an approved school provider?

The ESOS agency must notify the designated State authority for the provider of the possible breach, and may request that authority to investigate the matter or take any other suitable action (section 87(2)). The Act does not itself direct the State authority to investigate; it gives the agency the option of asking.

Does the ESOS agency have to wait for the State authority before acting?

Normally the notification comes first, because section 87(2) operates before the agency takes any action under the Act. Section 87(3) carves out an exception: the agency may act first where, in its opinion, the circumstances of the possible breach require urgent action.

What kinds of breaches bring section 87 into play?

A possible breach of the ESOS Act itself, of the national code, or — where they apply in relation to the provider — of the ELICOS Standards or the Foundation Program Standards, as listed in section 87(1)(b). The information only has to suggest a breach; the section is triggered at the suspicion stage, not only after a finding.

What if the information came from the designated State authority itself?

Then section 87 does not apply. Paragraph 87(1)(c) requires that the source of the information not be the designated State authority for the provider, so information originating with that authority falls outside the referral mechanism.

Who is the ESOS agency for a school provider?

Under section 6C(1), the ESOS agency for an approved school provider is the Secretary; registered higher education providers sit with TEQSA and registered VET providers with the National VET Regulator. Where a provider falls within more than one item of the table, the Minister may determine which entity or entities are the ESOS agencies and the circumstances in which each acts (subsection 6C(3)).

What goes into a DSA assessment certificate?

It records the authority's satisfaction on compliance with the Act, the national code and any applicable ELICOS or Foundation Program Standards, on the provider's principal purpose of providing education, and on the absence of any reason to doubt the provider's capacity to provide education of a satisfactory standard (section 6B(1)). It also recommends any conditions and a registration period of no more than seven years.

Are state-administered or public providers treated differently?

Providers administered by a State education authority, and certain Commonwealth-funded providers, are exempt providers under section 6D. For those providers the assessment certificate does not need to include the "fit and proper" statement required by section 6B(1)(b), though the other statements still apply.