Education agent obligations in Australia 2026: what the written agreement must contain

Standard 4 of the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code 2018) answers this directly: a registered provider must enter into a written agreement with every education agent it engages to formally represent it, must enter and maintain that agent's details in PRISMS (Provider Registration and International Student Management System), and the agreement itself must spell out six listed items. The requirements below follow the National Code 2018 text published on the Australian Federal Register of Legislation, as of September 2026.

Standard 4 binds the provider rather than the agent directly. Its mechanism is contractual: the provider must impose the conduct rules on the agent through the agreement, monitor the agent against them, and step in when the agent drifts.

What has to happen before an agent can represent a provider at all?

Two things, under Standard 4.1. First, a written agreement between the provider and each agent it engages to formally represent it. Second, the provider enters the agent's details into PRISMS and keeps those details maintained.

The PRISMS record is not a formality that sits alongside the contract — it is the Commonwealth-side visibility of who is actually recruiting on a provider's behalf. The Commonwealth Department of Education and Training is responsible for managing PRISMS under the ESOS framework, which is why the two obligations sit in the same clause.

What are the six things the written agreement must contain?

Standard 4.2 lists them. An agreement that omits any of the six is not simply incomplete; it fails the standard.

Clause	What the agreement must outline
4.2.1	The responsibilities of the registered provider, including that the provider is responsible at all times for compliance with the ESOS Act and National Code 2018
4.2.2	The provider's requirements of the agent in representing the provider, as set out in Standard 4.3
4.2.3	The provider's processes for monitoring the agent's activities, and for ensuring the agent gives students accurate and up-to-date information about the provider's services
4.2.4	The corrective action the provider may take if the agent does not comply with the agreement, including the corrective action in Standard 4.4
4.2.5	The provider's grounds for terminating the agreement, including termination in the circumstances in Standard 4.5
4.2.6	The circumstances in which information about the agent may be disclosed by the provider and by Commonwealth, state or territory agencies

Two of these deserve emphasis because they are the clauses students most often assume exist without checking. Under 4.2.1, responsibility for ESOS compliance stays with the provider at all times — it does not shift to the agent because the agent filled in the form or gave the advice. Under 4.2.3, the agreement must describe an actual monitoring process aimed at the accuracy and currency of what the agent tells students, not merely a generic statement that the agent will behave well.

What must the provider require of the agent itself?

Standard 4.3 sets four requirements that the provider must impose on its education agent:

• Declare conflicts of interest in writing, and take reasonable steps to avoid them (4.3.1) — the declaration obligation attaches to the agent's duties as an education agent of that provider.
• Observe appropriate levels of confidentiality and transparency in dealings with overseas students or intending overseas students (4.3.2).
• Act honestly and in good faith, and in the best interests of the student (4.3.3).
• Have appropriate knowledge and understanding of the international education system in Australia, including the Australian International Education and Training Agent Code of Ethics (4.3.4).

The pairing in 4.3.1 is the operative one: a written declaration alone is not enough, and avoidance alone is not enough. Both halves are required.

What happens when an agent does not meet those obligations?

Standard 4.4 requires the provider to take immediate corrective action once it becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that the agent — or an employee or subcontractor of that agent — has not complied with the agent's responsibilities under Standards 4.2 and 4.3.

Standard 4.5 is narrower and harder. Where the provider becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that the agent or its employee or subcontractor is engaging in false or misleading recruitment practices, the provider must immediately terminate its relationship with the agent, or require the agent to terminate its relationship with the employee or subcontractor who engaged in those practices. The "or has reason to believe" threshold means a provider cannot wait for a concluded investigation before acting.

When must a provider refuse students from an agent altogether?

Standard 4.6 lists four grounds. Where the provider knows or reasonably suspects the agent to be doing any of these, it must not accept students from that agent:

1. Providing migration advice, unless that agent is authorised to do so under the Migration Act (4.6.1).
2. Engaged in, or having previously engaged in, dishonest recruitment practices — including deliberately attempting to recruit a student where this clearly conflicts with the provider's obligations under Standard 7 (Overseas student transfers) (4.6.2).
3. Facilitating the enrolment of a student the agent believes will not comply with the conditions of his or her visa (4.6.3).
4. Using PRISMS to create CoEs for other than bona fide students (4.6.4).

The migration advice ground is worth reading carefully alongside 4.3.3. An agent may represent a provider on course and enrolment matters, but giving migration advice is a separate activity that requires authorisation under the Migration Act. Suppose an intending student is told that a particular enrolment pathway will lead to a visa outcome: that is migration advice territory, and under 4.6.1 a provider that knows or reasonably suspects its agent is giving it without authorisation must stop accepting students from that agent.

Does Standard 4 also restrict agent commission?

Yes, in one specific situation. Under Standard 4.7, a provider must not give an education agent commission in relation to the recruitment of an overseas student who has commenced studying in a course with another registered provider — unless Standard 4.8 applies.

Standard 4.8 permits commission where the recruitment relates to a student:

• who becomes an accepted student of the provider on or before 31 March 2026 (4.8.1); or
• for the courses delivered by the provider as specified in the CoEs for which the student's student visa was granted (4.8.2); or
• for a course that commences after the student's completion of their principal course of study with the other registered provider (4.8.3).

For anyone reading this after March 2026, the practical effect is that 4.8.2 and 4.8.3 carry the weight, and 4.8.1 is a transitional limb tied to a date that has passed. Treat the current official text as the authority on how 4.8 now operates.

Who enforces this, and what is at stake for the provider?

The ESOS framework is administered across agencies. Under the ESOS Act, ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) is the ESOS agency for vocational education and training providers, and TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) is the ESOS agency for higher education providers; designated State authorities handle school-sector functions. Both ASQA and TEQSA can register providers to deliver courses to overseas students and can investigate and instigate enforcement action for breaches of the ESOS Act and the National Code.

The National Code has legal effect as expressly provided for by the ESOS Act. Breaches by registered providers can therefore result in action under Division 1A of Part 6 of the ESOS Act, including suspension or cancellation of registration. That is the sanction sitting behind all six agreement clauses.

This article is general information only, not personalised legal or migration advice, and it does not create a lawyer–client relationship; anyone applying these rules to their own enrolment or agency arrangement should work from the current official text and from a professional who is authorised to advise on their circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the written agreement have to be lodged with the government?

No. Standard 4.1 requires two separate steps: the provider enters into the written agreement with the agent, and enters and maintains the agent's details in PRISMS. The agreement itself is a provider–agent document; PRISMS holds the agent's details.

Can the agreement leave out the conflict-of-interest clause?

No. Standard 4.2.2 requires the agreement to outline the provider's requirements of the agent as set out in Standard 4.3, and Standard 4.3.1 requires written declaration of conflicts of interest plus reasonable steps to avoid them. Omitting it means the agreement fails Standard 4.2.

Is an education agent allowed to give migration advice?

Only if authorised under the Migration Act. Under Standard 4.6.1, a provider must not accept students from an agent it knows or reasonably suspects is providing migration advice without that authorisation.

Who is responsible if the agent gives a student wrong information?

The provider. Standard 4.2.1 requires the agreement to state that the provider is responsible at all times for compliance with the ESOS Act and the National Code, and Standard 4.2.3 requires the agreement to set out the monitoring processes used to keep the agent's information accurate and up to date.

What triggers immediate termination of an agent relationship?

False or misleading recruitment practices. Under Standard 4.5, where the provider becomes aware or has reason to believe that the agent, or its employee or subcontractor, is engaging in them, the provider must immediately terminate the relationship or require the agent to terminate its relationship with the individual concerned.

Does Standard 4 stop commission on student transfers between providers?

It restricts it. Standard 4.7 prohibits commission for recruiting a student who has already commenced study with another registered provider, except in the three cases in Standard 4.8 — the 31 March 2026 accepted-student case, courses specified in the CoEs for which the visa was granted, and a course commencing after the student completes the principal course elsewhere.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (Part A and Standard 4: Education agents)