'Fit and proper' and 'principal purpose': Australian provider registration tests in 2026

Under section 10 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, the ESOS agency for a provider may register that provider to deliver a course — or courses — at a location, or locations, if the provider meets the registration requirements, and it must apply a risk management approach when deciding whether to register. According to the Federal Register of Legislation's official text of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, that is the whole of section 10: subsection (1) makes the registration requirements the trigger for registering a provider to provide a course or courses at a location or locations, subsection (2) requires the ESOS agency to use a risk management approach, and the note points to the Minister's power under section 14C. Section 10 does not itself state what the registration requirements contain. The fit and proper person test, the principal purpose test and the course-delivery standards are not dealt with in sections 10, 100 to 103 or 107; they have to be read from the provisions and instruments that set them out and confirmed against the most recent official versions. What those sections do provide is set out below. This is general information about how the Act is put together, not advice on any particular application; a provider's own position has to be checked against the current official text and, where the exposure is material, against professional advice.

Who makes the registration call, and what exactly gets registered?

The decision sits with "the ESOS agency for the provider", acting on an application made under section 9. The grant is not a general licence to teach: section 10(1) describes registration as being "to provide a course or courses at a location or locations". A provider that later wants to add a course, or teach an existing course somewhere new, is asking the agency to register something the original grant did not cover.

That framing matters for anyone assembling an application. The registration requirements are assessed against a defined course at a defined campus, so governance, staffing and delivery evidence tends to be examined in that concrete setting rather than in the abstract.

How does section 10 operate in practice?

Section 10 does not set out the content of the registration requirements; it makes them the trigger for registration and separately requires the ESOS agency to use a risk management approach when considering whether to register the provider.

The practical consequence is that registration is not a mechanical outcome. Section 10 says the agency "may" register rather than that it must, and subsection (2) requires it to use a risk management approach when considering whether to register the provider.

Can a ministerial determination stop an application from being dealt with?

Yes, and this sits outside the applicant's control. The note to section 10 points to section 14C, under which the Minister may determine that the ESOS agency for a provider is not required to, or must not, deal with applications for registration for a period.

The planning consequence is straightforward: a complete, well-documented application can still be met with a period during which the agency cannot or need not process it. Anyone building an intake calendar around a new registration should check whether such a determination is in force before committing to recruitment dates.

What binds a provider once it is on the Register?

Registration is not the end of the assessment. The Act gives the Immigration Minister a suspension certificate mechanism, and the surrounding obligations are worth reading as a set.

Mechanism	Operative rule	Duration or penalty
Immigration Minister's suspension certificate (s 100, s 102)	Takes effect on the day it states; may be revoked at any time by written notice; a further certificate may be given unless the provider satisfies the Minister by the end of the period	Remains in effect for 6 months from the day it takes effect
Offering or promoting courses while a certificate is in force (s 101)	Offence to make an offer, invite a student to undertake or apply, or hold the provider out as able or willing to teach, while the certificate is in effect; the provider remains registered for all other purposes	Imprisonment for 2 years
Failing to identify the registered provider in written material (s 107)	Offence where written or electronic material offers, invites or holds out, and fails to identify the provider, its unique identifier, or other prescribed information	Imprisonment for 6 months

How long does a suspension certificate last?

Section 100(1) fixes the period at six months, beginning on the day the certificate says it takes effect, and section 100(2) lets the Immigration Minister revoke it at any time by giving the registered provider written notice. If the provider has not satisfied the Minister by the end of the period that a further certificate should not be given, section 102(1) allows another one; the Minister does not have to follow the procedure in subsections 98(1) and (2), but must table a copy of the further certificate in both Houses of Parliament within 15 sitting days of giving it to the provider. Section 102(4) applies the same rules to further certificates as to an original one.

What changes while a certificate is in force?

Section 101 makes it an offence, punishable by two years' imprisonment, to make offers to overseas students or intending overseas students, to invite them to undertake or apply for a course, or to hold the provider out as able or willing to provide one, while the certificate is in effect. Section 101(2) adds an important limit: the provider is still registered for all other purposes. A suspension certificate stops recruitment activity; it does not by itself cancel the registration.

Does the Register record it?

Section 103 requires the Secretary to cause the Register to be altered appropriately once a certificate is given or revoked, though a failure to do so does not affect the validity of the certificate or the revocation. The public record and the legal position can therefore diverge temporarily, which is why the certificate itself, rather than the Register entry alone, is the operative document.

What must written material disclose?

Section 107 creates a separate offence aimed at marketing. Where written material — expressly including material in electronic form — makes an offer to an overseas student or intending overseas student, invites them to undertake or apply for a course, or holds the writer out as able or willing to provide it, the material must identify the registered provider for the course, the unique identifier allocated to that provider under paragraph 14A(4)(d), and any other information prescribed by the regulations. The penalty is imprisonment for six months.

For practitioners, this is the provision most easily breached by accident: agent collateral, social posts and landing pages are all "written material", and the identifiers have to appear on the material itself.

Where do the fit and proper person and principal purpose tests fit?

These sections — sections 10, 100 to 103 and 107 — contain the decision rule for registration, the suspension certificate machinery and the disclosure offence. They do not set out the content of the registration requirements, so the fit and proper person test and the principal purpose test, like course-delivery standards such as the National Code and the ELICOS and Foundation standards, are not dealt with here. Each has to be read from the provisions and instruments that set it out, and confirmed against the most recent official versions, before it is relied on in an application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does registration cover every course a provider offers?

No. Section 10(1) frames registration as being to provide "a course or courses at a location or locations", so the grant is tied to the courses and locations named in it. A new course or a new campus is a fresh registration question for the ESOS agency, not an automatic extension.

Is meeting the registration requirements enough to be registered?

Not automatically. Section 10 says the ESOS agency "may" register a provider that meets the registration requirements, which leaves room for discretion, and section 10(2) requires the agency to use a risk management approach. Satisfying the requirements is the threshold for being considered, not a guarantee of the outcome.

Can an application be blocked before it is even assessed?

Yes. The note to section 10 refers to section 14C, under which the Minister may determine that the ESOS agency for a provider is not required to, or must not, deal with applications for registration for a period. Whether such a determination is in force is worth checking before timing any recruitment plan.

How long does an Immigration Minister's suspension certificate last, and can it be renewed?

Under section 100(1) it remains in effect for six months beginning on the day it says it takes effect, and section 100(2) allows the Minister to revoke it at any time by written notice. Section 102(1) permits a further certificate unless the provider has satisfied the Minister by the end of the period that one should not be given.

Is it a criminal offence to keep recruiting during suspension?

Yes. Section 101 makes it an offence, with a penalty of two years' imprisonment, to offer a course to an overseas student or intending overseas student, invite them to undertake or apply for one, or hold the provider out as able or willing to provide one, while a suspension certificate is in effect — even though section 101(2) keeps the provider registered for all other purposes.

What has to appear in advertising and other written material?

Under section 107, written material in any form, including electronic, that offers, invites or holds out must identify the registered provider for the course, the unique identifier allocated under paragraph 14A(4)(d), and any other information prescribed by the regulations. Failure to do so carries a penalty of imprisonment for six months.

Where are the fit and proper person and principal purpose tests set out?

Not in sections 10, 100 to 103 or 107. Section 10 makes the registration requirements the trigger for registration but does not state their content, so those tests — like course-delivery standards such as the National Code and the ELICOS and Foundation standards — have to be read from the provisions and instruments that set them out, and confirmed against their current official versions.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (official compiled text)