Chasing refunds from a deregistered Australian provider in 2026

Yes — a provider that has come off the register can still owe you money. Section 7AB of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act 2000) states that the Act "continues to apply in relation to a person or entity that was a registered provider as if the person or entity were still a registered provider." That is the wording published by the Federal Register of Legislation on its official page for the ESOS Act 2000, as of September 2026. Deregistration is not a closing-of-accounts event; the Act is written to follow the former provider.

What matters next is scope: not every debt falls inside that continuation, and the timing of the payment, the debt and the default each has to be placed correctly.

Why does the Act still reach a provider that is no longer registered?

Because the obligations being enforced attach to a period, not to a status held on the day you ask. Section 7AB(2)(a) says the continuation exists "for the purposes of dealing with or resolving any matter that arose during, or that relates to, the period when the person or entity was a registered provider."

Section 7B, the Act's own guide, sets the background: a person who provides a course at a location to an overseas student must be registered to provide that course at that location, or do so under an arrangement with a provider who is so registered. The duties run from the course being delivered to an overseas student at a place. Ending registration stops future enrolments; it does not unwind the terms on which earlier ones were taken.

Which fees, debts and defaults does s 7AB actually cover?

Subsection 7AB(2)(b) spells out two categories "without limiting" the general rule in (a):

Tuition fees or other money received, or money owed, in accordance with the Act — and the text adds expressly that it does not matter "whether or not the money is received, or the debt arises, while the person or entity is a registered provider."
A default — again, "whether or not the default occurs while the person or entity is a registered provider."

That "whether or not" wording is the part most refund claims turn on. A refund that was only quantified after deregistration, or a default that only occurred after it, is still within the matters the Act is applied to resolve.

Timing of the money or event	Covered by s 7AB?	What the text says
Fees received while registered, dispute raised later	Yes	A matter that arose during, or relates to, the registration period
Debt arising after deregistration	Yes	Money owed under the Act, "whether or not the debt arises" while registered
Default occurring after deregistration	Yes	"A default (whether or not the default occurs while … registered)"
Course delivered at a location with no registration	Outside this framing	s 7B requires registration for that course at that location, or an arrangement with a registered provider

What has to happen before a refund is owed at all?

Registration and continuation are only the frame; the trigger is a default. Section 7B describes obligations on registered providers "when the provider or an overseas student of the provider defaults, and does not start or finish a course," and states that "the provider is required to provide a refund to the student."

For a provider default, the provider has a second option: it "may instead provide an alternative course for the student at the provider's expense." That option is described in the provider-default sentence of the guide, not as a substitute for a student default.

The material here describes the trigger rather than setting out every element the Act gives to "default." The guide works with two forms — the provider defaulting, and an overseas student of the provider defaulting — linked in each case to the student not starting or not finishing.

If the former provider does not pay, does tuition protection still respond?

The guide addresses the failure case directly. "If a provider that has defaulted does not discharge its obligations to an overseas student, the TPS Director must provide the student with options for suitable alternative courses (if any such courses are available)." Read with s 7AB, that duty is not switched off by the provider having left the register.

Funding is described separately: "In the case of a default, a call is made on the Overseas Students Tuition Fund to pay for alternative courses, or to provide refunds to students, if providers have not already done so." So the sequence in the Act is provider first, fund second — an alternative course or a refund paid out of the Overseas Students Tuition Fund where providers have not already met the obligation. Whether a claim ends in an alternative place or in money depends on what is available, which is not something the statutory text can tell you in advance.

How should you assemble the claim file?

Keep the written agreement you signed.
Keep the refund policy that applied to it.
Record the date each payment left your account.
Record the course start date.
Record the date study stopped, if it stopped early.
Write out the amount you are claiming and how you calculated it.
Keep every written exchange about the refund.

Records matter beyond your own file: s 7B notes that the Act, the national code, the ELICOS Standards and the Foundation Program Standards impose obligations on registered providers "including obligations relating to record keeping and financial requirements."

What this article does and does not settle

This is general information about how the Act is written, not advice on any individual claim, and no outcome is promised here. Section 7B is the Act's own guide and puts its points in summary form; the operative provisions and the national code carry the detail, and the current published text is the reference point — as of September 2026 for the provisions quoted above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still claim a refund after my provider has been deregistered?

Yes. Section 7AB says the ESOS Act 2000 continues to apply to a person or entity that was a registered provider as if it were still registered. The continuation exists for dealing with or resolving matters that arose during, or relate to, the registration period.

Does it matter that the debt only arose after deregistration?

No, on the face of the provision. Section 7AB(2)(b)(i) covers tuition fees or other money received, or money owed, under the Act "whether or not the money is received, or the debt arises, while the person or entity is a registered provider."

What if the default itself happened after the provider left the register?

Section 7AB(2)(b)(ii) covers "a default (whether or not the default occurs while the person or entity is a registered provider)." A later-occurring default is still within the range of matters the Act is applied to resolve.

Is being offered an alternative course the same as getting a refund?

They are described as different outcomes. Under s 7B, a provider that defaults may instead provide an alternative course at the provider's expense, while the Overseas Students Tuition Fund may be called on to pay for alternative courses or to provide refunds where providers have not already done so.

Who steps in if the former provider does not pay?

Section 7B says the TPS Director must provide the student with options for suitable alternative courses, if any are available, where a defaulting provider does not discharge its obligations. Payment for those courses, or refunds, comes via a call on the Overseas Students Tuition Fund.

What if my course was taught at a location the provider was not registered for?

Section 7B states that a person providing a course at a location to an overseas student must be registered to provide that course at that location, or do so under an arrangement with a provider who is. Whether s 7AB's continuation reaches that situation depends on how the matter relates to a period of registration, which the statutory text leaves to be worked out on the facts.

Do I have to use an agent or lawyer to pursue this?

Nothing in s 7AB or s 7B makes representation a condition of a claim. The provisions place obligations on the provider and describe what the TPS Director must do, and they are written without any intermediary requirement.