30-day countdown: suspension vs cancellation of specified courses in 2026

Under Division 1AB of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), the outcome is decided by a single headcount taken 30 days after the Minister's instrument commences. If, at that point, one or more students are enrolled in and have commenced, but have not completed or withdrawn from, the course, the provider's registration for that course is suspended for all locations by force of the Act. If there are no such students at that point, the registration is cancelled for all locations. This reflects the text of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 published on the Federal Register of Legislation; the Act and any instrument made under s 96B, as officially published, remain the authority. The rest of this article explains how the provisions are written and is general information, not advice about any individual situation.

What is a "specified course", and who makes the instrument?

The Education Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify one or more classes of courses under s 96B(1). The power only opens if the Minister is satisfied on reasonable grounds that one of three things applies: there are or have been systemic problems with the standard of delivery of the courses in that class; the courses provide limited value to Australia's current, emerging and future skills and training needs and priorities; or it is in the public interest to do so.

A class is not limited to a named course. Under s 96B(4) it can be described by reference to the kind of course, the kind of provider registered to provide it, the location of the course, or any other circumstances applying to the course. Under s 96B(5), an instrument may also apply or incorporate material contained in another instrument or writing as in force from time to time, which means the description of a class can move with an external document rather than being frozen at the date the instrument is made.

What must the Minister weigh before specifying a class?

Section 96B(2) lists four matters the Minister must have regard to, and s 96B(3) confirms the list does not limit what else may be considered:

whether the courses are provided by registered providers that are breaching, or have breached, the ESOS Act, the national code, the ELICOS Standards or Foundation Program Standards where those apply, or a condition of the provider's registration;
completion rates of accepted students of those courses;
the number of transfers of accepted students from or to those courses;
the location or locations at which providers are registered to provide those courses.

Before making the instrument, the Minister must consult TEQSA (where a course in the class is provided by a TEQSA-regulated provider), the National VET Regulator (where a course is provided by a provider it regulates), and the Secretary, plus any person or entity specified for that purpose in an instrument under s 96B(8). A failure to consult does not affect the validity of the instrument (s 96B(7)). Where the class includes a VET course within the meaning of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 and the Minister does not administer that Act, the instrument cannot be made without the written agreement of the Minister who does (s 96B(9)). The Minister must then table a statement of reasons in each House of Parliament on the first sitting day after making the instrument (s 96B(10)).

When does the 30-day countdown start?

The clock runs from the commencement of the instrument made under s 96B(1), not from the date a provider or a student is told anything, and not from any application or decision date. Both s 96D(1)(c) and s 96E(1)(c) fix the test at "30 days after that instrument commences". That single moment is what separates suspension from cancellation; nothing in these provisions turns on the provider's conduct during those 30 days.

What happens on day 30 if students have already started?

Section 96D(2) suspends the provider's registration for the course for all locations, by force of the subsection. The suspension is not a general shutdown of the provider: under s 96D(4) the provider is still registered for the course for the location for all other purposes.

What the suspension does stop is set out in s 96D(3). While it is in force, the provider must not:

do anything for the purpose of recruiting or enrolling overseas students or intending overseas students for the course;
solicit or accept money from an overseas student or intending overseas student for the course, other than from overseas students who are enrolled in and have commenced the course;
permit an accepted student who has not commenced the course to commence it.

So the dividing line inside the suspension is "enrolled in and have commenced". Students in that group continue; accepted students who have not yet started cannot be started, and cannot be charged.

What happens on day 30 if nobody has started?

Section 96E(1) is the mirror image: if, 30 days after the instrument commences, there are no students who are enrolled in and have commenced but not completed or withdrawn from the course, the registration is cancelled for all locations by force of s 96E(3). There is no separate decision, notice step or merits process inside Division 1AB — the cancellation follows from the facts at the 30-day mark.

The practical effect is that a course with a live, already-commenced cohort survives in suspended form, while a course that has only accepted students, or no students at all, drops out of registration entirely.

Assume a hypothetical: a provider is registered to deliver a specified course at two campuses. At day 30, one campus has three students who started and are still studying; the other has five accepted students who have not started. The test in s 96D(1)(c) is met by the three students, so registration for the course is suspended at both locations. The five accepted students at the second campus cannot be allowed to commence, and cannot be charged, while the suspension is in force.

Can a suspended course be cancelled later?

Yes. Section 96E(2) applies where a provider's registration has been suspended under s 96D and all the students who were enrolled in and had commenced the course before the suspension have since completed or withdrawn from it. In that case s 96E(3) cancels the registration for all locations. The suspension is therefore a holding state that ends in cancellation once the existing cohort drains out, rather than a path back to normal registration on these provisions.

What happens to registration applications for a specified course?

Section 96C deals with applications rather than existing registrations. Where a provider — other than a Table A provider within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 — applies under s 9 to register a course, s 10D to renew the registration of a course, or s 10H to add a course to its registration, and the course is in a class specified in an instrument in force under s 96B(1), the application is taken not to have been made in relation to the course (s 96C(2)).

The consequence is not a refusal on the merits that can be argued about; the application simply does not exist for that course. Note that this operates from the instrument being in force, independently of the 30-day countdown that governs suspension and cancellation.

Who is outside these rules?

The three operative provisions each carve out Table A providers within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Section 96C(1)(a) excludes them from the "application taken not to be made" rule; s 96D(1)(a) and s 96E(1)(a) exclude them from automatic suspension and cancellation. The automatic provisions are aimed at non-Table A registered providers.

It is also worth separating Division 1AB from the other tools in the same Part, as the guide in s 83A describes them. Under Division 1, the ESOS agency for a provider can take enforcement action — imposing conditions, or suspending or cancelling a registration — where a provider is not complying with the Act, the national code, the ELICOS Standards, the Foundation Program Standards or a condition of registration, and that action can be taken generally or for a specific course at a specific location. Division 2 allows the Immigration Minister to issue a suspension certificate where a significant number of overseas students or intending overseas students are entering or remaining in Australia for a purpose not contemplated by their visas, and a provider must not offer courses or hold itself out as able to provide a course to overseas students while such a certificate is in force. Division 1AB is the automatic, class-based route: it is triggered by the instrument and the 30-day headcount, not by a finding against a particular provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does day 30 depend on when I enrolled or when I started?

The test counts students who are both enrolled in and have commenced the course at the 30-day point, and who have neither completed nor withdrawn. Enrolling without commencing does not keep a course in suspension, and students who have finished or withdrawn are not counted.

If my course is suspended, do I have to stop studying?

The suspension stops recruitment, new enrolments, taking money from students other than those already enrolled and commenced, and letting accepted students who have not commenced begin. Students who are enrolled in and have commenced the course are the group the provision preserves, and the provider remains registered for the course for all other purposes.

Can a suspended course later be cancelled?

Yes. Under s 96E(2), once every student who was enrolled in and had commenced the course before the suspension has completed or withdrawn, the registration is cancelled for all locations by force of s 96E(3).

What happens to an application to register, renew or add such a course?

Under s 96C, an application under s 9, s 10D or s 10H in relation to a specified course is taken not to have been made in relation to that course. This applies from the time the instrument is in force and does not wait for the 30-day mark.

Does the Minister have to warn the provider first?

Division 1AB does not provide a notice or show-cause step for the provider: suspension and cancellation take effect by force of the subsection once the conditions are met. The consultation duties in s 96B(6) run to TEQSA, the National VET Regulator, the Secretary and any specified persons or entities, not to the provider, and a failure to consult does not invalidate the instrument.

Are universities affected by these automatic provisions?

The automatic suspension and cancellation provisions, and the application rule in s 96C, all exclude Table A providers within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Providers outside Table A are the ones exposed to the 30-day mechanism.