A private vocational college that used free laptops, internet access and mobile phone credit to induce barely literate students to enrol, and which received $210 million in government money under a flawed students loans scheme, has been ordered to pay $153 million in penalties by the Federal Court.

In a major win for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Federal Court issued the record fine against the Australian Institute of Professional Education (AIPE) after finding it had engaged in a system of unconscionable conduct when enrolling students into online diploma courses between May 2013 and December 2015 under the former VET FEE-HELP loan program.