Training college refused registration as director’s own qualifications come under question

Another training college has been refused registration by the regulator – it was preparing to offer a raft of courses until its director’s own qualifications came under scrutiny.

Another training college has failed to secure registration, with its director’s own qualifications and training questioned by a federal tribunal.

Pendulum College Australia, which is located in Fairfield in Sydney, has been denied registration by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

The college was preparing to open and a website and job ads for prospective staff placed online.

The decision by ASQA was affirmed earlier this month by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) and is the latest in a raft of training companies to be denied registration.

Pendulum College had been preparing to open but has failed to get registration as a training college.

ASQA has also cancelled the registrations of Gills College, DSA Ventures, trading as Australian Academy of Elite Education and Productivity Partners Pty Ltd (trading as Captain Cook College)

Around 26,000 students have been affected by the cancellation of 15 fraudulent training providers since 2024, with sham providers and ghost colleges offering “cash for quals” in hundreds of courses.

Affected industries include childcare, construction, aged care and disability services, with students warned to be wary of “red flag” courses that offer no classes and no study.

Another 200 serious matters are under investigation by ASQA.

In the latest action, the ART ruled in Adelaide that it was not convinced Pendulum College Australia, and its director, Azher Y Mohammed Ali Al-Hadi, would operate in compliance with the VET Quality Framework, the national training act or the national compliance code.

Pendulum College has failed to get registration as a training college.

The company had sought to become registered as a training organisation in order to provide courses in Diploma of Leadership and Management and Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management to overseas students.

Pendulum was formed in 2023 by Mr Al-Hadi, who is its sole director and trainer.

But the ART decision states he agreed he had never undertaken any formal training or assessment for courses he proposed to teach, having obtained all his formal qualifications through recognition of prior learning (RPL) through companies he had a commercial relationship with.

One of these organisations had its registration cancelled for serious noncompliance, the decision also stated.

In his application to ASQA, Mr Al-Hadi initially denied he had any association with other training providers but later disclosed he was a trainer with a range of other companies.

Mr Al-Hadi also subsequently disclosed that he is or has been a director of multiple companies over the years including Smart and Skilled Pty Ltd, CentreCare Link Pty Ltd and Renacon Group Pty Ltd. Some of these are no longer in business.

Pendulum College has been advertising a range of courses online.

He is also the director of Centre Care Link Pty which operates as an NDIS provider, although said his business partner takes care of the day-to-day duties.

None of these companies have any connection with the current proceedings.

Mr Al-Hadi said there was “no intention to mislead or withhold information from ASQA”.

He said he “now understands what is required and is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, honesty and transparency and will co-operate fully with ASQA in any future audits, information requests or other reporting obligations”.

The ART criticised “a lack of transparency or pattern of nondisclosure”.

However, ART general member Smith concluded that “the inaccuracies and omission of important matter during the audit and internal review undermine confidence that initial registration, even registration subject to a range of rigorous conditions, could be permissible while adhering to the statutory principles set out in the legislation”.

“A lack of transparency or pattern of nondisclosure raises serious concerns about an applicant’s suitability to be registered,” the ruling states.

An ASQA spokesperson said the purpose was to “ensure quality VET so that students, industry, governments and the community have confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers.

“ASQA welcomes the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) decision, affirming our decision to reject Pendulum’s applications to become a registered training organisation, including registration to deliver to international students. ASQA’s decisions were based on evidence, in the interests of students and the public and to protect the integrity of the VET sector,” they said.

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Originally published as Training college refused registration as director’s own qualifications come under question