Andrew Demetriou’s company accused of training course pressure

FORMER footy boss Andrew Demetriou’s training company Acquire Learning has been accused of pushing people with learning disabilities into taxpayer-funded training courses to get commissions.

Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou is joining the board of James Packer's Crown Resorts. Demetriou at home after the announcement. Picture: David Caird.

FORMER footy boss Andrew Demetriou’s training company Acquire Learning has been accused of “unconscionable conduct” by pushing people with learning disabilities into taxpayer-funded training courses in return for commissions.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges in court documents that training services broker Acquire Learning pressured three people with learning problems into signing up for a taxpayer-funded training course.

The Herald Sun can also reveal a second federal regulator is assessing further complaints about the quality of service offered by the group.

The Asia Pacific Training Institute, a training body owned by Acquire Learning, is the subject of an active probe by the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

ASQA, which patrols education standards in the troubled training sector, has confirmed it has received a complaint which is being assessed.

Separately, the ACCC filed documents in the Federal Court on Thursday, accusing Acquire of “false, misleading and deceptive conduct”.

The documents outline Acquire’s calls to eight jobseekers, three of whom had allegedly told the caller they had either mental illness, learning problems or mild illiteracy.

Acquire staff allegedly used high-pressure sales tactics including offering free iPads to those who signed up on the spot.

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Acquire’s “career advisers” allegedly read from a recruitment script that included the phrases “we are helping people land their dream job” and “statistically, people who do this course are earning an extra $10,000 a year”, giving jobseekers little or no time to read the fine print.

The consumer watchdog alleges Acquire received commissions from the training organisations they promoted and students were left with a big debt.

The ACCC says Acquire breached consumer laws by “taking advantage of the vulnerability and weaker bargaining positions of job applicants” between July 2014 and March 2015.

Former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou became Acquire’s executive chairman in July 2014.

Upon his appointment, he said: “When I was first introduced to Acquire Learning, I was impressed by their progressive approach, and immediately saw an opportunity for growth and diversification across the business.”

“I was looking for an opportunity to work with an organisation that is in a rapid growth phase, and combined with my personal interest in the education sector, Acquire Learning was the perfect fit,” said Demetriou, a former teacher.

Demetriou’s son, Tim, is Acquire’s “global operations” boss with responsibility for areas including sales and “student acquisition”.

Acquire managing director John Wall dismissed the ACCC allegations as old and said the group had recently appointed former deputy premier Peter Ryan as its “independent student ombudsman” to handle complaints.

“These proceedings relate to alleged historical matters and are not a reflection of Acquire Learning’s current practices which, we firmly believe, represent an industry-leading approach to regulatory compliance and student fairness,” Mr Wall said in a statement.

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