Melbourne training providers in strife

A number of Melbourne training providers are facing sanctions and even forced closures as the head body launches a major crackdown.

Scores of independent training colleges and migration services have had their registrations suspended or cancelled over the past year. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Scores of Melbourne training providers are facing sanctions, with some private ‘colleges’ closed down and at least one in liquidation.

The Sunday Herald Suncan reveal Accredited Training Centre of Australia — which lists Coburg’s Trison Business College and International Security Academy among its operations was recently placed in the hands of administrators.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), which oversees Registered Training Providers, confirmed Trison was “no longer regulated”.

A number of other colleges — some of which market heavily to international students and also offer migration services — have also had their registrations cancelled, suspended, partially suspended or been slapped with sanctions or special conditions.

They include:

UNIVERSAL Institute of Technology (UIT Australia) in Queen St Melbourne;

MELBOURNE City College in Spencer Street, Melbourne;

WALL Street College (which also lists City Institute of Melbourne as a business name) in Queen St, Melbourne;

GLOBAL Skills Training Academy in South Melbourne; and,

PROGRESSIVE Training Solutions in Oakleigh, Mornington and Greensborough.

 

 

Melbourne City College at 120 Spencer Street. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Final decisions on some college registrations have been stayed or delayed, awaiting the outcome of appeals.

ASQA can apply sanctions of increasing severity on training providers — starting from written directions and additional conditions on registration through to suspending or cancelling a provider’s registration — for failing to meet standards. Providers are given the chance to challenge or rectify problem areas.

Wall Street college at Level 4/20 Queen St, Melbourne. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Training providers can be closed for reasons other than a regulator cancelling their registration for noncompliance, including being no longer financially viable or the business deciding it no longer wants to deliver training, as was the case with Vision Australia.

Chief executive of Vision Australia Ron Hooton said the organisation chose not to renew its registration, which led to it being cancelled.

“Vision Australia’s mission is to support people who are blind or have low vision to live the life they choose. As an organisation, we don’t consider continuing as an RTO to fully align with that mission at present and did not seek to renew our accreditation,” he said.

The Sunday Herald Suntried, unsuccessfully, to contact a number of other cancelled or suspended “college” owners and training providers for comment.

In a previous version of this story, a photograph of the offices of Intellect English was published. Intellect English was not intended to be part of this article, has no association with Trison Business College, and has not been the subject of any regulatory action.

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