Student TPS Overview

The Tuition Protection Service (TPS) is an initiative of the Australian Government to assist international students whose education providers are unable to fully deliver their course of study. The TPS ensures that international students are able to either:

• complete their studies in another course or with another education provider or
• receive a refund of their unspent tuition fees.

Australia has a well established international education sector with over 1200 education providers delivering a high quality education to international students. For many years now Australia has been a world leader in protecting the tuition fees of international students studying in Australia on a student visa. Recent changes to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act have further strengthened protections for international students through the introduction of the Tuition Protection Service (TPS).

In the unlikely event your education provider is unable to deliver a course you have paid for and does not meet their obligations to either offer you an alternative course that you accept or pay you a refund of your unspent prepaid tuition fees (this is called a provider’s ‘default obligations’), the TPS will assist you in finding an alternative course or to get a refund if a suitable alternative is not found.

Step 1

• Your education provider stops providing or does not start providing your course as agreed and does not meet their default obligations.
• The TPS contacts you and creates an account for you.

Step 2

• Register with or log-on to the TPS and provide proof of identity

Step 3

• The TPS online system will assist you to find options for completing your study in Australia.

Step 4

• Accept preferred suitable offer.
• You commence study as agreed.
• TPS transfers any unspent pre-paid tuition fees to your new provider.

OR

• If there are no suitable alternative courses or offers, you may apply for a refund of the amount of any unspent pre-paid tuition fees you have paid the provider. These are any tuition fees you have already paid that are directly related to the course which you haven’t yet received. Any remaining unspent tuition fees are refunded to you.