Fee refund after withdrawing from concurrent study

Edward* was studying a bachelor-level course and wanted to study a trade at the same time. He enrolled in a trade course with a private education provider and paid over $6,000 in tuition fees and application fees. The trade course provider was aware that Edward was enrolled in another course.

Edward attended orientation with the trade provider and tried to arrange a suitable timetable to fit into his schedule but was unable to do so. Edward emailed the provider to advise he wished to withdraw and request a refund. He sent several follow-up emails, but the provider did not respond.

Edward contacted the Office as the OSO to complain. The Office investigated the complaint and assessed the terms of the provider’s written agreement with Edward. The written agreement did not comply with elements of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislative framework, and included terms that appeared potentially unreasonable, as it only permitted refunds in very limited circumstances.

The Office was also concerned that the education provider accepted Edward as a concurrent student, knowing that Edward was studying full-time with another provider, without:

• giving an indication of available study times
• counselling Edward about his obligation to meet course requirements for both courses while on a student visa
• providing Edward the opportunity to withdraw without penalty if the study timetables did not permit him to attend both courses.

In our view, international students wanting to enrol in concurrent studies should not bear all the risks of not being able to proceed. Education providers that accept these students into a second course should be aware of the challenges of successfully engaging in concurrent study and accept some of the associated financial risk.

As a result of our investigation, the provider agreed to pay Edward a refund calculated in line with legislative requirements and update its written agreement template to ensure compliance with the ESOS framework. The provider also agreed to amend its process for accepting students in concurrent study to ensure students have a better understanding of the challenges and are allocated a fairer distribution of risk.

*This case study has been de-identified to protect the privacy of the complainant.

Posted February 2024