ECEC graduates caught up as College is deregistered

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has deregistered the Australian Education & Career College, leaving the validity of the qualifications of numerous early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals in doubt.

More than 7,000 graduates of the College who are now employed in sectors and industries such as ECEC, child protection, and mental health care have been impacted by the announcement, which was made after an allegation was raised that the College had issued “fake Diplomas.”

Impacted qualifications include:

Certificate III in Early Childhood and Education and Care,
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care,
Diploma of Community Services,
Diploma of Mental Health

Serving students who attained qualifications between 1 January and 19 October 2024 have been issued with a notice of intent to cancel their qualifications, with questions also being raised about the number of students who may have attained working visas based on qualifications obtained from the College, trading as Luvium Pty Ltd.

Because the College was not registered to deliver qualifications to overseas students, any international students who used the cancelled qualification(s) and/or statements of attainment to gain entry into their current course of study have been advised to contact the Department of Home Affairs.

Employers of College graduates have been advised to seek legal advice in relation to any workers impacted by the deregistration and uncertainty regarding qualifications.

In total, 7,360 students (across all sectors and industries) must now prove that they validly attained their Diploma through course work or “statement of intent” to authorities to avoid their qualification being cancelled.

This could include providing completed assessment tasks, sharing assessment feedback, providing marked assignments, or supplying evidence that work placements were completed.

ASQA declared the cancellation of the College’s registration on October 19 following evidence it was issuing qualifications “without appropriate training or competency-based assessment by qualified assessors.”

Affected students have a seven-day deadline to supply the evidence, starting from 6 November .

The regulator is also working with workplaces where students with Luvium qualifications may have been hired.

“ASQA’s decision to cancel Luvium’s registration was based on finding that Luvium issued qualifications without appropriate training or competency-based assessment by qualified assessors,” a statement from ASQA notes.

“The integrity of our qualifications is a primary focus and there is no place for any provider who seeks to undermine the sector or exploit students.”

Commenting on the issue Federal Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles said the Albanese government was aware of the action the independent regulator had taken in relation to the College.

“ASQA and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations are co-ordinating with other federal state and territory departments and regulators to work through the potential impacts of this regulatory action, including the impact on former students and employers,” he said.

Access the statement from ASQA in relation to this issue here.