Real Skills Deserve Real Recognition campaign latest in crackdown on dodgy training providers

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Apr 17, 2026

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The Albanese Labor Government is doubling down on dodgy training providers, agents and brokers who lure prospective students into fraudulent training scams.

Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles was joined by Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) Chief Executive Officer Saxon Rice today as he launched the Real Skills Deserve Real Recognition campaign: a new push to stamp out unscrupulous practices in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, including misleading marketing activities.

The promotion is part of a continuing crackdown by the Albanese Government and ASQA on non-genuine providers in the sector.

These providers, while representing a small proportion of the sector, pose a threat to Australia’s VET sector which continues to be globally recognised for delivering high-quality training and qualifications.

Since October 2024, ASQA has removed 13 training providers from the sector and cancelled more than 43,000 qualifications issued in industries including early childhood education and care, disability support and aged care.

The promotion will see material circulated across social media and the sector alerting students how to spot a scam and distinguish between quality VET providers and non-genuine ones.

ASQA has found a small number of training providers have deliberately issued fraudulent qualifications without delivering the necessary training and assessment.

Since 2023, the Albanese Government has invested $46.7 million to strengthen ASQA’s compliance powers, establishing a dedicated integrity unit and a tip-off line.

The tip-off line had received more than 8,000 reports as of 31 March 2026, with more than half of the reports providing actionable intelligence leading to further compliance action. The integrity unit is currently managing 232 serious matters involving 155 providers.

The Albanese Government has tightened the regulation of the VET sector, introducing strengthened fit and proper person requirements for registered training organisations (RTOs) in 2023. ASQA also received increased powers under the Government’s 2024 amendments to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.

These measures have ensured ASQA is better equipped to remove non-genuine providers from the market, after a near-decade of Coalition inaction allowed fraud and exploitation by bad-faith operators to grow.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:

“Fraudulent qualifications have no place in our VET sector, a sector that is globally recognised for delivering high quality training and producing high quality qualifications.

“Every student deserves a real education, every employer deserves workers with real skills, and the community deserves confidence that qualifications reflect genuine ability. Students, employers and the community must have confidence that every qualification is legitimate and earned.

“That’s why the Albanese Government has supercharged the work of ASQA since coming to office, delivering more than $40 million to ensure the integrity of our VET sector, while rolling out initiatives like Real Skills Deserve Real Recognition to back in this work.”

Background

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has published information for students on the unethical and misleading practices of non-genuine providers, brokers and agents as part of the crackdown.

Students are advised to avoid providers whose marketing promises include phrases such as:

‘no classes to attend’
‘no study or exams required’
‘no time off work’
‘receive your qualification in 7 days’
‘100% guarantee of a successful qualification’
‘fast-tracked pathway to skilled migration’.

The Real Skills Deserves Real Recognition promotion will appear on Your Career and Study Australia websites, including Explore Your Career | Your Career and across social media, with factsheets, images, and a stakeholder pack for providers to help spread the message.

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