Guide 3 of 3 · If something goes wrong
When a course goes wrong
Start with the provider’s own complaints process: ASQA, the national regulator, calls that the first step. ASQA cannot resolve disputes between students and providers, so for help with one it points to the National Training Complaints Hotline, and for refunds its pages name other bodies, depending on where you studied, how you paid and whether you are an international student.
General information from ASQA’s pages for students, as at October 2026, not legal advice about a particular course, contract or dispute. ASQA’s pages, linked at the foot of this one, are the official place to check.
Three places to take a complaint, in order
The provider’s complaints process
ASQA says the first step with a complaint about your training provider is to give feedback through the provider’s own complaints process, and that the details should be in your student handbook or on the provider’s website. The provider also has to tell you its complaints and appeals processes when you enrol (see the guide to choosing a provider).
The National Training Complaints Hotline
If you need help resolving an issue with your provider, ASQA suggests the National Training Complaints Hotline. In ASQA’s words, it “is a referral service and will ensure that your complaint is handled by the most appropriate authority.”
A report to ASQA
For concerns about the quality or integrity of the sector, including how training providers deliver their services and run their business, ASQA asks people to make a tip-off report through the ASQA Portal.
What a report to ASQA does, and does not do
A tip-off is information for a regulator, not a case it runs for you. ASQA considers everything it receives but does not investigate every report. It says it may use what you tell it to:
- shape its future regulatory work
- widen the scope of work already under way
- refer the matter to other government agencies
- keep it on record for later.
Expect little back: if you give ASQA feedback, it usually does not tell you what it did or how an investigation ended.
ASQA is also clear about the limit of its role. Its functions are to collect, analyse, interpret and share information about vocational training, and it states: “We do not have the legislative power to act as a student advocate.” What it offers instead is a connection: it says it can put students in touch with other organisations that may be able to help.
Who may help with a refund
ASQA’s page on providers closing names the bodies that may help with fees and refunds. Which one fits depends on your situation.
| Your situation | Who may help |
|---|---|
| Your provider has closed, or you cannot sort the issue out with it directly | The consumer protection agency in your state or territory, which may be able to help you get a refund |
| You have a VET Student Loan, or you are an international student | The Tuition Protection Service, which can help with fees and refunds |
| You studied at a government provider, such as a TAFE | Your state or territory ombudsman |
| You are an international student at a private provider | The Commonwealth Ombudsman, through its international student complaints service |
The loan row is narrower than it looks for fitness students: VET Student Loans are for diploma-level courses and above, as the second guide explains. Before any of this, the refund terms you agreed to matter: ASQA lists refund eligibility and cooling-off periods among what a provider must tell you, and understanding refund conditions among a student’s own responsibilities.
If the provider closes
ASQA says training providers can close for many reasons, including money trouble, the regulator cancelling their registration, or the owner deciding to stop training. When the cause is financial difficulty, an administrator or liquidator may manage the closure.
The signs it lists that your provider may have closed: classes cancelled without notice, emails and calls that go unanswered, and hearing about the closure from other people or the media. If you notice any of them, or have any concerns, ASQA invites you to get in touch with it.
A closing provider may offer to move you to another provider; you can take that offer or choose a different one. Students with a student loan are also pointed to the Tuition Protection Service for help with the loan and with switching its funding to a new provider.
Example: when the emails stop
An invented example, not a real provider
Midway through a Certificate IV course, a student’s classes are cancelled without notice and emails to the provider go unanswered. Those are two of the signs ASQA lists that a provider may have closed.
Following ASQA’s pages, the student can tell ASQA what is happening, gather the statements of attainment and any other evidence of the units done so far, and ask the consumer protection agency in their state or territory whether it can help with a refund. If the provider does offer a transfer to another provider, the student can accept it or choose a different one.
What to keep, in case you need it
A new provider will want evidence of what you have already done. For a credit transfer, ASQA says you will need to give the new provider formal evidence of completed training, which may include:
- a testamur and record of results under the Australian Qualification Framework, for a qualification you finished
- statements of attainment for the units you completed, if you did not finish the whole qualification.
Evidence of your learning and progress can also support recognition of prior learning with a new provider, especially for work that was never formally assessed before the closure. And the records do not vanish with the provider: when providers close, they must hand their student records to ASQA.
ASQA’s two tips for the move are practical ones: keep all your documents together and clearly labelled, and contact your new provider early to explain what happened.
The other guides
- The Certificate III and IV in Fitness
What each qualification document says about the work, who can start, where it leads, and licences.
- Choosing a course and a training provider
ASQA’s questions, what a provider must tell you before you enrol, and why VET Student Loans stop at diploma level.