A parly committee wants the agency to make nice with private prviders

The Commonwealth Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit oversights Australian National Audit Office reports on agencies. After considering the ANAO’s recent review of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency the committee wants action from the agency, including;

* an update on progress to ensure timely registration and re-registration of “low-risk” providers

* to be told the results of the next TEQSA stakeholder satisfaction survey, “including a detailed analysis and comparison” of responses from private providers and universities

* for the agency to be empowered to extend the time for providers to supply required information. The committee wants this, “due to the high percentage of matters that are either resolved after an appeal is lodged or successfully appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal”

This is a win for private providers, some of whom think TEQSA is way too-focused on the way universities work. Thus, the Joint Committee “highlights the importance of TEQSA building positive relationships with all types of providers. The Committee is interested in seeing TEQSA’s steps to improve relationships with private providers.”