The Tuition Protection Service prepared well for a COVID-19 crisis that did not come but now local students may need less cover

A review of the TPS, undertaken for the Commonwealth by consultants Nous Group finds it is “a suitable protection mechanism” for international students but not so much for domestic ones.

The service was expanded in January 2020 to cover fee-paying locals, in response to the VET FEE HELP shambles. To date there have been no local need and no levies on providers and Nous suggests, “grounds for a differentiated approach.”

“Domestic students are on balance less vulnerable than international students: they do not face the acute risk of breaching visa conditions; and are arguably better placed to assess the risks and impacts of closure,” the consultants claim.

Nous floats  “rapid, targeted, information and guidance about appropriate alternative course options” which would, “not address the potential financial detriment to affected students” but “may represent a more proportionate response to the risks and harms faced by domestic students in the current VET environment.”