The last 12 months have been another year of widespread reform in the higher education sector in Australia, which has had a substantial impact on legislation and regulations administered by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). With reforms being implemented across a vast array of areas – from safety and wellbeing to international education, from corporate and academic governance to transnational education – universities and higher education providers must remain across legislative and regulatory change to ensure that their organisations keep pace (and keep compliant!). To support universities and providers in that effort, this article outlines key regulatory changes and developments at TEQSA over the last 12 months leading into the SOUL Conference in October 2026 and TEQSA Conference in November 2026.

1. Corporate plan 2026-30

On 31 August 2026, TEQSA released its Corporate Plan 2026-30 which outlines TEQSA's operating environment, objectives and key activities over the next four years. The Corporate Plan acknowledges that the higher education sector faces continued challenges and uncertainty and, in that regard, highlights the following aspects of its operating environment:

• the ongoing Australian Universities Accord reform agenda, which continues to reshape the legislative, regulatory and policy landscape of the higher education sector in Australia. In that regard, the Corporate Plan points to key recent reforms including the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman in February 2025 and Australian Tertiary Education Commission, whose Commissioners commenced in July 2026;
• recent reforms to the regulatory framework for international education, including legislative and regulatory changes in relation to offshore delivery, education agenda practices and international student recruitment which has, together with reforms in relation to transnational education, created an evolving regulatory environment for providers and regulators;
• expectations around student safety and wellbeing, which the Corporate Plan states have been reinforced by the Australian Universities Accord, the establishment of the National Student Ombudsman, and ongoing public attention to student experiences. The Corporate Plan also points to recent amendments to the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 (Cth) which seek to strengthen provider responsibility for preventing and responding to racism, including antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
• evolving expectations pertaining to strengthening corporate and academic governance, which the Corporate Plan states have been reinforced by public scrutiny including the Senate inquiry into the Quality of Governance at Higher Education Providers and the work of the Expert Council on University Governance;
• emphasis on tertiary harmonisation, with the Corporate Plan recording that strengthening pathways between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education is expected to improve student mobility, support lifelong learning and better align tertiary education with Australia's future workforce needs. The Corporate Plan also records that, as the tertiary education system becomes increasingly interconnected, there is growing importance in ensuring regulatory approaches are appropriately aligned across sectors while recognising their distinct legislative and regulatory frameworks;
• importance of sector integrity and academic quality, including in the context of emerging and evolving risks related to generative artificial intelligence, commercial academic cheating services, file-sharing platforms, cheating technologies, such as wearables and other emerging digital tools which are changing how providers approach assessment design, academic integrity, research quality and assurance of learning outcomes and student success;
• cyber security and information governance, with the Corporate Plan noting that effective governance, risk management and information security practices are essential to protecting institutional operations, safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining confidence in Australia's higher education system; and
• provider financial and operational resilience against the context of evolving pressures following the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Corporate Plan noting that financial and operational resilience remains closely linked to effective governance, strategic planning, organisational change management and enterprise risk management. Further pressure will be placed on universities and private providers by the new package of migration measures announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in a National Press Club address on 17 September 2026 – including restrictions on international students bringing family members to Australia, restrictions on course switching and tighter financial scrutiny of prospective student applications – aimed at bringing net overseas migration down.

The Corporate Plan also contemplates a strengthening of TEQSA's regulatory approach to ensure it remains transparent, proportionate, risk-based, data-informed and fit-for-purpose, which is supported by implementation of TEQSA's Regulatory Risk Framework. Consultation on the Regulatory Risk Framework was held between 19 March 2026 and 30 April 2026.

2. Dual sector regulation

TEQSA has announced that, in support of the Dual Sector Regulatory Strategy released in September 2025, it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) which is intended to support better collaboration and the streamlining of regulatory processes in the VET and higher education sectors. The Memorandum of Understanding is stated to:

• facilitate information sharing and collaboration in key areas to reduce the need for providers to submit similar information to both regulators;
• optimise the alignment of evidence requirements for similar assessments while maintaining regulatory effectiveness, reducing costs to providers who have different requirements for the two regulators, wherever practical; and
• support dual sector providers to mature their corporate and academic governance, including by developing joint guidance, clarifying regulator expectations and simplifying staff training.

TEQSA and ASQA have established a Joint Strategic Oversight Committee to provide oversight of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Dual Sector Regulatory Strategy.

In line with those arrangements, TEQSA and ASQA have released sector alerts on compliance concerns about early childhood education and training and overseas student transfers over the last 12 months.

3. Artificial Intelligence

TEQSA continues to focus on the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and the impact of that technology on teaching, learning and assessment practice. In that regard, TEQSA has published:

• a revised Academic Integrity Toolkit, which offers new sections on assessment design and security and risks to academic integrity from GenAI; and
• Assuring quality learning in a gen AI-integrated future, which builds on the principle of equipping students to interact ethically and responsibly with GenAI and is the third resource in TEQSA’s assessment reform series.

TEQSA continues to maintain relevant resources for universities and higher education providers on its GenAI Knowledge Hub.

4. Legislative and regulatory changes

Education agents and commissions

On 5 December 2025, amendments pertaining to education agents and education agent commissions in the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) came into effect. Those amendments include:

• replacement of the defined term of 'agent' with a newly defined and expanded term of 'education agent';
• introduction of the defined term of 'education agent' commission, and requirements around the giving of information on education agents upon request of the Secretary; and
• enhanced transparency of education agent information for education providers via the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS).

On 21 January 2026, amendments pertaining to education agent commissions in the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code) came into effect. Those amendments ban the payment of commission to education agents for recruitment of onshore international students transferring from another provider in Australia.

The Commonwealth Department has released resources to assist providers with their understanding of the changes: Ban on the payment of agent commissions for onshore transfers and Requirements around education agents and commissions.

Threshold Standards

On 13 July 2026, significant amendments were made to the Threshold Standards. Those amendments were two-fold: firstly, to introduce requirements which are intended to prevent and respond to racism and, secondly, to strengthen governance.

These amendments are the culmination of intersecting reviews, inquiries and reports including the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism, the Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities, the ongoing Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, the Inquiry into Quality of Governance at Australian Higher Education Providers and the Expert Council on University Governance's Final Report and Principles.

Amendments relating to racism must be complied with by all higher education providers from 1 January 2027, and amendments relating to governance must be complied with by universities listed in Table A of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) from 1 January 2027 and all other higher education providers from 1 July 2027.

Transnational education

On 1 January 2026, amendments pertaining to the delivery of Australian higher education courses offshore in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (Cth) (TEQSA Act) came into effect. Those amendments require:

• providers seeking to deliver Australian higher education courses offshore to seek and obtain authorisation from TEQSA before doing so; and
• providers delivering Australian higher education courses offshore to comply with notification and annual reporting obligations.

Our Strengthening the regulation of transnational education in Australia provides further detail on these amendments and the corresponding requirements introduced to the TEQSA Act.

On 1 September 2026, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Offshore Course Reporting) Instrument 2026 (Cth) commenced. The Instrument specifies the annual reporting requirements for authorised providers of offshore courses and requires all such providers to submit their first annual report to TEQSA by 31 October 2026.

5. Consultations

TEQSA has held the following consultations in 2026.

First, TEQSA held a consultation on the Regulatory Risk Framework for the stated intention of testing sector understanding the Regulatory Risk Framework as one of the key inputs informing TEQSA's regulatory responses and decision making in relation to matters of higher education quality and provider-level risk. That consultation closed on 30 April 2026, and no relevant publications or statements have been made following that consultation.

Second, TEQSA held a consultation on transnational education reporting and ESOS renewal application periods for the purpose of seeking feedback on proposed annual reporting requirements for registered providers delivering Australian higher education courses offshore, and the application renewal period for Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) registration. That consultation closed on 14 August 2026 and, to date, has culminated in the Instrument referred to above.

Third, TEQSA held a consultation on the draft Statement of Regulatory Expectations on adopting a definition of antisemitism for the purpose of seeking feedback on the draft Statement of Regulatory Expectations (SRE): Adopting a definition of antisemitism. That consultation closed on 17 September 2026 and, given its recency, no relevant publications or statements have been made following that consultation. TEQSA has stated it will aim to publish the final Statement of Regulatory Expectations in October 2026.

6. Guidance notes, statements of regulatory expectations and other documents

TEQSA has not published any new or revised versions of its Guidance Notes or Statements of Regulatory Expectations in 2026. It has however published:

• the second edition of the Good Practice Note: Addressing contract cheating to safeguard academic integrity;
• revised versions of its application guide for initial registration as a prospective higher education provider and application guide for course accreditation (registered providers);
• a new application guide for authorisation to provide Australian courses offshore to support the revisions to the TEQSA Act referred to above; and
• a revised version of the guide to fitness and propriety under the TEQSA Act.

TEQSA has also established its first Student Advisory Panel in July 2026, by which TEQSA seeks to partner with students to better understand emerging and enduring sector risks.

With sustained legislative, regulatory and policy reform continuing to occur across all facets of the higher education sector in Australia, it is critical for universities and higher education providers to monitor developments in relation to the powers, policies and expectations of TEQSA to maintain their registration in good standing. MinterEllison can assist you, both in meeting TEQSA's expectations without regulatory intervention, and when regulatory intervention occurs.