When does Australia's TPS actually pay out — and is there a 12-month deadline (2026)?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

The Tuition Protection Service (TPS) does not pay on a schedule you can count down to, and there is no fixed number of weeks after a college closes when money lands. A payment is made out of the Overseas Students Tuition Fund (OSTF) only when a "call" is made on that fund, and the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) limits that to three situations: provider default where the student has not accepted an alternative place, provider default where the student has accepted one, and student default where the provider failed to pay a refund it owed. In all three, the TPS Director must first determine that the trigger exists, and the provider must already have missed its own obligation. There is also an outer limit: under section 50A(5), no call is made if the point at which the TPS Director becomes aware that the circumstances may exist falls more than 12 months after the relevant default day. This follows the current text of sections 5, 46D, 50A and 50B of the ESOS Act published by the Australian Government's Federal Register of Legislation, as at September 2026.

Which of the three triggers does my case fall under?

The distinction that matters most is whether the default is the provider's or the student's, because the two run on different conditions.

Trigger	What must be established	Who the payment goes to
Provider default, no alternative place accepted — s 50A(2)	The provider defaulted in relation to an overseas student (or intending overseas student) and a course at a location; it failed to discharge its section 46D obligations by the end of the provider obligation period; and the student has not accepted a place in an alternative course under section 49	The student, unless a refund was required under section 47D and another person is specified in the section 47B agreement
Provider default, alternative place accepted — s 50A(3)	Same first two elements, but the student accepts a place in an alternative course under section 49	The registered provider of the alternative course (section 50B(3)(a))
Student default, refund not provided — s 50A(4)	The student defaulted in relation to a course provided by a registered provider at a location, and the provider failed to provide a refund under section 47D or 47E by the end of the provider obligation period	The person specified in the section 47B agreement where a refund was required under section 47D; otherwise the student

Note that the first two triggers are not "the provider closed" in the abstract. They attach to a default "in relation to an overseas student or intending overseas student and a course at a location" — a person-specific and course-specific determination.

What has to go wrong first in a provider default case?

Before TPS money is in play, the provider gets its own chance to fix the situation. Section 46D(2) gives the provider a period of 14 days after the default day — defined as the provider obligation period — to discharge its obligations to the student. It does so either by arranging for the student to be offered a place in an alternative course at the provider's expense and having the student accept that offer in writing, or by paying a refund of unspent tuition fees it received in respect of the student, worked out under any legislative instrument made under section 46D(7).

The TPS trigger is the failure of that step: both section 50A(2) and section 50A(3) require the TPS Director to determine that the provider "failed to discharge its obligations under section 46D to the student by the end of the provider obligation period." In other words, the fund is a backstop behind the provider's own 14-day obligation, not a parallel route that opens at the same time.

And what counts in a student default case?

Section 50A(4) is narrower. It has no placement limb at all — the trigger is purely that the student defaulted in relation to a course provided by a registered provider at a location, and the provider failed to provide a refund in accordance with section 47D or 47E, as the case requires, by the end of the provider obligation period.

One detail worth keeping separate: the 14-day figure in section 46D is the provider-default period. Under section 5, the provider obligation period "in relation to a default" takes its meaning from section 46D, 47D or 47E as the case requires, so a student default case is measured against the period set by section 47D or 47E rather than the 14 days stated in section 46D.

What is the "default day", and why does it anchor everything?

Section 5 sets the default day by reference to which limb of the default definition applies, not by reference to when anyone complains or applies.

If the default arises under	The default day is
Subparagraph 46A(1)(a)(i), or paragraph 47A(1)(a)	The agreed starting day
Subparagraph 46A(1)(a)(ii)	The day on which the course ceases to be provided
Paragraph 47A(1)(b)	The day on which the student withdraws from the course
Paragraph 47A(1)(c)	The day on which the provider refuses to provide, or continue providing, the course to the student

"Agreed starting day" is itself defined as the day the course was scheduled to start, or a later day agreed between the provider and the student. So the anchor date is fixed by events in the enrolment — a scheduled start, a course ceasing, a withdrawal, or a refusal — rather than by an administrative step.

Is the 12-month limit a deadline I have to meet?

It is a limit, but not one written as a student-facing filing deadline. Section 50A(5) says a call is not made on the OSTF if the time when the TPS Director becomes aware that the circumstances described in section 50A(2), (3) or (4) may exist is more than 12 months after the relevant default day.

Two features follow from that wording. First, the fixed end of the measurement is the default day, not the day the student found out and not the end of the provider obligation period. Second, the moving end is the Director's awareness — and the threshold is awareness that the circumstances "may exist", which is lower than awareness that they definitely do. The section applies equally to all three triggers, and it operates as a bar on the call itself rather than as a time limit on a claim form.

When does the money actually arrive, and who receives it?

Once a call is made, section 50B(1) requires the TPS Director to pay out of the OSTF, as soon as practicable, an amount equal to the amount the provider must still pay in order to satisfy the refund requirements under Division 2. "As soon as practicable" is the standard the Act sets; it does not state a number of days.

Who receives it depends on the route (section 50B(3)):

If the student has accepted a place in an alternative course under section 49, the payment goes to the registered provider of that course.
If a refund was required under section 47D and a person other than the student is specified in the section 47B agreement to receive refunds, it goes to that specified person.
Otherwise it goes to the student.

Section 50B(4) adds that where the amount paid to an alternative provider exceeds the cost of the course, the TPS Director must pay the difference to the specified person or the student, as the case requires. Section 50B(2) also allows the Director, where a student has accepted an alternative place, to spend more than the refund entitlement if doing so would best protect the student's interests and would not jeopardise the sustainability of the OSTF. The Minister may also specify requirements for these payments by legislative instrument under section 50B(5).

How the sequence looks in practice

Assume a hypothetical student enrolled with a registered provider, and the course stops being delivered on a given date. Under section 5, where subparagraph 46A(1)(a)(ii) applies, the default day is the day the course ceases to be provided. The provider then has 14 days from that day to offer an alternative place at its own expense or refund unspent tuition fees. If it does neither by the end of that period, and the TPS Director determines the elements of section 50A(2) or (3) are met, a call is made and payment follows under section 50B. If, however, the TPS Director only becomes aware that those circumstances may exist more than 12 months after that default day, section 50A(5) means no call is made at all.

The above describes how the Act frames the mechanism; it is general information about the legislation, not advice on any individual case, and whether a call is made turns on determinations the Act assigns to the TPS Director. For a specific situation, the officially published current text of the Act and any professional advice you obtain are what should govern your decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does TPS pay out automatically when a provider closes?

No. A payment requires a call on the OSTF under section 50A, which in turn requires a determination by the TPS Director that the trigger elements exist — including that the provider failed to discharge its section 46D obligations by the end of the provider obligation period.

Is the 12 months counted from the day I found out about the default?

No. Section 50A(5) measures the 12 months from the relevant default day, which section 5 fixes by reference to events such as the agreed starting day, the day the course ceases to be provided, the day of withdrawal, or the day of refusal. The comparison point on the other side is when the TPS Director became aware that the circumstances may exist.

How long does the provider have before TPS can step in?

In a provider default case, section 46D(2) sets the provider obligation period at 14 days after the default day. In a student default case, the period is the one given by section 47D or 47E as the case requires, not the 14 days stated in section 46D.

If I accept a place at another course, do I still get money myself?

Usually not directly. Under section 50B(3)(a), where the student has accepted a place in an alternative course under section 49, the TPS Director pays the registered provider of that course; any excess over the course cost is paid to the specified person or the student under section 50B(4).

Can TPS pay more than the refund I was entitled to?

Yes, in one situation. Under section 50B(2), where a student has accepted an alternative place, the Director may spend more than the amount of the refund entitlement if that would best protect the student's interests and would not jeopardise the sustainability of the OSTF.

Does the 12-month bar apply to student default cases too?

Yes. Section 50A(5) refers to the circumstances described in subsections (2), (3) and (4), so it covers both provider default triggers and the student default trigger involving an unpaid refund under section 47D or 47E.

Is there a set number of days for the payment to arrive?

The Act does not state one. Section 50B(1) requires the TPS Director to pay the relevant amount as soon as practicable after a call is made, with payment requirements also able to be specified by legislative instrument under section 50B(5).