Can an Australian provider guarantee a migration or course outcome in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

No. Under the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code 2018), Standard 1 — Marketing information and practices, a registered provider must not claim to commit to secure, for or on behalf of a student or intending student, a migration outcome from undertaking any course it offers, and must not guarantee a successful education assessment outcome. As at September 2026, the official text published on the Australian Government's Federal Register of Legislation states these two prohibitions as Standard 1.3.1 and 1.3.2. Standard 1.1 separately requires that marketing and promotion of courses and education services connected with recruiting overseas students — including marketing through an education agent — is not false or misleading and is consistent with the Australian Consumer Law.

This is general information about how the published rules read, not personalised advice about any particular enrolment, offer or visa situation; where a real decision depends on the wording, the official text is the reference point.

What exactly do Standards 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 prohibit?

Two distinct things, and the difference matters.

Standard 1.3.1 is about promising to obtain an immigration result. The wording is "claim to commit to secure for, or on the student or intending student's behalf, a migration outcome from undertaking any course offered by the registered provider." Because the ban attaches to the claim to commit, it is not avoided by softening the language — a promise to "arrange", "work towards" or "take responsibility for" a migration outcome still falls inside the claim. The scope is also tied to "any course offered by the registered provider", so it is not limited to one course level or one delivery mode.

Standard 1.3.2 is about the study result itself: a provider must not "guarantee a successful education assessment outcome for the student or intending student." That is a flat prohibition on guaranteeing the assessment outcome, regardless of how the guarantee is framed.

Who is bound — the provider only, or the agent as well?

The prohibition in Standard 1.3 is written against the registered provider, and Standard 1.1 makes clear that the provider's obligations cover recruitment carried out through an education agent in accordance with Standard 4. The written agreement the provider must have with each agent it formally engages has to spell out that the provider is responsible at all times for compliance with the ESOS Act and the National Code 2018, and must set out the provider's processes for monitoring the agent and ensuring the agent gives students accurate, up-to-date information.

So a "the agent said it, not us" position is not how the standard is structured. The provider carries the compliance obligation and is also required to act once it becomes aware of a problem: Standard 4.4 requires immediate corrective action where an agent has not complied with its responsibilities, and Standard 4.5 requires the provider to immediately terminate its relationship with the agent — or require the agent to terminate its relationship with the employee or subcontractor concerned — where it becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that false or misleading recruitment practices are occurring. Standard 4.6.1 adds that a provider must not accept students from an agent it knows or reasonably suspects is providing migration advice, unless that agent is authorised to do so under the Migration Act.

Does the rule only cover written advertising?

Standard 1.3 is not limited by medium. By contrast, Standard 1.2 is expressly tied to a specific moment — "in seeking to enter into written agreements with overseas students or intending overseas students" — and it bars false or misleading information on four listed subjects. And Standard 1.4, which requires the CRICOS registered name and registration number to be included, applies to "any written or online material" the provider disseminates or makes publicly available.

Put simply, the two guarantee bans sit in the general marketing standard, so a spoken promise in a counselling session and a post on a social feed are both inside the same rule. What Standard 1.2 adds is that the written-agreement stage also carries its own accuracy obligations.

How does this connect to the Australian Consumer Law?

Standard 1.1 does two jobs at once. It requires marketing and promotion not to be false or misleading, and it requires that marketing to be consistent with the Australian Consumer Law. The National Code obligation is therefore additional to, rather than a substitute for, general consumer law: a provider cannot satisfy Standard 1 by arguing that its claim passes a general-law test, and equally, meeting Standard 1 does not resolve anything the Australian Consumer Law deals with separately.

For a student, the practical reading is that a guarantee of a migration or assessment outcome is a compliance signal under the sector rules first, and a consumer-law question second — two tracks, not one.

What else has to be accurate in recruitment material?

Beyond the two guarantees, the same standard sets accuracy and disclosure requirements around the enrolment process.

What must be right	Where it applies	Standard
Association with any other persons or organisations the provider has arrangements with to deliver the course	Seeking to enter into written agreements	1.2.1
Any work-based training a student is required to undertake as part of the course	Seeking to enter into written agreements	1.2.2
Prerequisites for entry, including English language proficiency	Seeking to enter into written agreements	1.2.3
Any other information relevant to the provider, its courses, or outcomes associated with those courses	Seeking to enter into written agreements	1.2.4
CRICOS registered name and registration number	Written or online material used to offer, invite applications for, or indicate willingness to provide a course	1.4
No active recruitment that conflicts with obligations under Standard 7 (Overseas student transfers)	Recruitment activity generally	1.5

The fourth row is the one most often confused with the guarantee bans. Standard 1.3 bars the commitment and the guarantee outright; Standard 1.2.4 bars false or misleading information about outcomes. A provider can still describe its courses and their outcomes — it simply cannot state those outcomes inaccurately, and it cannot promise to secure a migration outcome or guarantee an assessment result.

How should a reader treat a "guaranteed PR" or "guaranteed pass" pitch?

The useful check is not whether the wording is emphatic, but what it commits to. Factual, checkable statements about course content, entry requirements and delivery arrangements are the ordinary substance of recruitment. A commitment to secure a migration outcome, or a guarantee of a successful assessment outcome, is the thing Standard 1.3 removes from the table.

Two features of the standard make verification easier in practice. Standard 1.4 means any written or online material used to offer a course, invite applications, or indicate the provider can teach overseas students should carry the provider's CRICOS registered name and registration number — so a flyer or page without them is already missing something required. And because Standard 4.5 obliges a provider to act on false or misleading recruitment by an agent, a claim that reaches the provider in writing is not merely a marketing dispute between the student and the agent.

As a hypothetical: suppose an intending student is told during a consultation that enrolling in a particular course will secure permanent residence, and that the same provider guarantees a pass in every subject. Under Standards 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 that is exactly the pair of claims a registered provider must not make, and if the claim came through an agent, Standards 4.4 and 4.5 set out what the provider must do about it. The student's own record of what was said, and when, is what makes the difference later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it against the rules for an Australian provider to advertise "guaranteed PR"?

Yes. Standard 1.3.1 prohibits a registered provider from claiming to commit to secure, for or on behalf of a student, a migration outcome from undertaking any course it offers. The wording covers the claim itself, so it is not avoided by phrasing the promise as a strong likelihood rather than a certainty.

Does the prohibition also cover education agents?

The obligation sits on the provider, and Standard 1.1 expressly covers marketing carried out through an education agent. The provider's written agreement with an agent must also state that the provider remains responsible at all times for compliance with the ESOS Act and the National Code 2018.

What if the promise was made verbally rather than in writing?

Standard 1.3 is not limited to written material, so a spoken promise in a consultation is within its scope. The written-material requirements in the standard are separate: Standard 1.2 applies at the written-agreement stage, and Standard 1.4 requires the CRICOS registered name and registration number in written or online material.

Can a provider guarantee that I will pass or graduate?

Standard 1.3.2 prohibits a registered provider from guaranteeing a successful education assessment outcome for a student or intending student. Separately, Standard 1.2.4 prohibits false or misleading information about outcomes associated with its courses when seeking to enter into a written agreement.

How does the Australian Consumer Law fit in?

Standard 1.1 requires marketing and promotion to be not false or misleading and to be consistent with the Australian Consumer Law. The two operate in parallel: the National Code requirement is sector-specific and additional, not a replacement for general consumer law.

What must appear in a provider's advertising materials?

Standard 1.4 requires the provider's CRICOS registered name and registration number in any written or online material used to provide or offer a course to an overseas student, invite a student to undertake or apply for a course, or indicate the provider is able or willing to provide a course to overseas students.

What happens if a provider finds out its agent is making misleading recruitment claims?

Standard 4.4 requires immediate corrective action where an agent has not complied with its responsibilities, and Standard 4.5 requires the provider to immediately terminate the agent relationship — or require the agent to terminate with the employee or subcontractor involved — where false or misleading recruitment practices are known or reasonably suspected.