Who is allowed to register to teach overseas students in Australia in 2026?

Only two kinds of entities can be registered to teach overseas students in Australia: a resident of Australia, or a Table C provider — a term that takes its meaning from the Higher Education Support Act 2003. That test comes from section 16 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), as published on the Australian Federal Register of Legislation, read against the official text as at September 2026. There is no third route, and no discretion to register an entity that fits neither limb; if the entity cannot be registered, it cannot lawfully be listed as a provider for overseas students. What follows is general information about how the rule is structured, not advice about any particular provider, course or enrolment — for a decision that affects you, the official text and a qualified professional are the reference points.

What does section 16 actually require?

Section 16 is short and it works as a gate. A registered provider must be:

• a resident of Australia; or
• a Table C provider (within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003).

The structure matters more than the wording. This is a closed list of two, not a list of factors to be weighed. An institution that is neither an Australian resident nor a Table C provider cannot hold registration, whatever its reputation, its campuses, or the qualifications it awards elsewhere in the world.

Who counts as a "resident of Australia"?

Section 16 uses the expression without setting out the test inside the provision itself, so the precise meaning has to be read from the Act as a whole and from related law rather than from this one sentence. What section 16 makes unambiguous is the outcome: residency is one of only two gateways, and it is assessed for the entity seeking registration.

That is why the question to ask of any provider is not "is this a well-known institution?" but "is the entity that would hold the registration an Australian resident, or is it a Table C provider?" A foreign university's standing in its home country does not answer either question.

What is a Table C provider, and why does the Act cross-refer to it?

A Table C provider is defined by reference to the Higher Education Support Act 2003, not by the ESOS Act. The cross-reference exists so that certain higher education bodies covered by that other Act can be registered to teach overseas students without separately satisfying the residency limb. Section 16 does not reproduce the contents of Table C, so the identity of the bodies it covers has to be read from the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the official versions of both Acts.

For a reader, the practical consequence is simple: the exception is narrow and defined elsewhere, and claiming it is not a matter of self-description. An institution either falls within the table under that Act or it does not.

What happens if a registered provider stops meeting this requirement?

The note under section 16 addresses this directly: if a registered provider breaches the section, the ESOS agency for that provider may take action against it under Division 1 of Part 6 of the Act. Registration is therefore not a one-time label — the residency or Table C status has to continue to hold, and there is a stated enforcement pathway if it does not.

What gets recorded when a provider is registered?

Registration is recorded on a register kept by the Secretary for the purposes of the Act. Under section 14A, that register is called the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students — CRICOS. Section 14A also sets out what must be entered for each provider's registration:

Two consequences follow from that list. First, registration is time-limited and can carry conditions; it is not permanent and not unconditional. Second, the register is built around courses and locations, not around institutions in the abstract.

Does registration cover every course and every campus?

No. Section 14A(4)(b) requires the register to record "each course which the provider is registered to provide, and each location at which the provider is registered to provide that course", and section 14A(4)(e) requires a unique identifier for each course at each location. The registration unit is the course at the location.

So a single entity can be registered for one course at one campus and not for another course at the same campus, or for the same course at a different campus. Being registered "somewhere" is not the same as being registered for the course you would actually study, at the place you would actually study it.

Can the public see who is on the register?

Section 14A(3) says the Secretary may cause the contents of all or part of the register to be made available to the public by electronic or other means, and section 14A(5) allows the Secretary to record any other information considered appropriate in relation to a provider's registration. Publication is therefore permitted rather than mandated in full, and the provision explicitly contemplates "all or part" of the register being published. Where a name, a course and a location do not appear together, the most direct reading of section 14A is that the provider is not registered to provide that course at that location.

Suppose an applicant is offered a place on a course delivered in Australia under the name of an institution based overseas. Under section 16, the entity that holds the registration must be an Australian resident or a Table C provider; under section 14A, the course and the delivery location must also be recorded against that registration. If the offering institution is neither, the gap is not a technicality — the entity is outside the only two categories the Act allows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an overseas university register to teach students in Australia?

Not in its own right as an overseas institution. Section 16 allows registration only for a resident of Australia or a Table C provider. An overseas university would need to meet one of those two descriptions for the entity holding the registration.

Does the rule change for online or offshore-delivered courses?

Section 16 states no delivery-mode exception. The requirement is about the identity and status of the registered provider, so a course delivered online or outside Australia does not move an entity into either permitted category.

Is CRICOS registration permanent once granted?

No. Section 14A(4)(g) requires the period of the provider's registration to be recorded on the register, and section 14A(4)(h) requires any conditions — and when they take effect — to be recorded as well. Registration runs for a recorded period and may be conditional.

Can a registered provider be registered for all of its courses at once?

Only if each course at each location is on the register. Section 14A(4)(b) records courses together with locations, and section 14A(4)(e) allocates a unique identifier for each course at each location, so registration is assessed per course and per location rather than institution-wide.

What if a provider breaches the residency or Table C requirement?

The note to section 16 provides that the ESOS agency for the provider may take action against the provider under Division 1 of Part 6 of the ESOS Act. Responsibility sits with the ESOS agency designated for that provider.

Which law defines a "Table C provider"?

The ESOS Act does not define it in section 16; it cross-refers to the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The contents of Table C, and therefore which bodies fall within it, come from that Act and its official version.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, section 16: Only Australian residents and Table C providers may be registered
• Federal Register of Legislation — Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, section 14A: The Register