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In light of the increasing amount of unsettling news articles such as those that follow, it's worth doing your homework when choosing an education provider for yourself or for your children: 

"‘This is a blatant rip-off of the taxpayer’: Training colleges facing audit of ‘predatory’ pricing" - (www.news.com.au)
"Thousands of students left with massive debts in the wake of training college" - (www.news.com.au)
"Collapsed training college owners had long-term plan to escape sector, paid themselves $20m" - (www.abc.net.au)
"'Mystery' Lismore college goes bust 6 months after opening" - (www.northernstar.com.au)
"Training giant Evocca College sacks 200 staff, set to close about a third of its campuses" - (www.abc.net.au)
"Training college Australian Institute of Professional Education has licence revoked by regulator" - (www.news.com.au)
"Newcastle private vocational trainer to shut doors suddenly" - (www.theherald.com.au)

There have been many such articles in the news lately about seemingly reputable government-recognised and funded colleges going belly-up, and leaving students out of pocket and without recourse.

Often they will lure prospective students with promises of lap tops / buy now pay later schemes, and often give strong marketing directives to their sales staff - sometimes to target vulnerable groups like young people from less affluent areas.

There are some basic checks you can do yourself before you part with your money and enrol. Ask yourself the following:

1.Is there a likelihood that this college going to deliver what it promises? 
Are you being sold on gimmicks or conditions that seem too good to be true?

2. Is it solvent? 
This can be hard to determine - many colleges can seem to be doing well but are loaded down with debt, and are over-extended. Hint: do a company check, and a director check; is there a history of insolvency (bankruptcy) in any of the director's pasts? 

3. What kind of tutors does this college employ? 
Are the tutors highly qualified and experienced professionals? Are there tutor details available on their website? How long have the tutors worked for the college?
and importantly -

4. HOW LONG HAS THE COLLEGE BEEN IN BUSINESS?
Colleges can seemingly 'spring up overnight' - and disappear just as fast! The chances are, if a company has been in business for a long time (decades, ideally), it should continue to do well. It is unusual to stay in business with a string of unhappy students in your wake. It is also worth noting that it is easier to stay in business if the government is funding you - regardless of your quality! So if your choice is a privately funded education provider, it's a reasonably safe bet that if they've been in business on their own merits and reputation for many years, they'll most likely continue that way.

5. Could the government funding that is keeping the college going be revoked? 
Colleges that rely on government funding are at the mercy of policy changes; and policies about education change frequently. Just recently government funding to government-recognised colleges was withdrawn across a range of disciplines. Something that may be funded by government today can just as easily be cut tomorrow.