NSW Are students consumers of Australian Educational Products?

[Australian Student]

It looks like a precedent has not been set for this question. Recently it came up at USyd when the candidature of dozens of students was discontinued due to a restructuring. More recently, a student at UNSW had their PhD candidature rescinded when the university claimed they could not find supervision. The student just won a related case in the NCAT Tribunal over a breach of privacy when he tried to file a complaint about the discontinuation. You can read about it here, as well as the possible consumer issues as they related to educational "products".

UNSW Found to Have Breached Privacy Act


Specifically:

The Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998 also states that in breaches of the act, if an employee of a public sector agency was found not to have acted “in good faith” they may be referred to the “responsible minister.”

The outcome of these remedies may set a precedent for the Australian university sector.

Should the original complaint about CWI’s PhD discontinuation be accepted by the University, it could be a breach of their consumer obligations. If the matter is referred to the Minister for Education, it could be found to be a breach of their privacy obligations. In either case, there may be serious legal repercussions for the University.

No legal precedent exists under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 as to whether the deregulated industry’s’ provision of higher education constitutes a “trade or commerce” relationship with students.

Her Honour Justice Collier of the Federal Court noted by consideration in Mbuzi v Griffith University 2014 that under the act,

• Universities now compete for students on the basis of price (tuition fees and other costs of attendance) and service (courses offered, teaching quality, the standard of facilities and research opportunities).
• Educational services supplied to full fee and part fee students are supplied in trade or commerce.

This consideration is supported by a 2012 article from the UNSW Law Journal by QUT Professor Stephen Corones, who has chaired three separate Commonwealth reviews of Consumer Protection legislation.

Corones notes that as a result of the Act, “since 1 January 2005, universities provide services to HECS paying [and international] students ‘in trade or commerce’” and that “there is no doubt that educational services supplied to full fee and part fee students are supplied in trade or commerce.”

Any precedent regarding a university’s consumer obligations to students under the Act would have also applied to students such as those affected by the Sydney College of the Arts saga at USyd.

 

[Clancy]

What exactly does candidature discontinued mean?
What exactly does candidature rescinded mean?

Do they get any kind of refund?
Do they have the ability to continue from the same point at a different university or did they waste a huge amount of time and have to start over?

 

[Australian Student]

What exactly does candidature discontinued mean?
What exactly does candidature rescinded mean?

Do they get any kind of refund?
Do they have the ability to continue from the same point at a different university or did they waste a huge amount of time and have to start over?

For a research student, discontinued candidature means you cannot re-enroll and have no supervision.
No refund, but I was on scholarship.
It is generally possible to to continue at another university, but because of the circumstances surrounding the matter, this is probably not feasible.

 

[Rod]

I'll take the information you posted at face value without confirmation.

You haven't asked a question, but suspect you want to know if Unis are covered by consumer laws. As you have noted historically it has not been seen to be the case. There are a number of cases that support this view which I don't have to hand. If you are still at Uni you'll have access to a good library.

While the view is changing, I don't know if it will be soon enough to help you. You can initiate your own action but if you were in full scholarship then you have not paid them any money and may be unlikely to attract consumer laws.

 

[Australian Student]

You can initiate your own action but if you were in full scholarship then you have not paid them any money and may be unlikely to attract consumer laws.

Aaahh -- you see here's the rub: if receiving a scholarship means that a student does not have the same rights as a tuition-paying "customer" this opens up a very large can of worms. Scholarships are competitive for a reason, and the University receives a substantial benefit in return for competing for high-quality students. A scholarship isn't charity -- Universities do not provide them out of kindness.

 

[Rod]

What exactly are you after?

And have you thoroughly read the terms of your scholarship and stipend? What does it say about termination?

Suspect the details of your scholarship/stipend become important here. May be a 'contract' issue rather than consumer law.

 

[Australian Student]

What exactly are you after?

And have you thoroughly read the terms of your scholarship and stipend? What does it say about termination?

Suspect the details of your scholarship/stipend become important here. May be a 'contract' issue rather than consumer law.

Education does not fall comfortably under contract law or consumer law. It is a wheel that has begun squeaking louder and louder.

Honi Soit, USyd's veberable publication has written about my particular case recently --

UNSW Found to Have Breached Privacy Act

in particular:

"No legal precedent exists under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 as to whether the deregulated industry’s’ provision of higher education constitutes a “trade or commerce” relationship with students."