Latest news with #CaptainCookCollege
7NEWS
7 days ago
- Business
- 7NEWS
Thousands of student debts completely wiped as educator ordered to pay $30m over ‘unconscionable conduct'
The Federal Court has ordered an educator and its parent company to pay penalties of more than $30 million for misleading students. Captain Cook College, a vocational college offering online diploma courses, was slammed for unfairly leaving 5500 vulnerable students with VET FEE-HELP debts totalling more than $60 million. 'The vast majority of them failed to complete any part of their course, and around 86 per cent never even logged in to their online course,' the Australian Competition and Consumer Commision (ACCC) said on Tuesday. This was because the college removed consumer safeguards from its course enrolment and withdrawal processes, which affected vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers that were unsuitable for the enrolment. That misconduct went down in 2015, a year after the college was acquired by parent company Site Group. A year later, the college stopped enrolling students and ended its core operations. Competition and consumer regulator ACCC took action against the college in 2018. The Government waived the thousands of unfair student debts, but ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the 'unconscionable conduct' did not just cost taxpayers. 'It also caused distress to the thousands of consumers enrolled in their courses who for many years were told they had significant debts,' she said. The college had received tens of millions of dollars of federal government funding under the VET FEE-HELP scheme and saw a huge boost in revenue after the misconduct, ACCC said. Captain Cook College was ordered by the court on Tuesday to pay $20 million for engaging in systemic unconscionable conduct. It was also ordered to pay $750,000 for making false or misleading representations to students in connection with online diploma courses under the former VET FEE-HELP loan program, which was replaced by the by VET Student Loans program in 2017. The court ordered Site Group to pay another $10 million in penalties, in addition to a $400,000 for the parent company's former COO, Blake Wills, who was 'knowingly concerned in Captain Cook College's system of unconscionable conduct', ACCC said. Former CEO Ian Cook was already penalised in a 2020 settlement. He is disqualified from managing corporations for three years and he was ordered to pay $250,000 in penalties and contribute towards the ACCC's costs. Site and several subsidiaries entered into voluntary administration in March this year.
Sky News AU
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Captain Cook College fined more than $30 million for overcharging 5,500 students for courses most never logged in to
An Brisbane-based vocational college will pay $30 million in fines after engaging in "unconscionable conduct" where thousands of students racked up debts for courses that most never logged on for. Captain Cook College faces tens of millions of dollars in penalties after it was taken to Federal Court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The college, which has received millions from the Federal Government, removed consumer safeguards in 2015 from its enrolment and withdrawal processes that are designed to protect students from being overcharged. This led to about 5,500 students facing debts under the former VET FEE-HELP loan program totalling more than $60m. The ACCC said the 'vast majority' of affected Captain Cook College students failed to complete any part of their course and about 86 per cent never logged in to their online course. The Federal Government was forced to waive the debts of the affected students and withheld some payments from the college. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the college's actions had ramifications for both the students and the government. 'Captain Cook College's conduct not only cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, but it also caused distress to the thousands of consumers enrolled in their courses who for many years were told they had significant debts to the Government,' Ms Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement. The college has been fined $20m for unconscionable conduct and $750,000 for making false or misleading representations to students. Its parent company Site Group International is facing a $10m penalty while Site's former chief operating officer Blake Wills has received a $400,000 fine and is banned from managing corporations for the coming three years. Ms Cass-Gottlieb said the consumer watchdog was pleased with the outcome as it 'sends a message to all businesses, including those seeking to obtain government funding, that they must comply with the laws which protect consumers'. 'The judgment also shows the ACCC's determination to pursue individuals in appropriate cases,' she said. The ACCC first began proceedings against Captain Cook College in 2018 and it was first found guilty in 2021. Captain Cook College, Site Group and Mr Wills appealed this decision, but it was upheld in August 2024. The college was established in 1998 and acquired by Site in 2014.
