As the COVID-19 crisis was unfolding, Sara Drozdowicz could see how much the aged care sector desperately needed more workers.
At 62 years of age — and with an MBA and Bachelor in Education already under her belt — she thought she had a lot to offer.
So Sara signed up to complete Chisholm Online Certificate III in Individual Support in term four last year. The course is supposed to allow graduates to work as aged or disability carers.
"I've done a lot of volunteering over time and I wanted to do something worthwhile," Ms Drozdowicz said.
"I was part of a cohort of wonderful people, of all different ages, cultural backgrounds, and work and life experiences, who had much to offer the aged care sector."
However, as term one progressed this year, it became apparent that course assessments — which students needed to do to finish subjects — were missing.
Ms Drozdowicz and her fellow students were also unable to do their placements in aged care homes because the right paperwork was not in place.
Chisholm Online told them everything would be fixed quickly, but weeks — and then months — went by.
"I started feeling angry that our time was being wasted and no one was being honest with us with what was going on," Ms Drozdowicz said.
Finally, in April, Chisholm Online representatives told students there were some "compliance issues" that had to be rectified and they didn't know when the students would be able to proceed with their studies.
Nine months after they started, students are still in limbo, unable to finish subjects nor complete placements due to the issues
"We had joined the Chisholm Online course with a view to going into a sector … [that] needed us. The word 'crisis' has been used often in the media," Ms Drozdowicz said.
"There were many of us who were prepared to do [the qualification] … and there we were being slowed down and delayed through no fault of our own."
Chisholm Online continues trend of non-compliance
The Certificate III and IV Aged Care qualifications are the latest Chisholm Online courses the ABC has discovered have been having serious issues.
Hundreds of students enrolled in three online mental health courses had their studies set back by at least six months after the courses were found to not be up to industry standards.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Chisholm Online said students of the latest affected courses "had their assessments delayed for quality improvement activities to be undertaken, depending on where they were in their self-directed learning".
"In the meantime, these Chisholm Online students were still able to continue with the theory components of their learning.
"Chisholm Online sincerely apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused. Chisholm Online will continue to work with these students to support them to complete their units of study."
A legal firm is now looking at a class action against Chisholm Online and the Ombudsman is making inquiries.
However, despite the serious, ongoing issues, the national regulator — the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) — renewed Chisholm's registration last month for another seven years.
The renewal places no restrictions on the courses it can offer.
According to a report on Chisholm Online's website, ASQA did not examine any coursework offered by the TAFE in renewing its registration.
ASQA would not answer the ABC's questions about whether it looked at Chisholm's coursework in its registration review.
Private and public sectors split by double-standards
Raelene Bartlett — who has worked in training organisation compliance with the federal government and now runs a private consultancy in the area — said ASQA had "waved through" Chisholm's re-registration.
"It's astonishing … considering the level of complaints that have been raised by the public, particularly in relation to their online courses," Ms Bartlett said.
Ms Bartlett said ASQA puts private training providers through much-tougher regulatory processes than TAFEs and estimates thousands of non-complaint TAFE courses are being run around the country.
"My experience of reviewing the quality of TAFE assessments and courses across states and territories would suggest that the majority are non-compliant," she said.
"If those complaints were for a private [education] provider, there would be immediate sanctions applied."
A major crackdown on private education providers was triggered in 2014, following complaints that students were signed up to long-term debts without their knowledge.
Ms Bartlett said that, while the focus has been on the private sector, TAFEs have been allowed to offer sub-standard materials without penalties, meaning their students had been ineffectively trained and had qualifications that rated below national standards.
In a Senate Estimates hearing in 2018, then ASQA chief executive Mark Paterson AO said some TAFEs were found to be up to 80 per cent non-compliant.
Despite that, ASQA has only taken action against two TAFE providers in recent years — TAFE SA over the delivery of 10 courses in 2017 and Box Hill TAFE over its aviation program in 2020, in which a student was almost killed.
"I can't say why they're getting special treatment, other than the fact it would be unusual for one government department to cancel the registration of another government department," Ms Bartlett said.
Another consultant, who did not want to be named, said TAFEs were "too big to fail", so it was easier for the regulator to take no action.
Opposition calls for refund of taxpayer money
The five affected courses at Chisholm are offered under the Victorian Government's Free TAFE program, which means taxpayers foot the bill for every subject students pass — even if they don't go on to get their final qualification.
Victorian Liberal education spokesperson David Hodgett said the government should look at removing Chisholm Online as a Free TAFE provider — and ask for money to be returned.
"I'm all for Free TAFE, and I think it should be expanded but, when there's government money going out, there's got to be appropriate checks and accountability," Mr Hodgett said.
In a statement, Victorian Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney said she was disappointed to learn the Chisholm Online courses had fallen below the standards the government expects.
The state government will now expand its monitoring of Chisholm from the three affected mental health courses to all Chisholm Online content.
"An independent monitor has been appointed to work in lock-step with Chisholm Online over the next six months to ensure the quality of online courses — and support [for] affected students to attain their qualifications — as soon as possible," Ms Tierney said.
Ms Drozdowicz has now given up on working in the aged care sector, but she wants all education providers to take note.
