Australian Universities Accused in Class Action Lawsuits Over ‘Deceptive’ Degrees

Two of Australia’s public universities are facing accusations of offering “misleading” and unaccredited degrees to students after twin class action lawsuits were launched.

The University of Newcastle is defending itself in the NSW Supreme Court over claims it misrepresented to students who began studying a Bachelor of Medical Engineering (BME) in 2018 that the course was accredited with Engineers Australia and under the Washington Accord.

Lead plaintiff Andreas Sklavos alleges the university publicised the degree as qualifying a graduate for employment as an accredited engineer in Australia without any further qualification.

The Supreme Court document also alleges the university said in promotional materials that the degree would qualify a graduate for employment as an engineer in Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, UK and the USA.

The lawsuit claims that despite student expectations, the University of Newcastle’s BME was not an accredited course at the time.

It has been accused of being “misleading and deceptive” in documents filed with the Supreme Court.

Provisional accreditation status through Engineers Australia was granted and retrospectively applied to students who commenced in the BME from 2020, University of Newcastle General Counsel Daniel Bell said.

“The university denies the claims being made against it and is defending the proceeding,” Bell said.

“The university accepts that the BME was not accredited up until 10 December 2023.

“It says that from 11 December 2023, provisional accreditation status through Engineers Australia was granted and retrospectively applied to students who commenced in the BME from 2020.

“The university says that material it published during the period 1 November 2017 to 31 July 2019 noted that the university was seeking provisional accreditation for the BME with Engineers Australia.”

Bell said the university also denies that any published statements regarding accreditation were misleading or deceptive.

The university also denies that it was “negligent toward, or entered a contract with, group members, in relation to the BME”.

Students involved in the class action have alleged they suffered financial loss after completing the BME.

This includes HECS debts and a “loss of income due to [the plaintiff’s] inability to practice and secure employment as an engineer graduating with an Accredited Course immediately”.

However, Bell said there is no requirement for engineers in Australia to have completed a degree that is accredited by Engineers Australia.

The University of Newcastle said it has offered to meet the cost for any students applying for membership with Engineers Australia.

“As the matter is now before the court, it would be inappropriate for the university to comment further,” Bell added.

A similar class action was filed in June against Western Sydney University (WSU) over the university’s Master of Advanced Imaging (MRI) course.

The lead litigant alleges the degree was not accredited with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA).

It appears WSU no longer offers the MRI course to students.

Australian Law Partners is representing students in both lawsuits.