New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 2001 - SECT 15

15 Unlawful conferral of higher education qualifications

(1) A person must not represent that an Australian institution has conferred, or is authorised to confer, a degree or post-graduate qualification unless:

(a) the institution was or is, as the case requires:

(i) an Australian or overseas university, or

(ii) an Australian or overseas higher education institution, and

(b) the degree or post-graduate qualification was conferred or is authorised to be conferred, as the case requires, in connection with a person’s successful completion of:

(i) a higher education course, or

(ii) a thesis, dissertation or other body of research, and

(c) in the case of a degree or post-graduate qualification conferred, otherwise than by an Australian university, in connection with a person’s successful completion of a higher education course:

(i) the course was or is, as the case requires, accredited under Division 2 in relation to the institution, or

(ii) if the institution was or is an overseas university or higher education institution, the course was or is, as the case requires, approved in accordance with the National Protocols.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units.

(2) Subsection (1) (b) and (c) do not apply to the conferral of honorary degrees:

(a) by an Australian or overseas university, or

(b) by any other education institution that the Minister may from time to time authorise to confer honorary degrees.