Daily Brief — Australian Education

IDP Education's board rejected a second takeover approach from US private equity firm Blackstone on 22 September — a revised bid of AUD $2.50 per share (total AUD $694.7 million), up from a previously rejected AUD $2.30 offer — with the board characterising the proposal as "highly opportunistic" and stating it fails to reflect the company's future earnings potential, even as IDP's FY26 revenue fell 9% to AUD $795.4 million amid declining student placement volumes across all major markets. The bid represented a 56% premium above IDP's 8 September closing price; IDP co-owns the IELTS testing service. (The PIE, 22 September)

New reporting on the ILAC bankruptcy (18 September) reveals that agents and staff received no advance warning of the collapse — with recruitment agent Ella Levashova stating "the company informed its agents only last night that it was insolvent" and former employee Oscar Blanco noting "No one from the ILAC team knew this was coming" after more than 11 years with the company — while agent Cláudia Farina alleges enrolments were accepted despite known financial distress, calling it "deeply disappointing" and urging the episode serve as "a wake-up call for the entire industry" (22 September). KPMG has been appointed to manage insolvency proceedings. (The PIE, 22 September)

Gary Gervais, president of Heartland International English School, argues in commentary that the EC English and ILAC closures within four days of each other reflect a structural failure driven by the commodification of language education — with Languages Canada coordinating placements for more than 1,800 displaced students across both closures — warning: "If the price keeps going down, something else eventually has to give" and "we need to stop equating scale with success" (22 September). (The PIE, 22 September)

Standing figures: 2026 NPL 295,000 (+25,000 on 2025); visa refusal rates 69% Nepal, 42% India (early 2026); domestic commencements 413,133 (+4.3% YoY); $50m over-enrolment fund; $50m Structural Adjustment Fund.

The Department of Education has published factsheets for the agent commissions data collection under Section 21B of the ESOS Act, which allows the Secretary to request information on commissions paid by CRICOS-registered providers to education agents in connection with student recruitment (21 September). (Department of Education, 21 September)

12 October 2026 — Parliament reconvenes; Universities Accord (Opening the Doors of Opportunity) Bill 2026 expected to proceed to Senate vote with Greens and Pocock amendments secured.

12 October 2026 — 2026 National Student Safety Survey closes (opened 31 August across all 38 Universities Australia member universities; results expected 2027).

17–18 November 2026 — TEQSA 2026 Conference, fully virtual.

19 May 2027 — ASQA 12-month VET/ELICOS registration pause expires.