‘Difficult to imagine worse conduct’: Dodgy training college hit with $4 million in penalties

The Federal Court has ordered $4.16 million in penalties against Unique International College Pty Ltd, which pocketed almost $140 million in Commonwealth funds while operating from a tiny office above Silly Willy’s $2 shop in Granville in Sydney’s west.

Founded by Indian immigrant Amarjit Singh, Unique was one of the worst rorters of the Rudd-Gillard-era VET FEE-HELP scheme, which was shut down in 2016 amid widespread concerns about providers and marketers.

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VET FEE-HELP was similar to university HECS debt, in that the provider collected the cost of the course upfront and the student incurred a debt to the Commonwealth.

The system was plagued by dodgy operators who flogged overpriced training courses to vulnerable consumers, many of whom would never be able to repay the debt.

Billions of dollars in loans were issued to students and pocketed by colleges.

Singh, a former journalist, set up the company in 2007, but it saw a rapid increase in enrolments after gaining approval as a VET FEE-HELP provider 2013.

That year, Unique had 631 students, but by 2015, the number had increased sharply to 4677.

In the 2014-15 financial year, Unique enrolled more than 3600 students and was paid approximately $57 million by the Commonwealth.

In total, the college accessed $139.9 million in Commonwealth funds.

Until July 2015, Unique International College was the owner of a $5.8 million “palatial estate” in Sydney’s Kenthurst, replete with 12-car garage, tiered 14-seat home cinema, marble bathrooms, an in-ground pool, a three-­station beauty salon, a gym, a children’s toy room, and a grand function room with its own dancefloor.

Members of Sydney’s Sikh community said the Singh family’s rapid success had been remarkable.

“All of a sudden they became wealthy,” one lawyer told news.com.au in 2015. “They shocked the community with that $6 million house.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instituted proceedings against Unique in October 2015 after a joint investigation with NSW Fair Trading, alleging that its sales staff targeted vulnerable communities using door-to-door sales tactics.

In June 2017 the court found that Unique engaged in unconscionable conduct, misleading or deceptive conduct and breached the unsolicited consumer agreement provisions of the Australian Consumer Law.

In September 2018, Unique successfully appealed part of the judgment, with the full court setting aside the finding of systemic unconscionable conduct – the $4 million in penalties relate to breaches of the Australian Consumer Law relating to six specific consumers.

The court found Unique engaged in unconscionable conduct against five consumers, made false or misleading representations to four of these consumers, and breached the unsolicited consumer agreements provisions in relation to six consumers.

Unique lured the consumers to enrol in the courses, which cost up to $22,000, with the offer of free laptops or iPads, the court found.

“This was the exploitation of an obviously very vulnerable person for financial gain,” the judge said of one consumer.

“It is difficult to imagine unconscionable conduct which could be worse.”

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said some of the consumers enrolled by Unique “had poor literacy skills, and others could not use computer or did not have an internet connection”.

“The ACCC will always prioritise taking action against businesses which engage in egregious conduct impacting vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers,” Mr Sims said in a statement.

Under the new VET FEE-HELP Student Redress measures, the Federal Government is in the process of cancelling the debts of consumers enrolled by Unique.

“We support the Commonwealth’s continuing work to cancel these students’ debts,” Mr Sims said.

During the court case, the ACCC successfully sought freezing orders on the business’ assets after $30 million was transferred to India.

Mr Sims told news.com.au in 2017 “significant sums of money” were returned but could not confirm a figure.

Unique was one of around half a dozen colleges targeted by the ACCC.

Last month, the Federal Court handed out a record $26.5 million penalty against Empower Institute and ordered it to repay more than $56 million in Commonwealth funding, after a finding of systemic unconscionable conduct.

A case against collapsed education broker Acquire Learning – co-founded by the nephew of former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou – which used aggressive telemarketing practices to sell diploma courses to jobseekers, resulted in a $4.5 million penalty.

The consumer watchdog has previously accepted court-enforceable undertakings to cancel enrolments and repay government loans from two colleges, Australian Vocational Learning Centre and Careers Australia, which went into voluntary administration in 2017.

A case against the Australian Institute of Professional Education is awaiting judgment after a trial late last year, Phoenix Institute is listed for hearing in the Sydney Federal Court next week, and Captain Cook College heads to court in June next year.

frank.chung@news.com.au