Dodgy vocational college Phoenix Institute has been told it will lose its registration after revelations that it was a multimillion-dollar get-rich-quick scheme masquerading as an educational institution.

In a coordinated move against the college on Monday, the regulator – the Australian Skills Quality Authority –threatened its registration as an education provider, and the Department of Education and Training issued a notice of intent to remove its ability to charge the government for courses.

The Victorian state government also terminated the contract of another company in the same group, ASX-listed company Australian Careers Network.

Fairfax Media revealed last month that the college had employed dozens of salesmen, many working door to door, to give free laptops to vulnerable people, including drug addicts and those with intellectual disabilities, to sign them up for online diploma courses they would never complete. Each new student signed up generated an $18,000 government payment to the college, and a debt for the student.