A corruption inquiry is being held into claims Australian university lecturers are demanding money from vulnerable Asian students - some of them from Hong Kong - in a 'grades for sale' scandal.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption in New South Wales has confirmed it is taking seriously allegations against senior lecturers from at least one tertiary institute in western Sydney.
It has been alleged they may have been pressuring students into paying between $3,000 and $12,000 to pass courses.
The National Union of Students has said the incidents highlight the vulnerable position of many overseas students.
The union said many students, separated from family and friends, were afraid to report the corrupt approaches.
Union spokesman John Nolan-Neylan said bringing these complaints to light allowed them to expose a broader, long-hidden problem - the lack of a uniform procedure for dealing with such grievances.
Mr Nolan-Neylan said some foreign students paid $60,000 a year to attend Australian universities.