A private college in Brisbane offering nursing courses to foreign and Australian students has had its accreditation to teach the course withdrawn.
Students who had each outlaid more than A$5,000 (HK$35,000) as a down payment for the course learned last month they would have to transfer to another college and study as external students.
Shafston Nursing is a branch of Shafston College, which runs English-language and IT courses on two campuses in the city.
Fees for the 55-week nursing course were set at up to A$16,000 but students were told last week they would have to study externally through an Adelaide-based institution. Only 100 of 490 who paid the initial Shafston fee have had the money refunded.
Accreditation to teach nursing at Shafston expired on December 31, although the college continued to enrol students throughout the year knowing it might not be re-accredited after an audit found a series problems with the course.
The investigation was conducted by the Queensland Council of Nursing. Former teachers told investigator David Price they had been ordered to pass all their students, regardless of their performance.
Professor Price heard the college allowed students with poor English to graduate with nursing diplomas last year, enabling them to work in Queensland hospitals.