An online diploma college has been slapped with $30 million in fines after using dodgy practices to enrol disadvantaged students in courses they never logged into.
Captain Cook College took advantage of student loan changes to enrol more than 6000 students over three months, helping it turn a $19.5 million operating profit in the 2016 financial year.
"The conduct by the college was a 'rort' and that it improperly took unconscientious advantage of thousands of students and of the public purse," Justice Angus Stewart said on Tuesday.
He fined the college $20.75 million and hit the parent company, Site Group, with another $10 million fine.
Site Group and chief operating officer Blake Wills were aware of, and involved in, the conduct, the court found.
Wills was ordered to contribute $400,000 for his involvement and was banned from managing corporations for three years.
More than 99 per cent of the students did not complete their online course, and about 85 per cent of them never logged into their course.
"The college's unconscionable conduct took advantage of the vulnerability of consumers and caused harm to the thousands of consumers who should never have been enrolled in the form of unwittingly incurring very substantial (student) debts while obtaining no benefit from their enrolment," Justice Stewart said.
Legal action was first brought against the college in November 2018 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The watchdog alleged there was clear evidence the college enrolled vulnerable students in courses they were unlikely to complete.
Courses included business, project management and human resource management.
Affected students accrued more than $60 million in VET FEE-HELP loans, a government program assisting students to pay their tuition fees.
Those debts were later waived by the federal government.
The college's conduct cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement on Tuesday.
"It also caused distress to the thousands of consumers enrolled in their courses, who for many years were told they had significant debts to the government, " she said.
The Federal Court found the college and Site engaged in a system of unconscionable conduct in a 2021 judgment.
Captain Cook College, Site Group and Mr Wills appealed to the High Court but the findings were upheld in August 2024.
The college was established in 1998 as a provider of online VET FEE-HELP diploma courses, and later acquired by Site.
Former college chief executive Ian Cook admitted his involvement in the conduct in 2020.
He was banned from managing corporations for three years, ordered to pay $250,000 and make a contribution towards legal costs.
Site Group has been contacted for comment.
