International education can look commercially simple: recruit students, issue offers, take tuition and deliver the course. The legal system is much more controlled. A provider needs to know whether it can be on CRICOS, whether the course can be offered to overseas students, what must go into student agreements, how education agents are controlled, how prepaid fees are handled and what has to be reported when student circumstances change.
For small providers, the risky parts are often operational. Marketing language can overpromise visa or course outcomes. Agents can say things the provider would never approve. Written agreements can miss refund or fee detail. Student records can be incomplete. Prepaid fees can be handled casually. Complaints and course progress issues can become regulator issues because they affect students, visas and tuition protection.
A buyer looking at an international student provider should treat CRICOS and ESOS compliance as core due diligence. Course registrations, agent agreements, National Code compliance, student agreements, refund history, TPS position, reporting systems, complaints, regulator correspondence and offshore marketing controls all affect the value of the business.