September 2026 CRICOS Course Removals: 84% Were Concentrated at UniSA and the University of Adelaide
Of the 814 provider-course records that disappeared between the August and September 2026 CRICOS datasets, 685 belonged to two institutions: the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide.
UniSA accounted for 344 removed records, while the University of Adelaide accounted for 341. Together, the two foundation institutions of Adelaide University represented 84.2% of all removals identified in the monthly comparison.
This concentration changes how the headline decline should be interpreted. Once those two provider codes are set aside, the data contains 129 removals and 139 additions across the remaining comparison—a net increase of 10 provider-course records.
The figures show where the September removals were concentrated. They do not establish why an individual course record disappeared or whether a course was cancelled.
Providers with the most removed CRICOS records
| Rank | Provider | CRICOS provider code | Removed records | Share of all removals |
| 1 | University of South Australia (UniSA) | 00121B | 344 | 42.3% |
| 2 | The University of Adelaide | 00123M | 341 | 41.9% |
| 3 | Intech Institute of Technology Pty Ltd | 02035F | 46 | 5.7% |
| 4 | Australian Adelaide International College Pty Ltd | 03126F | 20 | 2.5% |
| 5 | NEWTON COLLEGE PTY. LTD. | 03598G | 18 | 2.2% |
| 6 | International College of Tasmania Pty Ltd | 03683K | 10 | 1.2% |
| 7 | MYOZ College Pty Ltd | 03795B | 8 | 1.0% |
| 8 | Sydney City College of Management Pty Ltd | 03620C | 5 | 0.6% |
| 9 | Bestlearn Education Pty Ltd | 04287C | 4 | 0.5% |
| 10 | Koolardie Aviation Pty Ltd | 04317B | 3 | 0.4% |
The three leading providers accounted for 731 removals, or 89.8% of the total. The provider-level distribution therefore matters more than the national total alone.
Adelaide University provides essential context
Adelaide University officially opened on 5 January 2026. The university states that it was built from the shared foundations of the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide.
The new institution appears in the compared CRICOS datasets under provider code 04249J. It had 496 course records with populated provider-course keys in August and 498 in September. Two Adelaide University course codes appeared in September that were absent from the August snapshot:
- 121311A — Study Abroad University College London
- 121312M — Master of Biotechnology (Biomedical)
The simultaneous presence of Adelaide University and the concentration of removals under its two foundation institutions are relevant to interpreting the update. They do not, however, prove a direct relationship for every course.
The CRICOS course exports do not contain:
- a reason-for-removal field;
- a mapping from legacy provider course codes to Adelaide University course codes;
- a status showing that a particular record was transferred or replaced;
- evidence that every removed registration represented a cancelled course.
It would therefore be inaccurate to describe all 685 legacy-provider removals as cancellations, transfers or one-to-one replacements. The supported finding is narrower: the removals were highly concentrated under the University of South Australia and University of Adelaide provider codes during the wider transition to Adelaide University.
UniSA accounted for 344 removed records
The 344 UniSA records covered undergraduate, postgraduate coursework and research qualifications.
| Course level | Removed UniSA records |
| Bachelor Degree | 92 |
| Masters Degree (Coursework) | 59 |
| Doctoral Degree | 50 |
| Bachelor Honours Degree | 48 |
| Masters Degree (Research) | 48 |
| Graduate Diploma | 22 |
| Graduate Certificate | 15 |
| Other represented levels | 10 |
Management and Commerce was the largest broad field among the UniSA removals, with 75 records. It was followed by Society and Culture with 54, Health with 47, and Engineering and Related Technologies with 44.
Examples of UniSA course codes that appeared in August but not September include:
- 000537M — Bachelor of Social Work
- 0100073 — Bachelor of Health Science (Public Health)
- 0100167 — Master of Communication
- 0101920 — Master of Management (Business Analytics)
- 013176B — Graduate Diploma in Project Management
- 013566K — Doctor of Philosophy (Geographic Information Science)
- 018568A — Doctor of Philosophy Business and Management
These are examples of records removed from the compared snapshot. Their appearance in this list is not evidence that the corresponding teaching activity ended in September.
The University of Adelaide accounted for 341 removals
The University of Adelaide contributed another 341 removed provider-course records.
| Course level | Removed University of Adelaide records |
| Bachelor Degree | 74 |
| Masters Degree (Coursework) | 72 |
| Bachelor Honours Degree | 58 |
| Graduate Diploma | 38 |
| Non AQF Award | 31 |
| Masters Degree (Research) | 23 |
| Graduate Certificate | 22 |
| Doctoral Degree | 18 |
| Other represented levels | 5 |
Society and Culture was the largest broad field in this provider’s removed records, with 67. Engineering and Related Technologies followed with 58, Natural and Physical Sciences with 42, Health with 41, and Management and Commerce with 40.
Research and coursework records both appear in the removed group. Examples include Doctor of Philosophy registrations in Sciences, Music, Medicine and Surgery, Law, Engineering and other disciplines, as well as coursework master’s and bachelor’s programs.
Course levels: removals and additions must be read together
The 814 removed records were distributed across 16 course levels. Bachelor Degree had the largest removal count, followed by coursework master’s and bachelor honours programs.
The net change for each level also depends on the 139 additions found in September.
| Course level | Added | Removed | Net change |
| Bachelor Degree | 22 | 167 | -145 |
| Masters Degree (Coursework) | 27 | 132 | -105 |
| Bachelor Honours Degree | 11 | 106 | -95 |
| Masters Degree (Research) | 0 | 71 | -71 |
| Doctoral Degree | 1 | 68 | -67 |
| Graduate Diploma | 5 | 68 | -63 |
| Graduate Certificate | 4 | 37 | -33 |
| Non AQF Award | 2 | 43 | -41 |
| Diploma | 26 | 43 | -17 |
| Certificate III | 29 | 25 | +4 |
Bachelor Degree recorded 167 removals, but its net decline was 145 after 22 additions were included. The same distinction applies to other levels: a removal count describes disappearing records, while net change combines additions and removals.
Certificate III was one of the few levels to finish the comparison with a positive balance, recording 29 additions and 25 removals.
Which broad fields recorded the largest net declines?
Management and Commerce had the largest number of removals among the broad fields, with 156. Engineering and Related Technologies recorded 148, while Society and Culture recorded 139.
After additions are included, the net changes were:
| Broad field | Added | Removed | Net change |
| Management and Commerce | 17 | 156 | -139 |
| Engineering and Related Technologies | 10 | 148 | -138 |
| Society and Culture | 23 | 139 | -116 |
| Health | 12 | 89 | -77 |
| Natural and Physical Sciences | 8 | 67 | -59 |
| Information Technology | 11 | 58 | -47 |
| Creative Arts | 10 | 49 | -39 |
| Education | 9 | 32 | -23 |
| Architecture and Building | 29 | 32 | -3 |
These field-level declines partly reflect the broad course portfolios associated with the two legacy Adelaide providers. They cannot be used as evidence of falling applications, enrolments or student demand because the course export contains none of those measures.
Removal from a monthly snapshot does not prove cancellation
For this analysis, a removal means that a populated combination of CRICOS Provider Code + CRICOS Course Code appeared in the August export but did not appear in the September export.
The comparison confirms the change between the two files. It does not identify the administrative reason behind it.
The terms below should not be used interchangeably without further evidence:
- removed record: absent from the newer compared dataset;
- expired registration: identified through an applicable registration status or date;
- cancelled course: confirmed as cancelled by an authoritative current source;
- replacement or transfer: supported by an official mapping or provider announcement.
No one-to-one crosswalk was available in the supplied data, so CRICOS.net has not treated an old UniSA or University of Adelaide code as equivalent to a new Adelaide University code merely because the course names may appear related.
What students should verify
A historical monthly comparison should not be used on its own to determine the status of an application, offer or Confirmation of Enrolment.
Students can search the current register through the Australian Government’s official CRICOS website. They should also check current information supplied directly by the relevant institution.
Useful details to confirm include:
- the current CRICOS course code;
- provider name and provider code;
- registered delivery location;
- current course status;
- intake and application availability;
- any provider communication about an existing offer or enrolment.
Adelaide University’s official announcement confirms that the university opened on 5 January 2026 and identifies the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide as its foundation institutions.
Methodology
CRICOS.net compared the August and September 2026 CRICOS course exports using a composite key made from:
- CRICOS Provider Code;
- CRICOS Course Code.
Rows without a populated composite key were excluded. A record was classified as removed when its key appeared in August but not in September. It was classified as added when its key appeared in September but not in August.
The comparison identified:
- 814 removed records
- 139 added records
- a net reduction of 675 nonblank provider-course records
- 685 removals associated with UniSA and the University of Adelaide
- 129 removals after those two legacy provider codes were excluded
- a net increase of 10 when their removals were set aside
The analysis describes differences between two CRICOS dataset snapshots. Findings about cancellation, transfer, replacement, enrolment or demand require additional evidence beyond these exports.