NIET Education Group is an Australian vocational education group based in Brisbane. It brings together three registered training organisations — the National Institute of Education and Technology (NIET), Charlton Brown and Rhodes Business School — plus the UniTrack packaged-programme arm. This guide is written for international students and their families: it covers what the group’s colleges offer, what they ask of applicants, what the published fees look like, and how the application-to-arrival process works. Every fact below was read from the group’s and colleges’ official websites on August 5, 2026; figures the sites do not publish are marked as not published. The schools’ own claims are reported as the schools’ claims, and nothing here supports rankings or cross-institution comparisons.
The Group and Its Colleges
NIET Education Group is headquartered at Level 4, 102 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. Its college NIET (niet.edu.au) is operated by Australia Academy International with CRICOS code 03590D and RTO 41422; Charlton Brown (charltonbrown.edu.au) holds CRICOS 03822D and RTO 2508 and says it has been training since 1980; Rhodes Business School (rhodes.edu.au) is RTO 40950. Campuses span Brisbane (102 and 316 Adelaide Street), the Gold Coast in Southport, Hobart (188 Collins Street), and an academic centre on the University of Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus. On its vision page, NIET Education Group describes a combined 150 years of history, more than 35,000 graduates and an annual cohort above 2,000 — these are the group’s own figures. The group also describes Vision 2030 as its continuous-improvement strategy.
Programs Across the Group
NIET Education Group’s colleges cover different slices of the vocational market. NIET’s own course catalogue currently lists one course: the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) (BSB80120), a 104-week program with monthly intakes at its Brisbane campus. Charlton Brown’s catalogue lists 22 courses organised by faculty: English and ELICOS (General English in 12-week blocks, a High School Preparation Programme, and a Primary School Preparation Course for students aged 9 to 12), education, health and community (early childhood education and care, community services, remedial massage), hospitality and cookery (commercial cookery, hospitality management), information technology, and business and leadership. Its NEAS-accredited High School Preparation Programme offers direct entry into Education Queensland International (EQI) schools and many private and independent Queensland secondary schools. Rhodes Business School focuses on civil construction design, offering the Diploma of Civil Construction Design (RII50520) and the Advanced Diploma (RII60520). Across the group, the UniTrack programme packages a diploma with a university degree under one Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE;) — the group site names the University of Tasmania and Macleay among its packaging partners, and Charlton Brown’s site lists articulation options with universities including QUT, Griffith and Torrens.
Entry Requirements for International Students
Entry expectations at NIET Education Group colleges vary by level. For diploma courses, both NIET and Charlton Brown state that the minimum entry is completion of Australian Year 11 or a satisfactory result in the college’s own entry test, with a second attempt allowed. Academic and English thresholds then differ by course: Certificate IV in Business asks for Australian Year 10 (or Year 11 in the student’s home country) with intermediate English (IELTS 5.0 or the college’s LLND test); Diploma of Leadership and Management asks for Year 11 equivalent with IELTS 5.0; Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care asks for Year 11 with upper-intermediate English (IELTS 5.5), a Blue Card (no criminal record) and a Certificate III in early childhood education; Diploma of Community Services asks for Year 12 with IELTS 5.5 and availability for the industry placement; Diploma of Remedial Massage asks for Year 11 with IELTS 4.5; and the UniTrack Diploma of Information Technology asks for Year 11 with IELTS 5.5. The High School Preparation Programme has no education or English requirements, only an age range of 12 to 17, while the Primary School Preparation Course serves ages 9 to 12. NIET says applicants who cannot produce academic or English evidence can sit its free placement tests. Some Charlton Brown course pages also note that the general student visa English requirement has moved from IELTS 5.5 to 6.0 or equivalent — visa rules are set by the Australian Government, not the colleges, and the official requirements should be checked at the time of application.
Costs and Fees
NIET Education Group publishes no single group-wide price list; each college sets its own fees. On the NIET course catalogue (official site, 2026-08 edition), the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is listed at 17,000 AUD for international students. Charlton Brown’s course pages (official site, 2026-08 edition; all 52-week courses) show international rates of 7,000 AUD for Certificate IV in Business and the Diploma of Leadership and Management, 9,500 AUD for the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, 9,000 AUD for the Diploma of Community Services, 11,500 AUD for the Diploma of Remedial Massage, and 25,000 AUD for the UniTrack Diploma of Information Technology. General English is charged per week — 280 AUD for international students — and the High School Preparation Programme shows 550 AUD against its 10-week blocks. Most courses add a 250 AUD enrolment fee and a 250 AUD materials fee (500 AUD for the IT program). Rhodes’ civil construction course page publishes a 250 AUD enrolment administration fee and a 1,000 AUD materials fee, but no published tuition figure for the main course — the fee field on the page shows a placeholder label, so as of the 2026-08 edition the tuition amount should be verified against the latest version of the official page. International students on a student visa must hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC;) for the duration of their studies; NIET can arrange cover through its preferred provider, Allianz Care Australia, or students can arrange it themselves. Both NIET and Charlton Brown mention payment-plan arrangements for tuition.
Applying and What Happens Next
The application sequence at NIET Education Group colleges is broadly the same: complete the online enrolment form, receive a Letter of Offer setting out the terms and payment schedule, sign it and pay the first instalment, then receive the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) needed for the student visa application. NIET’s enrolment page adds the USI (Unique Student Identifier) step and the entry test for applicants without Year 11. Charlton Brown’s international page notes that, under Australian Government rules, applications from countries assessed as high-risk for visa non-compliance may be rejected. On arrival, the support chain described by Charlton Brown includes airport valet transfers in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Hobart, an orientation video, learning-portal logins and pairing with a student ambassador or mentor; NIET describes student, trainer, technical and career support, with assignments marked and returned within two weeks and international students expected to complete their course within the CoE duration. The UniTrack packages are described by the group as letting students complete a diploma and a degree under one visa. Because every fee and requirement above was read from the official sites on 2026-08-05 and the sites update continuously, the live pages remain the authoritative source. If you would like to map NIET Education Group’s programs, entry requirements and published costs against your age, current year level, English results and budget, the advisers on this site can walk through the details with you.
Official Sources and Information Currency
All facts in this guide were read on August 5, 2026 from: the group site (home, campuses, vision and initiatives pages), NIET (home, study, course catalogue, enrolment procedures and FAQ pages), Charlton Brown (home, course catalogue, international students, enrolment procedures and individual course pages), and Rhodes (home and course detail page). Fee figures correspond to the 2026-08 edition of those pages. The group’s claims about graduate numbers, satisfaction, employment and university articulation are its own statements and should not be used for ranking or cross-school comparison. Visa, insurance and legal eligibility are matters for the Australian Government and its official sources. NIET Education Group’s course list, entry requirements and fees change over time; check the latest official versions before deciding, and feel free to ask this site’s advisers about your specific situation.