Foundation Education Reviews 

Very interesting course, the trainers were very accessible and helpful over the phone. They accommodated to my needs.

Joy, the person from service desk was very helpful, she understood my concern and conveyed/ discussed it with faculty and got positive result for me.

I'm 18 and just out of school. Foundation Education's sales rep Joyce, misled me during enrollment about the course requirements.
What Joyce DIDN'T tell me:
The course requires 160 hours of UNPAID work placement
Placements are full work days at childcare centres
Can't be done "after work" like I specifically said I'd do
She kept me on the phone during the entire enrollment - even while signing the contract. I felt pressured to sign quickly while she waited.
Her email said "160 hours of practical assessment work," but NEVER said UNPAID.
When I discovered the truth (18 days later), I emailed to cancel within 3 days.
Foundation Education:
Ignored my cancellation email for over 2 months
Told me cooling-off is "5 days" (it's legally 10 business days - they lied TWICE in writing)
Kept claiming it's about "financial hardship" when it's about being MISLED
I tried to cancel on 2 October. They finally acknowledged it today - 5+ months later.
AVOID Foundation Education. They use high-pressure phone tactics, don't disclose unpaid placement clearly, and ignore cancellations.

Marc was very helpful. Whilst he wasn't able to help me directly, he directed me to the correct people to assist with my query.

It was an amazing experience to study with foundation education. The team is very supportive and the student service team was really helpful. They have always supported me the best when i needed. The faculty was very supportive too. Especially miss maddy from childcare faculty team, she is a gem. She always guided me the best and resolved all my study related issues in no time. It was lovely experience to be a part of such great team. Thank you for your support guys. Really appreciated.

Today was my first day starting my course. I was having a few troubles trying to submit an assessment with a certificate. I was able to chat with Marc from student services and he was really helpful in simplifying what I needed to do. He gave me a step by step easy to understand guide in my next steps. This made the experience very simple and I am grateful for Marc's help this afternoon.

Foundation Education – Certificate III Health Services Assistance Review

I recently completed this course. I was able to graduate in the end, but I experienced many difficulties during the process. I want to share my experience so future students can prepare better.

The most important issue is work placement.

Before enrolling, I asked the staff several times about work placement. I was told not to worry because the school would support students in finding placement. However, after paying the tuition and starting the course, I discovered that students are actually expected to find their own placement.

Another problem was that the work placement agreement and requirements were not shown to me before enrollment.

When I finally saw the documents, they included:
• A supervisor signature requirement
• Wording that could make supervisors feel responsible if something goes wrong

Because of this, it can be difficult to ask nurses or managers to sign as supervisors.

For this reason, my strong recommendation is:

Do not enroll until you have secured a work placement.

At the very least, request the following documents before paying and confirm them with your workplace or supervisor:
• Work placement agreement
• Supervisor requirements

The school may say they will “support you”, but later they clearly state that work placement is not guaranteed (no guarantee).

In addition, before the school will help you, you must first provide evidence that you contacted 15 workplaces yourself.

If you cannot find a placement, you cannot complete even one unit, because almost all units are linked to work placement.

If you are already enrolled and cannot find placement, I recommend contacting the Queensland Training Ombudsman.
In my case, their involvement helped me receive a 3-month extension.

⸻

Study duration

The course is designed to be completed in one year, but in reality this can be very difficult.

This is because:
• Each unit has at least 3 assessments
• Marking takes about 3 weeks per assessment

If resubmission is required, the timeline becomes:

3 weeks → resubmit → another 3 weeks

With around 14 units, the total time can become very long.

⸻

RPL process

I applied for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The documentation required was 121 pages.

Initially I submitted the documents through Google Drive, but I was told:
• The file could not be opened
• Please resend

After resubmitting multiple times and eventually sending files in smaller sections, the RPL process still took about 9 weeks.

⸻

Communication issues

When I contacted the school for help, I often experienced what felt like being passed between staff members. Phone calls were transferred multiple times, and emails sometimes came from unidentified senders.

I submitted a Formal Complaint, but the situation did not improve immediately.

However, after contacting the Queensland Training Ombudsman and submitting another Formal Complaint, the school responded much more quickly.

Because of this, I strongly recommend contacting the Ombudsman early if serious issues occur.

⸻

Extension fees

Extension fees are also important to know:
• 1 month extension: about $400
• 2 months extension: about $600
• 3 months extension: about $800

Because assessment marking alone can take 3 weeks each time, it is very possible that students cannot finish within one year.

However, it may still be possible to negotiate extensions.

In my case:
• I negotiated 2 months free extension with the school
• After contacting the Queensland Training Ombudsman, I received another 3 months free extension

So if you need more time, do not immediately assume you must pay extension fees. It is worth discussing with the school first.

⸻

I was ultimately able to graduate, but much of my stress came from dealing with the administrative process rather than the study itself.

If you are considering this course, the most important advice I can give is:

Secure a work placement before enrolling.

Otherwise you may pay the tuition and later discover that you cannot progress in the course.

09/03/2026

Thanks for your response.

However, the issues I experienced are already explained in my original review, so I don’t think there is anything more to discuss.

I raised these problems with the school many times by phone and email while I was studying. I also tried to resolve the situation through the Queensland Training Ombudsman.

Unfortunately nothing really changed.

For that reason I don’t feel another discussion will make any difference. I would simply ask the school to read my original review again.

I just hope future students will not have to go through the same level of stress that I experienced, and that no one ends up paying for a course but being unable to complete the workplace placement.

Francis was amazing at assisting me with reenrollment as I had deferred some months ago.
Francis clearly assisted and reassured me about recommencement of.my course.
Thankyou to Foundation Education and their support and empathy after the death of my husband.
Support like this will allow me to get my life back on track.
Before my husband died he told me I must finish my course.
Thanks to all.
King Regards
Jane

Samuel took down my query and ensured it will get to the faculty.

Great experience, helped with extending the course and answering my queries.

Samuel went above and beyond to help me with my enquiry. He was compassionate and kind.

Foundation education was easy to talk to and very helpful with my allied health course. Marc on the student team helped me quickly and efficiently! They were very easy to talk with!

Thanks Marc for your help

My coaching calls with Brad are always great, he supports and helps me at his best ability.

Francis did well in explaining everything I needed to know about the general information of the course.

Samual was responsive to my questions and delivered all the answers I needed.

Samuel sorted everything out within seconds! I really appreciate the quick response and amazing support. Thank you so much :)

Marc gave me a great experience of chatting in the student assistant chatbox. He is very helpful and professional. He made the whole process of my request so smooth and easy. I truly appreciate his kindness.

Problem was fixed straight away. Samuel was a fantastic help.

Joy was amazing and helped me with my questions and assisted me extremely fast and efficiently. Very happy!!