A fitness college empire that has been heavily promoted by Steve "Commando" Willis has once again come under fire for its lack of facilities, poor training and a "scholarship" scheme that encourages students into up to $18,000 worth of debt.
The Sage Institute of Fitness, which has rapidly expanded from one campus to seven in just over two years on the back of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, has been criticised by students and employees for providing spaces where wires hang from walls, floor mats pile up in common areas and essential training equipment goes missing.
Since 2015 the college's "ground breaking, interactive learning" campuses have moved between four office buildings in Sydney alone.
"The facilities are absolutely shithouse," said James Dixon, a 33-year-old fitness coaching student who was attracted to the college's Oakleigh campus on the promise of a scholarship.
"They have all these pieces of equipment and it doesn't even compare to the PCYC. If you were paying for your membership at a gym you would ask for your money back. They are expecting students to come out and say I learnt at Sage. It is a joke."
Mr Dixon said that for a class of 50 the college had weight training facilities for a class of five. "They are just shovelling people through," he said.
In a statement made through its public relations firm, Sage said it was proud of the courses and facilities it offered students.
"Our class sizes are smaller to ensure students receive more attention," the statement said. "We do not have any classes with 50 students and we ensure that all of our students studying a fitness course across all our campuses have access to the right training equipment."
In March, it was revealed that Sage publicised its "cutting edge" diploma of fitness coaching on Channel Ten's hit show the Biggest Loser while having no dedicated gym facilities and asking students to help install their own classroom walls in empty office suites while charging them $18,000 year in student fees.
As the college's ambassador, Commando Steve continues to appear in advertising throughout Australia promoting the fitness coaching diploma as "designed by the industry for the industry".
But peak body Service Skills Australia never endorsed the course and until July, Fitness Australia and one of the country's largest gym chains Fitness First, would not take the course as a stand-alone credential for its personal trainers.
The national vocational education regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, has determined that the course no longer complies with the Standards for Accredited Courses and issued Sage with the show cause notice of its intention to cancel the course when its accreditation expires next June.
In 2014, the company, operating as Australian Careers Institute Pty Ltd, received $12 million in VET Fee Help loans for its 800 students, according to the federal Department of Education. Its figures for 2015 are yet to be released.
The group has also opened up a scholarship program to encourage people like Mr Dixon to join. Mr Dixon balances study with work and caring for his seven-year-old son.
"They told me they had one scholarship available for me. I thought that was amazing, I'd never had anything like that," he said.
"When I got to the actual campus they said I need to fill out a VET-FEE Help form. What they meant by scholarship was that they credit $500 off the cost and you get a $15,000 enrolment."
Sage defended the scholarships in a statement. "We advertise our courses through mainstream media, and do not 'recruit' applicants through the promise of scholarships. We do not offer scholarships as an incentive to enrol and our business does not engage in any deceptive practices," the statement said.
Steve "Commando" Willis has been contacted for comment. His talent management team has previously stood behind the fitness institute.
"Sage has an excellent reputation in the industry with the owners having delivered fitness courses for over 20 years," said his talent manager Lisa Sullivan in March.
