The vocational education company Careers Australia has gone into voluntary administration, canceling classes for 15,000 students at all 14 campus locations and leaving 1,000 employees without paychecks.

"I'm angry for the staff who have worked so hard, but especially for the students who don't know what's going to happen to them," said an employee who spoke to the ABC on condition of anonymity.  "It was awful having to tell them the news today."

The administrators PPB Advisory sent a terse letter to abandoned workers:  "You have been stood down without pay until further notice effective immediately," it read.  Similarly, students were sent text messages saying, "All activities of Careers Australia Group are suspended.  No classes, no workplaces effective immediately.  Further information will be provided."

PPB Advisory said Careers Australia lacked funds to meet payroll and other obligations.  Some workers said company credit cards were cancelled last month.

That's quite a comedown from a company that was raking in hundreds of millions of dollars at its peak - AU$500 million over three years, largely from government-subsidized student loans.

But the company was found to have used aggressive recruiting techniques on vulnerable students from disadvantaged areas and enrolling poor students with fake entrance exams in which salespeople filled in the answers, according to an ABC investigation.  When these techniques were banned, Careers Australia moved into telemarketing, free iPad gimmicks, and using employment websites to trawl for students.

With a track record of controversy, the federal government decided not to include the company in the new Vocational Education Training scheme.

"The recent decision by the Federal Department of Education and Training not to approve Career Australia's application to become a VET student loan scheme approved course provider has materially impacted the group's operations," PPB Advisory said in a media statement.  "Regrettably, we have had to suspend all classes and stand down employees while we assess all options available to the business moving forward."