A PERTH lecturer found to have pressured failing Chinese students for sex is unlikely to be the only academic to exploit the vulnerability of students caught up in Australia's visas-for-degrees trade, according to the WA Corruption and Crime Commission.

In a report tabled in state parliament yesterday, the commission said former Curtin University lecturer Nasrul Ameer Ali had implied he would exchange pass marks for sex with three young Chinese students.

They were under "enormous pressure" to qualify so that they could secure permanent residency as skilled migrants.

As part of a "prompt and vigorous response" to the case, Curtin is believed to have become the first Australian university to decide to subject staff to police checks.

"All new staff at Curtin will be police-cleared and we are progressively undertaking police clearance of all of our staff," Curtin vice-chancellor Jeanette Hacket said yesterday.

Carolyn Allport, president of the academic union, said: "To expect that everyone who works at a university has to have a police check -- that is definitely, completely, over the top."

The commission pointed to the potential for misconduct and corruption in the business model built on fee-paying international students seeking permanent residency. It said Curtin's business school had a high proportion of overseas students but did not appear to give them the "specialist support" they needed.

The competitive and commercial pressures could make universities reluctant to report abuses, and exploitation of students was "likely to be more widespread across the university sector".

Professor Hacket said Curtin had carried out a wholesale review, strengthened its protection against abuses and increased its support for students. "We are committed to making whatever changes are necessary to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, we have a corruption resistant organisation."

Dr Ali, who began tutoring at Curtin in 2004, was hired as a casual academic in the business school without an interview or reference checks. His 2008 doctoral thesis at the University of Western Australia dealt with corruption and economic growth.

After Curtin reported him to the commission last year, he was hired to teach in the business school at Murdoch University. A non-disclosure order from the commission prevented Curtin from saying anything to Murdoch. Murdoch's senior deputy vice-chancellor, Gary Martin, said Dr Ali had gone on leave while the university studied the commission's findings.

The commission said Dr Ali ultimately admitted he was offering pass marks for sex, but said "he only wanted to see if they would agree" and had no intention of following through.

None of the women wanted to press charges and the commission makes findings on the balance of probabilities only.

The Australian was unable to contact Dr Ali for comment yesterday.