[4] Navitas made A$929.69 million in total sales in 2018, through its various subsidiaries and pathways programs in association with 11 public universities in Australia.

The company was co-founded by Rod Jones and Dr Peter Larsen, as a joint venture with Edith Cowan University.

[9] Responding to a favourable financial environment, Navitas moved on acquiring SAE Group, for A$294.3m, in 2011, its largest acquisition so far.

The investor consortium was led by private equity firm BGH Capital, also consisting of AustralianSuper and the company's founder Rod Jones.

[9] Prior to 2017, this segment was represented as 2 smaller categories, Professional and English Programs (PEP) and SAE Institute, however was merged.

[5] This table displays the total revenue divided by each segment,[13][11][52][53] before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and impairment.

With experience in the industry, and an interest in capitalising on the rapidly growing student market, the founder found initial success upon the company's inception.

[58] The rapid growth of the private higher education (PHE) industry has been linked in many countries to employers’ changing workforce demands, to preferring workers who can quickly react to technological advancements.

In Australia, the cause of this growth has been linked to the inability of the public education sector to accommodate the growing demand of international students.

[59] The foundation of TEQSA in 2011 and subsequent funding towards public tertiary education providers, has further contributed to Navitas and the PHE industry's ability to grow in Australia.

[64] The Fair Work Commission expressed that it was not satisfied with Navitas' obligation to assess their casual employment contract validity.

[63] The Commission stated that all casual contracts must be re-assessed, and that Navitas must expedite this process, and work with NTEU to fulfil their obligation within the EBA.