Embattled vocational education provider Australian Careers Network burned through more than $10 million of its cash reserves in the three months to   December, to keep the business afloat after shutting its largest college, Phoenix Institute.  
Australian Careers Network has only $13.5 million in cash in reserve after its fourth-quarter cash slaughter. 
Receipts from customers fell off a cliff during the period to $4.27 million compared to $89.41 million in the prior quarter after the federal Department of Education and Training deferred its funding, including $40 million in payments for Phoenix students, as it investigates Phoenix and Australian Careers Network's business practices. 
Australian Careers Network did not answer questions about whether it had engaged the services of a restructuring or insolvency firm.
It also did not answer questions regarding how much its legal actions against the federal government and Victorian government had cost.
A spokesman for Australian Careers Network referred Fairfax Media to its statement to the Australian Securities Exchange in   December saying it had "significantly reduced expenses and cancelled certain projects" until its dispute with the Department of Education is resolved.  
Australian Careers Network suspended its shares from trade on   October 15 at $3.43. It has extended its suspension twice, most recently until   March 15. 
Since listing in   December 2014, Australian Careers Network has run afoul of federal and state regulators for using education brokers who target vulnerable communities with high-pressure sales tactics to flog courses tied to VET FEE-HELP loans.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Phoenix Institute of unconscionable conduct, and misleading and deceiving students. It has taken action against Phoenix in the Federal Court, seeking orders including that Phoenix pays back $106 million to the federal government. 
Phoenix is suing the Department of Education and Training for cutting off its funding, alleging the government had no right to defer its funding.