PA/16/10 23 February 2010
Stronger Safeguards for Indian students in Australia
Deputy Prime Minister announces A$5.1 million to protect international student course fees
Victorian Premier commits to strong action against perpetrators
This press release from the Australian High Commission, New Delhi contains:
• Two announcements today by Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, the Hon Julia Gillard
- of A$5.1 million funding to strengthen Australia’s international education industry;
- and strengthened rules for education providers to international students requiring all colleges to re-register under new, stronger criteria by the end of 2010.
• An Op-ed article by the Premier of Victoria, the Hon John Brumby, on students’ safety and the Victorian Government’s commitment to take action against those involved in attacks on Indians.
• A press release from Victoria Police pledging their support for the ‘Vindaloo against violence’ campaign being held in Melbourne on 24 February.
Media enquiries: 011 4139 9900
A$5.1 million safeguard for international student course fees
The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced funding of A$5.1 million to further strengthen Australia’s international education industry.
The funding will be made available to top up the Education Services for Overseas Students Assurance Fund (ESOS Assurance Fund) if required.
The ESOS Assurance Fund is the cornerstone of Australia’s international student consumer protection framework which safeguards the course fees of international students. The fund was established in 2000 with an A$1 million start amount provided by the Government.
The funding is one of a number of measures the Australian Government has initiated to provide world-class international education services.
These measures include:
- ESOS Amendment (Re-registration of Providers and Other Measures) Bill which will require all providers delivering education and training to international students to re register by 31 December 2010
- The review of the current ESOS Act by the Hon Bruce Baird AM, which is due to report to the Australian Government shortly
- A National International Student Strategy currently being developed through the Council Of Australian Governments
- The International Students Hotline set up in mid 2009
- The establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency and a national regulator for the Vocational Education and Training sector.
The Government’s decision will provide additional certainty for students and underscores the Government’s determination to ensure that the international education sector remains both strong and vibrant into the future.
International education rules strengthened
The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, has welcomed the strengthening of rules for education providers of international students by requiring all colleges to re-register under new, stronger criteria by the end of 2010.
The new rules come under the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Re-registration of Providers and Other Measures) Bill 2009 which passed the Senate yesterday and will help weed out dodgy providers from the industry.
This will mean that all education and training providers currently registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) will have to re-register under the strengthened criteria by 31 December 2010.
This is intended to reinforce confidence in the quality of the Australian international education sector and to strengthen the registration process. Only those who have met the strengthened entry requirements will remain on the register from 1 January 2011.
Providers will also have to prove that education is their principal purpose and that they are able to deliver that education to a high standard.
The Australian Government is deeply committed to ensuring international students who choose to study in Australia receive a quality education and training.
While the vast majority of education providers are delivering quality education, unfortunately the sector has been tarnished by the activities of a few.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations is working hand-in-hand with each state and territory to ensure the re-registrations are managed efficiently and they are implemented consistently.
The new Act will bring in further changes to strengthen the regulation of the international education industry. For example, there will be greater accountability placed on providers for the actions of the agents they use and there will be increased reporting on action taken to assist students when a provider closes.
These amendments are one of a series of measures the Australian Government is taking to ensure Australia continues to offer high-quality international education.
Victoria won't tolerate attacks on Indians
JOHN BRUMBY - Premier of Victoria
Any violence committed in our community is an attack on us all.
IN SEPTEMBER last year I visited St Stephen's College in New Delhi, one of India's oldest and most distinguished universities.
It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet some of India's brightest young people. Many had friends and family studying in Victoria.
By meeting these students I came to understand the trust that Indian parents place in our state and our government when they send their children to Victoria to study.
As a father, having had a child living and studying overseas, I understand that trust. I know what it is like to worry about your child. Are they safe? Are they happy? I also understand those parents place their trust in the jurisdiction their child has chosen to live in to do all it can to look after the welfare of their child.
I take the trust placed in us by Indian parents seriously and I am determined to do everything possible to repay it.
Victoria has been shaped by people from around the world. We come from more than 200 countries, speak more than 230 languages and dialects and follow more than 120 faiths.
Today, Victoria's 150,000- strong Indian community is a vital part of multicultural Victoria.
Earlier this month, the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria released the results of an independent survey that examined the concerns of students studying in Victoria. Of the 513 respondents, 76 per cent were happy with their course and 72 per cent felt safe in the areas where they work and study.
Despite this positive result, assaults on Indian students in Melbourne are of great concern to me. There have been some disturbing incidents, and some of these incidents have had racist elements.
Such racism begins and ends with a small number of bigoted, narrow-minded idiots. It is not part of our state, as evidenced by the thousands of Victorians who marched through city streets at the Harmony Walk last year.
We have worked hard to bring down the crime rate, and Victoria is Australia's safest state. But I have said the rate of assaults is too high and action is being taken on assaults, whatever their motivation.
Last year I funded an additional 120 police on the beat, on top of the 350 we are delivering during this term. The Chief Commissioner has said those police will focus on crime hot-spots, and we are providing them with additional powers to search for weapons, move people on from trouble spots and fine people on the spot for disorderly conduct.
Sentencing laws have been amended so that judges can take into account hatred for, or prejudice against, a particular group when sentencing offenders. The Police Indian Western Reference Group has been established to identify, implement and monitor strategies to engage police and Indian communities to reduce the risk of crime.
We have also established a 24-hour international student care service, an international student welcome booth at Melbourne Airport and increased funding for the Indian International Student Advisory Service.
Any attack in our community is an attack upon us all. An attack motivated by race or prejudice is particularly disgraceful.
The federal and Victorian governments have been as one on this issue.
The message from me, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith and Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese has been consistent and clear: racism will not be tolerated, violence will not be tolerated, and any incident will be thoroughly investigated.
I make no apologies for calling for balanced media coverage because the reputation and fabric of our multicultural state is too precious to be damaged by sensationalist reporting.
Victoria's cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths. Victorians are committed to tolerance and to accepting people from all over the world, and we will continue to send out the message that the actions of an ignorant few will not be allowed to undermine the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city.
Support for Vindaloo Against Violence campaign
Police in Victoria is supporting Vindaloo Against Violence event on 24 February with Melbourne police getting ready to break naan in restaurants across the city.
“We believe this is a simple way for Victorians to say no to all violence as well support our vibrant Indian community,” said Multicultural Liaison officer Leading Senior Constable Dinesh Nettur.
“Nothing brings a community together like food and Melbourne is home to some of the world’s best Indian restaurants.”
Ldg Sen Const Nettur will be joined by Acting Assistant Commissioner (Region 1) Andrew Crisp and several other Melbourne-based police dining in Flinders Street on Wednesday night.
The members will also visit Federation Square for Indian cultural activities.