PA/41/10                                                                               23 June 2010

Changes to International Education Sector to provide added Security for International Students

Press Release from the Hon Julia Gillard MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations & Minister for Social Inclusion

The Rudd Government has introduced changes to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 into Parliament today to strengthen the quality and integrity of the international education sector.

Minister for Education Julia Gillard said the changes will provide additional support for international students and will make sure their experiences studying in our country are positive.

The changes form the first stage of the Government’s response to the Baird Review which made 19 recommendations to make the sector stronger, simpler and more sustainable.

The first set of proposed changes include:

• strengthening the provider registration criteria to certify the viability of businesses;
• risk-based monitoring which shifts the regulatory burden to those providers that present the greatest risk to the integrity of the sector;
• the ability to put conditions on providers’ registration if required;
• an increase to the range of breaches that will incur financial penalties;
• publishing of industry targets and reporting of regulatory activities; and
• expanding the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for external complaints relating to private providers.

The ESOS Act is the framework for the regulation of the international education sector and is crucial in maintaining the integrity of our fourth largest export. It is widely recognised as one of the best legislative frameworks for international education in the world.

Under the new changes, higher risk providers may have additional conditions placed on their registration such as a cap on enrolments, restrictions on the fees that can be collected in advance and more frequent and more detailed auditing.

The incentive of less onerous monitoring will act as a reward for providers who reduce their risk.

The changes introduced today build on amendments made at the beginning of the year which require all providers to re-register their business by the end of this year.

The next set of legislative changes will focus on risk management and tuition protection, with consultation expected to start shortly.

The Government has also started consulting on proposed changes to student recruitment practices, both onshore and offshore. Other areas to be addressed in the Government’s response to the Baird Review include:

• the integrity of student visas;
• the quality of courses offered;
• setting of appropriate English language entry levels;
• complaints and appeals processes;
• student transfer process; and
• provider information for students.

The Government’s response to the Baird Review complements the International Students Strategy for Australia announced by the Council of Australian Governments in April 2010. This strategy is expected to be released shortly.

More information can be found at www.aei.gov.au

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