Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This is the second bill to implement measures recommended by the independent evaluation of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (the ESOS Act). It also includes amendments which the government has identified as necessary to clarify provisions relating to providers’ consumer protection and reporting obligations.

Overseas students considering a study destination can be assured that the Australian international education industry is regulated by law. This is a strong consideration when students decide to study in Australia. These measures will further strengthen this regulatory framework and ensure that Australia continues to be a destination of choice for overseas students.

The ESOS Act is currently unclear regarding the refund provisions to apply when a provider excludes a student from study for non-payment of fees, a breach of a visa condition or misbehaviour. This became apparent in a recent case which involved the reinstatement of certain cancelled student visas. The ESOS Act currently suggests that student default can only occur where a student actively withdraws from a course. Extending the concept of student default to cover those circumstances where a provider excludes a student for certain types of student behaviour will clarify a student’s rights in these circumstances.

There is, unfortunately, potential for a small number of providers in the industry to seek to take advantage of students who wish to come to Australia to study but find that they are unable to obtain a student visa. I want to ensure that refund arrangements do not punish a student who is unable to obtain a visa. This amendment will prevent withholding prepaid course fees, while still allowing providers appropriate recompense for the administrative work associated with the recruitment of these students.

While consumer protection is an essential feature of the ESOS Act, it is equally important to amend provisions originally designed to protect students, but which have subsequently been found to give students a greater refund than is justified in some cases. The fund manager will now be able to reduce the amount of a refund where it can be demonstrated that a student has received academic credit or recognition of prior learning for completed study. This is an important amendment as it will ensure that students are adequately compensated in the event of a provider failing, or ceasing to deliver a course, but will prevent what some in the industry regard as double dipping, that is, students receiving a refund for education and training which has been received and accepted as credit or recognition of prior learning for a course with a new provider.

The inclusion of a sunset clause of 12 months for calls on the fund will further enhance the fund manager’s ability to manage the fund’s liabilities, with an associated minimal impact on overseas students.

A strong message from respondents to the ESOS evaluation was the need to revise the student visa conditions relating to attendance and satisfactory academic performance to bring them into line with current educational practice. Currently breaches of these visa conditions must be reported, and students sent a notice of the breach.

There has been extensive consultation with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and with industry over the past 12 months to reach an agreed approach to the visa conditions which should be monitored and reported on by providers.

The complementary changes to the national code, the migration regulations and the ESOS Act will ensure that providers’ obligations to monitor and report against student visa conditions are in line with current educational practices while continuing to support the integrity of the migration system. Amending the ESOS Act to prescribe the visa conditions which must be reported in the regulations will ensure that there is no ambiguity for providers as to the nature of their obligations and will allow for ongoing consistency with the migration regulations and the national code.

The ESOS Act and its complementary legislation ensure the quality of education and training provision to overseas students, provide overseas students with consumer protection and maintain the integrity of the student visa system. The amendments contained in the bill will further enhance and clarify the consumer protection provisions and migration integrity aspects of the legislation, as well as introduce amendments of a technical nature to streamline the administration of the act.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Ms Gillard) adjourned.

See this speech in context