Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The key to Australia's competitiveness in providing world-leading education services to overseas students will rest on how well we promote our institutions and enhance both their quality and the experience of students who come to our shores. We must also act decisively to minimise the constraints of unnecessary regulatory burden on education providers to support a vibrant international education system into the future. The successful and efficient operation of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, or ESOS, and its associated legislative framework is an important element in enhancing international education in Australia.

Australia's reputation for quality in international education is built on the excellence of our universities, higher education institutions, schools and technical colleges, both public and private. ESOS supports the integrity of our student visa system, which is fundamental to our international education provision. It gives students who come here the assurance that their rights as consumers are respected and their needs in adjusting to life in Australia are met. It ensures they are supported to pursue an outstanding educational experience here. We warmly welcome international students, and this government will do everything we can to encourage them to choose Australia first when they are considering an international education.

There are currently around 1,000 providers of international education in Australia, from large universities and TAFEs to small private colleges and English language providers, as well as public and private schools. Under the Labor government, there was an alarming decline in income earned by Australian international education from its peak in 2009-10. This government is acting decisively and quickly to ensure a much more prosperous future for international education.

This is why the government will respond positively to the advice of the International Education Advisory Council in its report, Australia: Educating Globally, widely known as the Chaney report, and release a draft national strategy for international education for consultation in early 2014.

In delivering on our support for international education this government has announced an approach that will encourage growth in international student numbers by allowing flexibility in Australia's approach to allocating student visas.

The previous government limited access to streamlined visa processing to universities only, when it was introduced in late March 2012. No other higher education providers were offered access to streamlined visa processing. This government is rectifying what we consider to be a serious impediment to the growth of international education in Australia.

On 29 October 2013, the government announced that it would extend the offer of streamlined visa processing arrangements to 22 degree-awarding non-university providers of higher education that present a low immigration risk. The government also announced the simplification of the Assessment Level Framework. Education providers who are not being offered the opportunity to participate in streamlined visa processing arrangements at this time will benefit from these significant improvements to the Assessment Level Framework.

The reforms to streamlined visa processing and the Assessment Level Framework, and the work we commence here today with the ESOS Amendment Bill, are the kinds of reforms we need to strengthen our international education system. They are integral to our plan for safeguarding and enhancing Australia's status as a world-leading provider of education services.

The ESOS Amendment Bill I introduce today will begin the essential adjustment to the regulatory settings for international education to align and simplify our current legislative framework. The amendments are necessary because of unintended consequences arising from the implementation of amendments to the ESOS Act in early 2012 under the previous government. The amendments today will increase certainty and fairness for our overseas students and are an important change to ensure the current legislative framework operates effectively.

The amendments to the ESOS Act to be made by this bill will ensure that the refunds registered providers are required to make to their overseas students are appropriate. That is, the amendments ensure refunds encompass tuition fees paid by students both before and after the commencement of their period of study where those fees are unspent at the time a default occurs.

These important clarifications to a core function of the ESOS Act are to be delivered through an amendment to the use of the term 'pre-paid' fees, which will be replaced with 'tuition' fees in division 2 of part 3 of the ESOS Act. This is consistent with the original intention of the amendments to the ESOS Act in 2012. Importantly, these changes are technical in nature and do not place new or extra requirements on providers. Rather, the requirements on providers and protections for students are being clarified and simplified and will benefit both.

In addition the bill will clarify the situation relating to refunds in cases of student defaults caused by a visa refusal. This can be a complex area for providers to navigate, where often several pieces of legislation apply, and it can be difficult for overseas students too. This bill will give the minister the power to make a legislative instrument under the ESOS Act that will stipulate how a refund to a student is to be made in instances of student default for visa refusal and also in cases of student default where there is no written agreement in place between the provider and the student. This legislative instrument is intended to take effect at the time these provisions take effect.

The bill will also amend the 'National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007' to remove reference to 'Registration Authorities'. Requirements previously imposed on registration authorities by the national code are now contained in the ESOS Act. The removal of the reference to registration authorities will ensure that the title of the national code properly reflects its content. This minor amendment precedes a more substantial review of the national code overall. The Department of Education will be consulting in the coming months with key stakeholders on ways in which the national code can be improved in the context of the government's deregulation policy, specifically its review of higher education regulation.

This bill is the first legislative step the government is taking to build a new architecture for international education so that the industry can grow and achieve its enormous potential. The government will continue to introduce more reforms to improve the competitiveness, sustainability and quality of Australia's education system into the future.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.

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