Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills) Share this | Hansard source

Prior to summing up in respect of this legislation, I would like to make a couple of remarks with regard to international education. I listened with interest to what the member said and I would actually like to make a couple of observations. Firstly, I have taken responsibility for international education in the vocational education space in the last couple of months. I recently returned from a visit to Sri Lanka; in fact I was in Sri Lanka on Friday. I also spent the first part of last week in India. I had a couple of days in India, then Singapore, then Sri Lanka. The focus of that was education, clearly—primarily, from my point of view, vocational education but also some higher education in India as part of Australia Business Week in India. I can assure all members, of the House in particular, that international vocational education is extremely important to this government. My focus was to look at building opportunities for growth for our providers from Australia to provide support particularly to our nearest neighbours.

India is a significant market for us and we have to be conscious of the support that we can provide there, given that the statistics say that over the next decade India is wishing to train 400 million people in the vocational education space. The opportunities for our providers clearly are in the 'train the trainer' space. Singapore is clearly a hub. We already have providers working in that space in vocational education and in higher education. This government will be working to increase our presence in Singapore and the support that we can provide in that nation.

Sri Lanka is a significant opportunity for Australia. I hope my visit last week is going to be the start of some fairly strong engagement with that nation. They have some clear areas of need in the hospitality and tourism sector. We spoke to them about opportunities where Australia could support their growth. I believe that we now have in place some clear steps that we can take with our high commission in Sri Lanka, and also with our Indian high commission, to make sure we are developing opportunities for our providers. It is clear that Australia has a very high quality vocational education system, and that is what is so highly regarded by our nearest neighbours.

I turn specifically to the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2017. Measures in this bill underline the government's commitment to support the international education sector. These measures will reduce the financial burden on education providers while ensuring that strong student protections are maintained. The Tuition Protection Service, the TPS, is a key contributor to Australia's reputation as a preferred study destination. The TPS is funded by an annual levy on all Commonwealth-registered international education providers. It consists of an administrative and base component and a risk-rated premium paid into the Overseas Student Tuition Fund. The fund exists to protect students' investment in their tuition by providing refunds or placing students in alternative courses where a provider closes or is unable to deliver a student's course.

The success and strong growth of the sector, reflected by the recent growth in student enrolments, has resulted in an increased collection of the administrative and base fee components of the TPS levy. The fund is at risk of accumulating excessive reserves, which has potential to undermine industry commitment. The Australian Government Actuary and the TPS advisory board have recommended the fund remains within the target range of $30 million to $50 million. As at 30 June 2017, the balance of the fund was $34.8 million, including the $9.7 million collected from the TPS levy in 2017. Of this, $4.1 million was collected from providers in the form of administrative and base fees. A reduction of the administrative and base fees will ensure the fund remains within the target range.

This bill provides additional flexibility the government needs to manage the fund in response to changes in market conditions. It will give the minister authority to set the administrative and base fees through a legislative instrument. If the bill is passed, the minister intends to immediately make a legislative instrument to lower the administrative and base fee amounts to reduce the burden on providers. This will ensure an effective price signal is maintained for high-risk providers while low-risk providers are appropriately recognised for managing risk effectively. The government is taking a proactive approach to support the strong growth of international education in Australia. The measures will ensure that Australia maintains strong student protections and contributes to the sustainable growth of the international education sector. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

See this speech in context