Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in favour of the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024. Education is not just a pillar of our economy but a cornerstone of our society. It changes lives and builds bridges across the globe. As Paul Keating—as well as the more contemporary member for Blaxland, the Minister for Education—said on a number of occasions, education is the key to the kingdom and a great education is a master key that opens every door. This bill is crucial for ensuring the continued integrity and quality of our international education sector.

Over the past decade, Australia's international education sector has become a vital component of our economic and social fabric, contributing $48 billion annually and educating more than three million students from around the globe. This sector not only fuels our economy but also fosters international goodwill, as students who study here carry a piece of Australia back to their home countries.

Australia's reputation as a premier destination for education is built on the quality and integrity of these institutions. This reputation has been meticulously cultivated over decades, with our universities, vocational educational institutions and schools earning accolades for their academic excellence and innovative teaching methods. However, a number of recent reviews—including the Nixon review and the Parkinson migration review—have highlighted significant issues that threaten this reputation. These reviews revealed exploitation within the visa system and underscored the need for stringent measures to protect students and ensure the sustainability of the sector.

This bill addresses those concerns head-on by implementing comprehensive reforms aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and quality within the sector. The Nixon review, in particular, brought urgent attention to integrity issues in international education, exposing how some providers and agents were exploiting the system for financial gain. The Parkinson review into migration further highlighted the vulnerabilities in our visa system that allowed such exploitation to occur. These findings made it clear that without decisive action the trust that international students and their families place in Australia's education system could be eroded.

The bill before us today is designed to close those loopholes and restore confidence in our international education sector. The primary objective of the bill is to safeguard the integrity and quality of Australia's international education sector. It introduces several measures designed to prevent unscrupulous behaviour and ensure that only genuine providers operate within a sector known throughout the world for its high quality and high standards.

By expanding the fit and proper test for education providers, the bill ensures that those with cross-ownership and control interests are thoroughly vetted to prevent collusion and exploitation of students. The bill also empowers the Minister for Education to take decisive action against providers that fail to meet these standards. For example, the minister can now suspend or cancel the registration of providers under investigation for serious regulatory offences such as human trafficking or slavery-like practices. This provision ensures that providers cannot continue to enrol new students while under investigation, protecting students from potential harm and preserving the integrity of our education system. Furthermore, the bill mandates that new providers must demonstrate a commitment to domestic education by delivering courses to domestic students for at least two years before applying to register for international students. This requirement prevents the establishment of ghost colleges, which, unfortunately, are not fictional places where Caspar attends in order to upskill himself as a scarier ghost. Instead, these colleges are institutions that exist solely to exploit the visa system for financial gain.

One of the central provisions of the bill is the enhancement of transparency and accountability among education agents. Under the new regulations, education providers will have greater access to performance data of education agents, including information on student transfers and commissions. This measure aims to curb the practice of agents exploiting students by shifting them from one course to another—often of lower quality—to maximise commissions. By making this information accessible, providers can make more informed decisions about which agents to engage, thus protecting students from being misled.

Additionally, the bill empowers the secretary of the Department of Education to collect detailed information on the commissions and activities of education agents. This increased scrutiny ensures that the agents act in the best interests of students and uphold the standards expected of them. The inclusion of a new definition for education agent within the bill provides a clearer framework for regulating their activities, further strengthening the oversight of this crucial aspect of international education. The transparency provisions also require education providers to report any commissions paid to agents, particularly for offshore student transfers. This measure addresses a significant loophole that has been exploited by some agents to poach students from their original courses and enrol them in cheaper, less rigorous programs. By banning such commissions, the bill ensures that agents are incentivised to act in the best interests of students rather than pursuing financial gain through unethical practices. This change is expected to have a significant impact on the quality of education that international students receive, as it discourages enrolment in substandard courses.

Another significant aspect of the bill is the introduction of enrolment limits to manage the growth and quality of the international education sector. The Minister for Education is granted the authority to set limits on overseas student enrolments at both the provider and course levels. By carefully regulating the number of international students the government can ensure that educational institutions are not overstretched and that students receive the high-quality education they expect.

Furthermore, the bill includes provisions for the automatic suspension and cancellation of registrations for providers that fail to deliver courses to international students for 12 consecutive months. This measure targets dormant providers that pose a risk to the sector's integrity by potentially being used as fronts for fraudulent activity. The automatic cancellation provisions for providers who have not delivered courses to international students for 12 months further strengthens this regulatory framework. By removing dormant or inactive providers from the system, the bill helps to maintain a high standard of education and protect students from being enrolled in institutions that may not be committed to their educational needs.

Additionally, the minister will have the flexibility to exclude certain courses or providers from these limits if they demonstrate exceptional quality and alignment with Australia's strategic educational goals. This approach ensures that the system remains both dynamic and responsive to the needs of the sector while maintaining high standards of quality and integrity.

The bill also introduces a more robust fit and proper test to assess the suitability of education providers. Regulators are now required to consider factors such as cross-ownership and control of education agents and providers. This expanded scrutiny is crucial in preventing collusion and in ensuring that providers and agents operate with the highest standards of integrity.

The bill also empowers the minister to take immediate action against providers that engage in systemic quality issues or that deliver courses that do not meet Australia's critical skills needs. This power includes the ability to suspend or cancel courses that are found to have persistent quality problems or that are deemed to provide limited value to Australia's strategic objectives.

These measures collectively ensure the international education sector remains a high-quality and trustworthy environment for students. They also protect the reputation of Australian education providers, ensuring that they continue to be seen as leaders in delivering world-class education. By maintaining rigorous standards and taking swift action against noncompliant providers, the government demonstrates upholding the integrity of the sector. To that end, this bill brings significant benefit to all stakeholders within the international education sector.

For students it ensures access to high-quality education and protects them from exploitation and fraud. By enhancing the transparency and accountability of education agents, students and their families can have greater confidence in the choices they make regarding their education. The bill's provisions create a safer and more reliable environment for international students, who can focus on their studies without fear of being misled or exploited.

Education providers, while facing stricter compliance requirements, will also benefit from a more level playing field and the removal of unscrupulous competitors. This, in turn, enhances the overall reputation of Australia's education sector. Providers that adhere to the highest standards will be recognised and rewarded, attracting more students and building stronger international partnerships.

The bill also addresses the concerns of various stakeholder groups, including universities, vocational education providers and private training organisations. By setting clear and consistent standards, the bill helps maintain the trust and confidence of these stakeholders, ensuring their continued support and participation in the international education sector. This collaborative effort will ultimately lead to a more resilient and sustainable education system that benefits all involved.

Since the release of the Nixon review many other reviews have helped our government formulate a view towards legislating for a number of measures within this bill. The Albanese Labor government has taken swift and decisive action to address the integrity issues identified. Measures such as reintroducing working hours caps for international students and closing the concurrent enrolment loophole demonstrate our commitment to protecting the sector. These actions are complemented by the provisions in the bill, which build on these initial steps to create a comprehensive framework for ensuring quality and integrity in international education. The government's collaboration with the education sector has played a key part in crafting this bill. Continuous engagement with stakeholders, including universities, vocational education providers and industry associations has ensured that the reforms are both practical and aligned with the sector's needs. This approach will continue as our government works with the sector to implement new measures and monitor their impact.

Furthermore, our government has invested significantly in enhancing the capability of regulatory bodies, such as the Australian Skills Quality Authority, to enforce the new standards. This investment includes establishing an integrity unit within ASQA and providing additional resources to support their regulatory frameworks. These efforts ensure that the regulatory framework is not only fit for purpose but also adequately resourced to handle the increased oversight and enforcement responsibilities.

The Albanese Labor government has also committed to ongoing reviews and assessments of the impact of these reforms. The approach allows for continuous improvement and adaptation to emerging challenges, ensuring that the education sector remains resilient and responsive to changing circumstances at home and abroad. By maintaining an open dialogue with stakeholders and adapting policies as needed, the government demonstrates its commitment to sustaining the high standards of Australia's education system. Providers will have access to comprehensive data on agents, allowing them to identify and avoid those with poor track records. This transparency protects students and ensures that they receive the quality education they were promised.

Many Australian universities have built and fostered a reputation for excellence, attracting students from around the world. By maintaining stringent quality controls, they ensure that their students receive a world-class education—because that is, after all, what so many have travelled great lengths at great personal cost to seek out in our country. The bill supports these institutions by creating a regulatory environment that rewards integrity and penalises bad actors. This is not just a response to current challenges but a proactive step towards ensuring the long-term sustainability of Australia's international education sector.

By aligning with Australia's strategic goals in education and skills development, the bill sets out the foundation for continued growth and excellence, ensuring that our education system remains robust, transparent and accountable. By implementing stringent measures to achieve this outcome, we are protecting the interests of students and maintaining Australia's reputation as a leading education provider. We are fostering a fair and level playing field to benefit students, education providers and the broader community alike. We are ensuring that Australia remains and continues to be a preferred destination for those abroad who are seeking to obtain a quality education in their chosen fields and disciplines and, in doing so, contributing significantly to our economy and enhancing our global standing.

The Albanese Labor government has indeed already introduced similar legislation through the parliament earlier this year to ensure that our VET sector can reach the high standards needed of a sector we are depending on to train a workforce in one of the many jobs of high need in our workforce. We can do the same across higher education, ensuring that when someone looks at travelling all the way to Australia to study they do so with a sense of surety and the knowledge that the quality of the education they receive and the standards of the institutions they engage with are world-class.

In this multibillion-dollar market, some institutions may more closely identify as being in the education business rather than, at their core, operating as educators within the sector. If some clearly have no business educating anyone at all, we now have a framework by way of this bill that will bring probity and integrity back into something that provides billions of dollars into our economy and provides thousands of jobs across the country. I commend this bill to the House.

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