Update: Government Policy in International Education
Date: 4 May 2010
Part 1: Government policy reviews and legislative changes
1. Amendments to ESOS Act 2000
The Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Re-registration of Providers and Other Measures) 2009 was passed in Feb 2010, after a further series of amendments.
Most of the amendments are designed to strengthen consumer protection provisions while the broader review of ESOS is conducted. In particular, the amended Act requires all
providers to apply for reregistration on CRICOS, to be effected by end of 2010, and to publish a list of their education agents.
The Government is currently drafting the associated Regulations, which should be finalised by mid year, after further industry consultation. DEEWR has released proposed regulations for restricting commissions to agents for onshore students, to counter unethical poaching, and requiring disclosure to DEEWR and the student of agent commissions paid. COPHE has conveyed its concerns with the detail of some of these proposals.
2. ESOS (Baird) Review
The Baird Review Report to the Government was released on 8 March 2010. The Government and Opposition have both indicated general support, and the Minister will move to implement some recommendations immediately; others will be matters for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), and some will be subject to further industry consultation. The Report recommends:
· A stronger gateway to registration, including a strengthening of initial CRICOS registration and ongoing audit requirements, especially demonstration of financial viability by private providers, and use of a tiered risk approach based on a set of risk indicators
· Increased monitoring and regulating agent behaviour, payment of agent commissions and onshore “poaching” of students
· Improved quality of information provided to students, including establishing a government website with information on providers, showing student demographic profiles, English language entry requirements etc
· Stronger consumer protection; while several alternatives are presented, the Report favours a new unified student placement process (Tuition Protection Service, TPS) to replace the present industry association Tuition Assurance Schemes (TAS) backed by The Assurance Fund (TAF); refund of fees should be the last resort, and should require only the unused portion, not the total course monies (a major flaw of the current legislation). The new process will involve both private and public providers.
· Complaints handling and support, including the need for external handling mechanism, through an expansion of the powers of the Commonwealth and State Ombudsman offices, and establishment of a network of international student hubs in major centres providing support and advice
· Clarification of regulatory responsibility and QA frameworks, including support for national regulation in HE and VET, and standardisation of regulations.
The Report also comments on related issues outside the scope of the ESOS legislation, and being addressed in the International Student Strategy.
The Report is seen as constructive, balanced and far reaching, and if implemented in conjunction with other measures, including the ongoing review of skilled migration and the International Student Strategy, will do much to redress recent problems in international education.
A remaining concern is the extent of regulation and control of agents, which has been flagged as an issue for further industry consultation.
In the recommended consumer protection model, all providers (government and non government) will be required to contribute to the cost on a risk basis, and to take displaced students. COPHE supports in principle the development of a risk assessment methodology to determine cost to the provider, but reserves the right to make specific comment when concrete proposals are available.
3. International Student Strategy Australia (ISSA)
The DEEWR International Students Taskforce liaised with the Baird Review of ESOS, and reported to COAG at the April 2010 meeting on an International Students Strategy for Australia (ISSA). Whereas the Baird Review focused on the ESOS regulatory framework, ISSA considers related issues including the student experience, cultural and social engagement, safety, support services, transport concessions and the supply and regulation of accommodation.
COAG has already agreed to introduce a range of measures to improve the safety and wellbeing of international students, including:
· Establishment of an international student consultative committee to give international students a national forum
· A national community engagement strategy that will facilitate connections between international students and the broader community, including increased understanding of rights and support services
· A Study in Australia information portal to provide a single source of authoritative, comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date information for students, including information on personal safety, student support services, and tenancy and employment rights and responsibilities
· Provider Closure Taskforces in each State to ensure rapid and coordinated support for students in the event of provider closure
· From mid-2010, international students will be required to provide evidence of health insurance cover for their proposed visa duration at the time of visa application
· From 1 January 2011, international students will have access to an independent statutory complaints body, which international education providers will be required to use as their external complaints and appeals process.
Release of the final International Students Strategy is expected in May 2010.
4. Senate Enquiry
The Senate Report on the Welfare of International Students was tabled in Nov 2009, after industry submissions, a series of public hearings and statements from State regulators. The 16 main recommendations covered issues such as improved information given to students on living in Australia, standardising transport concessions, work rights and training of agents.
5. MODL Review, General Skilled Migration (GSM)
Minister Evans announced significant changes to the skilled migration policy on 8 Feb 2010, following a review of MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List) by DIAC and DEEWR in 2009, with the publication of two discussion papers, consultations and submissions from industry.
The previous MODL scheme and migration points were seen to favour applicants from trades and vocational courses over higher education graduates, and to have led to an artificial and unsustainable growth in a narrow range of MODL related courses in cookery, hairdressing and community services. The higher education sector has argued that migration policy should seek to attract more highly qualified applicants, including those with bachelor and higher degrees. This has been taken up in the DIAC Discussion Paper, which emphasizes the priority to select applicants who offer the most human capital and will therefore make the optimal contribution to Australia’s demographic and economic future.
Many students in MODL related courses could no longer expect automatic permanent residency after changes from Sept 2007.In January 2009 the Government announced still further changes which included:
1. Introducing a Critical Skills List (CSL) with a narrower range of occupations which would receive processing priority for migration; many MODL trades were omitted from the CSL
2. Processing priority would be given to employer sponsored applicants
3. Accountancy is included in the CSL, but requires a higher IELTS 7.0.
The recent changes (Feb 2010) include:
· Revoking the MODL points effective immediately, except for some temporary grandfathering of those in the system
· Replacement of the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) with a new comprehensive targeted list of occupations to be determined by an independent “Skills Australia” effective mid 2010, and revoking of the CSL; students holding a VET, HE or PGR visa at 8 Feb will be able to apply for a 485 Temporary Graduate Visa based on the previous SOL (60 or 50 point occupation), but to subsequently apply for GSM, they will need to have an occupation on the new SOL.
DIAC issued a Discussion Paper Review of the General Skilled Migration Points Test, and invited submissions; COPHE submitted comments in March 2010. Key issues are:
· the use of the new SOL, whether occupations on the list will receive bonus points, and/or priority processing
· whether more advantage should be given to higher qualifications, possibly including degrees achieved offshore.
An indication of occupations likely to be included is shown in Skills Australia: Australia’s Workforce Futures Appendix 3 p 83-4. The occupations are fairly specific, similar to the existing CSL with more trades, but omitting some of the previous controversial MODL occupations.
Possible impacts include:
· While the medium term projections for international education, especially in higher education are strong, there is already a noticeable decline in the migration driven courses, especially in the VET sector; as well as GSM changes and resultant uncertainty, the sector is feeling the impact of stricter visa requirements and application scrutiny, currency fluctuations, and adverse publicity (in some markets) over safety and college closures
· There is the possibility of further provider closures, with some resultant reputational damage to Australian international education; the prospect of closures in the higher education sector is reduced by the stricter registration and reporting regimes
· More weight will be given to English language proficiency and employer sponsorship; this creates opportunity for providers to enhance and promote these outcomes
· The changes will favour the higher education sector in the long run, and lead to a more stable and sustainable domestic and international VET sector
6. International education marketing and promotion
In late 2009, the Government announced the transfer of the promotional functions for international education from Australian Education International (AEI) to Austrade effective mid 2010, with a period of transition until then. A transition task force was established; AEI and Austrade are holding a series of industry consultations on the proposed changes in March 2010, and have released a discussion paper.
Austrade will take over market analysis, generic promotion, including the Study in Australia (SIA) website, local staff and operations in most locations. The existing AEI offices in South America and the Middle East will be closed.
AEI will remain responsible for government policy, background research and statistics, bilateral government relations and collaboration, and administration of scholarship schemes such as Australia Asia Scholarships.
Industry concerns include the future effectiveness of the collaboration between AEI and Austrade, who will need to work closely together to avoid duplication, the degree of industry input, and the branding and image of the overseas offices in support of the SIA brand.
Part 2: Student visa policies and operations
7. Student visa policy; visa integrity measures
During 2009, DIAC detected an increase in fraudulent applications, particularly in financial documents, academic records, employment history, and even identity, from countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Brazil and Mauritius. DIAC introduced stricter integrity measures, including:
· Increased interviewing of applicants
· Removal of access to eVisa for agents with unacceptable levels of fraud, or inactivity
· Considering removal of eVisa from some trial markets until fraud issues are resolved.
These changes increased visa processing times and reduced approval rates in late 2009 and early 2010. DIAC argues that the need for these stricter integrity measures was forced by the increase in poor quality applications, and that the onus is on providers and their agents to improve the quality of applications and supporting documents.
DIAC has commented:
· Many providers seem to leave student recruitment in the hands of agents with minimal supervision
· Many students trust an agent’s recommendation, and seem to do little independent research on the suitability of the provider or the course
· Students often display inadequate knowledge of living costs (some expect $50 pw to be adequate) and have unrealistic work aspirations.
DIAC increased the requirement for financial demonstration of living costs from $12k to $18k pa from 1 Jan 2010. Combined with the rise in the dollar, this has made the financial demonstration much more demanding for countries such as India, where many students obtain loans from financial institutions to meet the financial requirements for their visa.
DIAC has amended some Student Visa Regulations from 27 March 2010. Where students apply for a visa for a package of courses, the Assessment Level (AL) was previously determined by the highest course in the package; students with an ELICOS+VET+HE package would be assessed against the HE visa subclass 573 requirements. There is evidence this has led to a pattern of artificial packaging to achieve a lower AL requirement in some cases.
In future the visa requirement will be determined by the highest AL rating in the package; in the case above, if say VET were AL4 and HE AL3, the applicant will now be required to meet the higher AL4 requirement. (The ELICOS AL will not be used to determine the AL of the package). In the short term, this may disadvantage students from some countries such as Vietnam, where they have a package of Foundation (non award) or Diploma (VET) plus bachelor degree packages. In the long term, it may lead to improved compliance and a lowering of the ALs for HE.
On the other hand, ALs for all postgraduate research applicants (sub class 574) that were previously AL3 or 4 are now moved to AL2, and some AL2 to AL1. DIAC will monitor the impact of the changes, and expects providers to behave responsibly in enrolling PGR students, and ensure they have appropriate financial support and English language. (Note that we expect the periodic review of all AL ratings later in the year).
8. Assessment level (AL) review
The Assessment Level by country and sector on a scale 1 – 5 determines the requirements for a student visa, with 1 the lowest compliance risk. China and India are mostly AL 4 (high risk); there are currently no countries in AL 5.
DIAC will initiate discussions with industry stakeholders re proposed AL changes in March/April 2010, with an implementation in either April or (more likely) September 2010, away from main processing and course start dates.
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