Petro Georgiou (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. Only last month, new data was released that underscored the continued growth and the importance to the Australian economy of international student enrolments. In 2006, total international student enrolments increased by 11 per cent. In all, over 380,000 international students enrolled to study in the Australian educational system last year. Beyond this, however, the data also reveals a growth in commencing new enrolments, with 25,000 more students beginning their studies in 2006 compared to 2005. The majority of all overseas student enrolments are in the higher education sector, but it is worthwhile noting that significant growth continues in the vocational education and training sector. This sector increased its total enrolments by 26 per cent in 2006 and now accounts for almost 22 per cent of international student enrolments. These numbers show that Australia’s education sector is increasing its international attractiveness, and the continuing growth in the number of international students coming to Australia contributes substantially to our country and to its economy.

As the member for Reid noted in his more optimistic passages, international education builds relationships across borders, facilitates social cohesion, facilitates trade competitiveness from skilled migration and advances Australian foreign interests and relations. It has done that for over 60 years and it is accelerating now. It is important. The regard in which Australia is held by people who have been educated here is not total but it is overwhelming. Some people leave with bad experiences, but, overwhelmingly, being educated in Australia brings a connectivity with Australia which cannot be underestimated. The economic benefits of international education for this country are substantial. Over the last financial year, international education contributed $10.1 billion to the economy. As has been said again and again, international education is now Australia’s fourth largest export industry, surpassed only by coal, iron ore and tourism.

The importance of international students and the fact that the sector did face important issues was underscored by the provision in the ESOS Act 2000 that required an independent evaluation of the act’s operation to be undertaken within three years of the act receiving royal assent. In introducing the act, the then Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs said the legislation was designed ‘to address problems in the industry’. Nobody has glossed over the fact that there are issues and challenges within the industry. Part of the response to that is the fact that we conducted a review to determine the legislation’s:

… effectiveness in addressing these problems and any new problems that might emerge over the intervening period.

The review would be:

… comprehensive, covering both their effectiveness and efficiency and the ongoing needs of the industry for regulation.

The evaluation began in May 2004 and was reported on in January 2005. A key component of the evaluation was extensive consultation with stakeholders. Approximately 60 written submissions were received and a similar number of consultations were also held. Submissions were received from diverse bodies such as student associations, Australian government agencies, education and training providers, state and territory governments, and training agencies.

The report Evaluation of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 found overwhelming support across all stakeholders for the promotion of legislated and mandated arrangements to regulate the education export industry. It also found that the ESOS Act 2000 had substantially improved the situation. It described the ESOS framework as ‘a de facto quality benchmark for the education export industry as a whole’.

The report complimented the remarkable achievement of reaching a high degree of common purpose across all education sectors. The evaluation team commented that this uniformity represents a recognition of the fact that:

… Australia’s face to the international student market must be national and must be driven by a concern for quality.

The evaluation also found, however, that the administration of the ESOS legislation and framework required reform. Forty-one recommendations were made identifying ways in which these could be strengthened. These recommendations formed the basis of three pieces of amending legislation of which this bill is the latest. The two other bills were passed by parliament last year, and the present amendments flow from the evaluations recommendations and from other issues raised by the Department of Education, Science and Training.

Responding to a central recommendation of the evaluation, an important amendment contained in this bill sets out the principal objects of the ESOS Act. This clear articulation of the purpose of the act will help prevent confusion and ensure that stakeholders understand the intent of the act. The bill defines three principal objects of the act. The first is to give assurance to international students that they will receive the education for which they have paid, the second is to protect and enhance Australia’s reputation for quality education and training services, and the third is to ensure that education providers submit information relevant to student visas and to the administration of migration laws. The reforms advanced by the bill reflect these three key objects: the recognition of students as consumers, the protection and enhancement of the quality of education provided by Australia and the effective implementation of student visa administration.

In relation to the first of these, the bill introduces a technical amendment that, together with the new provisions in the revised national code, will give international students greater consumer protection. The ESOS Act evaluation recommended that the act be amended to mandate that a provider enter into a written agreement in plain English that formalises the enrolment of each of their overseas students. Currently this agreement is optional. As outlined in the national code, the agreement will cover such information as details and conditions of courses and details of fees and charges payable. It will explain students’ entitlements to a refund and the processes involved in claiming a refund. It includes a plain English explanation of what happens if a course is not delivered and a statement that specifies that the signed agreement ‘does not remove the right of the student to take action under Australia’s consumer protection laws’. Ensuring that student and provider are made plainly aware of their mutual obligations responds to the widely held view that many international students ‘are unaware of the protection available to them and do not take appropriate action to protect their rights’. Making this formerly voluntary agreement mandatory will provide improved consumer protection for students.

Another provision of this bill that is designed to improve the educational experience of international students in Australia amends the act to provide international students with the same opportunity as domestic students to pursue their studies across more than one state. Universities today increasingly offer courses and programs in partnership with other educational providers, often outside the state of their main campus. Previously, the ESOS Act allowed more than one provider to supply an international student’s education, but the providers needed to be within one state or one territory. This amendment allows designated authorities to approve arrangements for students to attend courses and programs delivered by a secondary provider in another state and for the original provider to remain responsible for monitoring course compliance. This recognises the expanding need to facilitate student movement between educational providers and industry, and it will provide a response to skills shortages by course components such as industry placements being undertaken in environments where the need is greatest. Students’ experiences of both Australia and its educational system will be expanded, as they are able to acquire practical skills in various locations around the country.

As well as inhibiting interstate service delivery, the current regulations exclude service delivery in the Australian external territories. This must be a very successful amendment because at least four people have taken credit for it in the course of this debate! Responding to requests from the Christmas Island District High School, the chamber of commerce and the Western Australian Department of Education and Training, this bill extends the provisions of the act so they apply to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The new provision will allow Christmas Island high school to enrol overseas students in years 11 and 12 and will provide a desired boon to the local economy.

Both the changes to interstate regulations and the extension of the scope of the act to include Christmas Island are important legislative responses to the need for flexibility in this sector to ensure that it provides the very best services for international students. These changes reflect the core principles of the act of improved service provision and enhancing the quality of Australia’s reputation as an education provider.

The amendments proposed by the bill also impact upon the principal object of ESOS Act in the area of visa administration. The bill introduces an amendment complementing reforms to the National Code 2007 regarding visa compliance. Under the National Code 2007, registered education providers are required to send written notification to a student of their intention to report a student for breaches of the conditions of their student visa relating to unsatisfactory attendance. The National Code 2007 allows providers some discretion as to when they proceed to report a student who has breached their visa requirements yet is progressing satisfactorily through their course and where compassionate and compelling particulars exist to explain the breach. This amendment makes it clear that it is the provider that is responsible for educational issues. Educators are best placed to make this assessment. They will view the scholastic achievement, evaluate it and make their judgment accordingly. The academic assessment of a student’s progress is the responsibility of teachers, leaving the department to finalise the student’s visa status. I believe that placing this emphasis on the provider will also encourage them to monitor student progress more closely and to discern and pre-empt any potential problems or welfare issues.

Finally, a technical amendment contained within this bill will improve the administrative effectiveness of the act in the area of its fund contribution management. The independent evaluation recommended the removal of the financial penalty for late payment to the fund contribution, as this was administratively burdensome and not cost-effective. It is proposed that the late fee be replaced by an alternative penalty of suspension of the provider’s CRICOS registration. It is anticipated that such a penalty will provide a more effective means of promoting on-time payment of the annual fund contribution.

In line with what has been an ongoing process of reform and improvement in this area, the amendments proposed by this bill are designed to help ensure that Australia continues to offer high quality education to overseas students. I have highlighted the importance of international students to our economy and the process of reform and improvement resulting from the evaluation of the ESOS Act 2000 and carried out in 2004 and 2005. The amendments in this bill will clarify and enhance the major objectives of the ESOS Act and will help ensure Australia’s reputation as a world leader in education and training provision continues well into the future. I commend the bill to the House.

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