English Australia Finalists: Association of the Year
The English Australia Board and secretariat were thrilled that English Australia was announced as a finalist in the 2022 PIEoneer Awards for Association of the Year.
The PIEoneer Awards celebrate innovation and achievement across the whole of the global education industry. Our submission outlined the activities and achievements of English Australia over the past year, highlighting our success in advocating for sector support via the two Innovation Fund and regulatory relief packages, the breadth, and high-levels of engagement across our professional development activities, and the market intelligences initiatives that supported the sector, such as the Economic Impact reports, Quarterly ELICOS Market reports, and international training and research reports. The engagement and contributions of our members is the cornerstone to our success. The winner will be announced at the PIEoneer awards ceremony in September.
Regulatory update
TEQSA and English Australia Annual Strategic Dialogue
English Australia’s Board Chair, Kerry Sutcliffe, and I recently met with the TEQSA leadership team including the Chief Commissioner, CEO, and key Executive Directors across the regulator. This annual meeting provided the opportunity to hear from TEQSA on their priorities for 2022 and beyond, and we outlined English Australia priorities and key concerns for members.
High on the agenda was our respective submissions to the ESOS review and it was encouraging to note that we were highly aligned in our responses. We provided an update on our Future of ELICOS project and noted the sector's desire to continue with flexible modes of delivery for the foreseeable future. TEQSA noted they did not have a fixed date to remove the current flexibility noting that providers still need to be documenting the systems and processes used to ensure course outcomes were being achieved. We agreed that the outcomes of the ESOS review are critical in defining the next steps.
ASQA Regulator Provider roundtable
I recently participated in the quarterly Regulator Provider Roundtable with fellow heads of the peak bodies. ASQA outlined their current priorities including the Training Package Assurance Project and support with industry clusters that are overseeing the development of training packages. Similar to the meeting with TEQSA, I updated ASQA on items of concern related to the continuation of flexible delivery modes. A communique from the meeting will be distributed to members soon.
I updated ASQA (and TEQSA) on member concerns related to provider capacity based on offshore student visa holder delays and online study. I will be following up on this issue further with both regulators to ensure it does not impact on members in the coming months.
Board members met with Department of Home Affairs (DHA)
A group of English Australia Board members met with senior representatives from DHA this month to outline concerns with visa processing delay and refusal trends. We took the opportunity to note the impact of caseloads being transferred between posts and particularly the increased requests for additional information. DHA highlighted the volumes of visa applications had increased significantly and noted they were aiming to reduce the request for additional information moving forward.
DHA noted there were a lot of outstanding applications that they were waiting for information on before they could finalise the assessment. The high number of cases was adding to the delays. In the future, DHA will reduce the amount of time for applicants to respond to requests and has requested that providers and agents aim to complete all outstanding requests as soon as possible and that complete applications be submitted six weeks before the intended start date. English Australia will be holding regular meetings with DHA in the months ahead to ensure matters are raised and addressed in a timely manner.
Other student visa news
In May, we have continued to see an improvement in ELICOS visa lodgements and grants. Independent ELICOS visa applications lodged in March were the highest received in more than two years, showing that international student interest in studying in Australia remains strong. March ELICOS visa grants were almost fifteen times higher than the slowest month of the last two years, which was August 2021.
With Austrade’s news on more flights to Australia scheduled over the Northern Summer, including from China, we should be even more optimistic about the future of the sector.
Guide to Good Practice in Online ELICOS Delivery
Our new guide offers practical advice on how to provide sufficient technical training and support for the relevant tools that improve online learning capabilities and efficiencies. I encourage you to download this valuable resource if you haven’t yet done so.
I would like to personally thank our Guide writer, Henno Kotze, the Guide’s Steering Committee, the colleges who provided case studies, our English Australia members who participated in our survey, and the Department of Education, Skills, and Employment, ASQA and TEQSA. Without their support, the Guide would not have been possible.
Action Research Program update
On the 20th of May, English Australia held our second Action Research workshop at Navitas English Sydney, where we focused on analysing data collected from our classrooms. As always, thank you to our Program partner and sponsor Cambridge English and thank you to the ELICOS teachers from around Australia who participated.
English Language Barometer 2022
If you have not already done so, please register and participate in this free survey which provides colleges with critical insight into how to improve the international student experience.
English Australia 2022 Conference call for papers
For any of you who are interested in submitting an abstract for this years' conference and have not yet done so, please consider that the deadline of 11:59pm 9th June is just over one week away.
Innovation Development Fund 2021-22
The contract execution and grant payments were concluded to all grantees on the 27th of April 2022. Under the contract with the Department of Education, Skills, and Employment (DESE) the first report from the fund was due back from participants at the end of April. This has been compiled and sent to DESE. A mid-point review is scheduled for the 30th of June, including a reconciliation of expending money to this date and the locking in of a committed expenditure plan from this date to the end of the program, the 31st of December 2022.
NEAS Conference
English Australia participated in the NEAS conference this month. Well done to NEAS on a great event. The 2022 opening plenary was powerfully delivered by Mr Stan Grant. Stan, a proud Wiradjuri, Kamilaroi and Dharawal man, highlighted the importance of language in communication and how the impact of words can transcend in a glocal sense.
Congratulations to Ms Heather Thomas and Ms Christine Bundesen AM who were jointly awarded the NEAS Lifetime Member Award for 2022. They have both given so much to the ELT community and are truly deserving of this recognition.
May Board Meeting
The English Australia Board met on the 26-27th of May. The Board reviewed the current operations of the association with a particular focus on the 2022-23 Budget. The Board assessed key governance items and noted the work of the secretariat across the range of strategic projects that had positively impacted the association’s performance over the past year. The Board will consider the future strategic priorities at the August Board meeting.
June member forums and Annual ELICOS market report 2021 release
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming English Australia Member forums/ Branch meetings in June. The forums provide an opportunity for us to update you on the work of the association and hear your views on items of strategic importance for the future. I will also be releasing the Annual ELICOS market report 2021 and presenting an update on State/ Territory performance.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything that you would like to discuss or support/ assistance that we can provide.