The cornerstone of the legislative framework for international education in Australia is the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act. This lays out who all the key stakeholders are – government, regulators, providers, agents, and students – the high-level requirements for these stakeholders, and to what other legislation and regulations they must adhere.
To read the ESOS Act, click here.
The cornerstone of the legislative framework for international education in Australia is the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act. This lays out who all the key stakeholders are – government, regulators, providers, agents, and students – the high-level requirements for these stakeholders, and to what other legislation and regulations they must adhere.
To read the ESOS Act, click here.
Attached to the ESOS Act since 2012, is the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) Act. This sets out the rules that protect student’s tuition payments from college defaults.
To read more about the TPS, click here.
To read the TPS Act, click here.
Coming out of the ESOS Act is the National Code 2018. This sets out all the rules that all international education providers – higher education providers (including universities), Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers (including TAFE), ELICOS providers, and Schools – must follow in their operations.
To read more about the National Code 2018, click here.
Coming out of the National Code and giving specific details for the ELICOS sector, is the ELICOS Standards 2018. This covers areas that are unique to ELICOS, such as the limit of 18 students per class and the qualification requirements for teachers.
To read more about the ELICOS Standards, click here.
To read the ELICOS Standards 2018, click here.
English Australia has worked very closely with DET over many years to advocate for legislation and regulations that support a high quality and sustainable ELICOS sector – one that delivers strong student outcomes, strong business outcomes for member colleges, and maintains Australia’s excellent international reputation as a premier English language learning destination.
After many years of working with government bodies and various other industry stakeholders on the VET English issue, English Australia is very pleased that this issue has finally been effectively addressed via the recent review of the ESOS Act, National Code, and ELICOS Standards.
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has responsibility for all visa programs and hence it is a crucial part of the ELICOS ecosystem.
For more detail on the various visa programs that allow study in Australia, click here.
Getting the balance right on when a visa is granted or rejected is a constant challenge and, after a thorough review of the problematic Streamlined Visa Processing (SVP) system, the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) was introduced in July 2016.
The SSVF allocates each country and each provider a risk level of 1 to 3 with 1 signifying the lowest level of risk. These ratings are based on previous visa outcomes data. When each student applies to study with a specific provider they get a combined risk rating for their nationality and the provider. This then determines the requirements for the student’s visa application.
For more detail on the SSVF, click here.
English Australia’s active and effective advocacy in relation to visa issues and its excellent relationships with all the key stakeholders has led to it holding a seat on the Education Visa Consultative Committee (EVCC). The EVCC is a forum for government (DHA and DET) and key industry stakeholders (English Australia, Universities Australia, TAFE Directors Australia) to share input and feedback on policy, its execution, and emerging issues in relation to student visas and international education.
For more detail on the EVCC, click here.
International education is Australia’s number one source of service-based export earnings with only coal and iron ore mining exports bringing more money into the Australian economy. Hence, at the federal level, the Australian government has become increasingly engaged with the international education sector including by setting out its strategy for ensuring the sector maintains its reputation as for quality and that it is “innovative, future-focused, and globally engaged.”
To read more about the National Strategy for International Education 2025, click here.
To complement the national strategy, Austrade consulted extensively with the sector, including with English Australia, to develop AIE2025. AIE2025 “is a long-term market development roadmap to support the international education sector’s sustained long-term growth.”
To read more about AIE 2025, click here.
To provide a forum for ongoing industry and government support for implementation of the National Strategy 2025 and the AIE2025 market development roadmap and to ensure a ‘whole-of-government’ approach, in 2016 the federal government launched the Council for International Education.
The Council consists of six federal government ministers and ten industry expert members, including the CEO of English Australia, Brett Blacker.
To read more about the Council for International Education, click here.
