The Queensland State Government and the Federal Government have introduced Bills to their respective parliaments which, if passed, will affect schools that provide educational services to international students.
International education is a key contributor to the Australian economy with enrolments exceeding 700,000 in 2016, so legislative reform in this space is a reflection of the importance of protecting students by having a sufficiently regulated industry. In Queensland, the Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2017 (Qld) (EOS Bill) has been introduced to amend the Education (Overseas Students) Act 1996 (Qld) (EOS Act). While the Education Legislation Amendment (Provider Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2017 (Cth) (the Bill), amending the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth) (ESOS Act), was introduced to Federal Parliament. This article discusses both Bills.
Firstly, it is important to understand how the EOS Act and ESOS Act integrate together, and with the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007 (National Code). Basically, the EOS Act provides further regulation for Queensland schools, in addition to the compliance framework established by the Federal ESOS Act and National Code. However, the status of the National Code is unclear. For more information refer to our previous School Governance Article.
Despite this uncertainty, the EOS Bill references the Interim National Code as part of the Federal legislative framework. This decision, while limited to Queensland, endorses that schools may regard the Interim National Code as the version of the Code to follow until the new National Code is released.
As explained by the EOS Bill Explanatory Notes, there are currently 106 providers in Queensland (105 non-government schools and 1 for the government sector which covers 145 government schools) who are registered with the ESOS Agency to provide educational services to international students. The Department of Education and Training (DET) in Queensland is the Agency responsible for approving the registration status of these schools.
The EOS Bill changes include:
Administrative practices will be improved by introducing internal review rights within the DET and enhancing information sharing arrangements between registered providers and the DET.
The EOS Bill ensures better alignment with the Federal ESOS framework by:
The EOS Bill also removes the current requirement under the Queensland EOS Act for Queensland school providers of courses to overseas students to be registered on the Queensland register. Therefore, reducing red tape.
If the Bill is passed, the current EOS Act will be repealed and the new legislation will be called the Education (Overseas Students) Act 2017.
The Federal Parliament has introduced changes to the ESOS Act through the Bill. According to the Explanatory Memorandum the four major changes proposed that affect schools are:
Interesting wording from the Explanatory Memorandum is the statement that the proposed changes to the ESOS Act are designed to protect students from "unscrupulous providers".
Additional measures have been put forward to determine whether a registered provider meets, or no longer meets, the fit and proper person for registration requirements under section 7A of the ESOS Act. The purpose of this is to ensure that “governing individuals” within education providers are fit to deliver educational services. Unfortunately, there is no clarification as to what “governing individuals” means.
These additional fit and proper person arrangements have been proposed to help preserve the integrity of the international education sector, protect international students’ interests and prevent unscrupulous behaviour from registered providers.
Notifiable disclosure events under section 17 of the ESOS Act are being expanded upon. These additional disclosure events provide an extra level of reporting (as well as protection) against unprofessional behaviour occurring. New paragraphs 17(1)(aa), (ba) and (da) will be added so registered providers must inform the Federal Department of Education and Training once they become aware that an associate or agent of the provider:
The Bill also adds another layer of reporting by proposing to insert section 17A into the ESOS Act requiring providers to notify the Department of Education and Training of certain other events. Registered providers must report:
This Bill will introduce a legal discretionary requirement for information sharing between registered providers and the ESOS agency. This is so that accurate information in the international education sector is being provided to ensure registered providers remain compliant with their legislative requirements. The insertion of section 175(1)(1A) allows the ESOS agency for a provider or registered provider, to give information obtained or received for the purposes of the ESOS Act to an enforcement body (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth): such as the AFP, State or Territory Authority), if satisfied it is reasonably necessary for enforcement related activities. Sharing information is still discretionary on the provider to demonstrate how they exercise the functions of their agents or providers.
Every school around Australia who provides education services to international students would be familiar with the current federal and state or territory legislative framework. Schools should have policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with their legal obligations. Although the Bill and EOS Bill are not yet law, it is important to understand how these pieces of legislation may affect how they provide services to international students. The finalisation of a new National Code later this year would also assist schools to comply with any reform coming their way.