Amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 to strengthen integrity in the international education sector will be among several legislative priorities in 2025-26 for the current Government.
Released yesterday by Minister for Education Jason Clare, Building a Better and Fairer Education System outlines the Government’s education reform agenda for this parliamentary term. It includes key election commitments such as reducing HECS debt for domestic students and introducing Commonwealth Prac Payments to support students training to become teachers, nurses, midwives, or social workers.
On international education, the legislative priority is to make:
“amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to strengthen integrity in the international education sector, combat the exploitation of overseas students, and address behaviours which seek to exploit the migration system”.
The plan to introduce new ESOS amendments follows the Government’s failed Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024, after the Coalition and Greens blocked the Bill in the Senate due to measures that would see it impose enrolment caps.
There are positive signs that the Government is listening to the overwhelming feedback it received last year about lack of consultation and transparency, saying, “The Government will continue engaging with the sector to shape future policy and regulatory settings, supporting a long-term strategy developed in consultation with stakeholders”.
The release of this document confirms some earlier indications from the Government that it will abandon pursuing enrolment caps through the ESOS Act. Assistant Minister for International Education, Julian Hill, has previously said that there are other possible avenues for the Government to manage student numbers (such as mission-based compacts in the public university sector, for example).
The success, at least from the Government’s perspective, of Ministerial Direction 111, is highlighted in the document and it is set to stay at least for the time being: “Reforms introduced in 2024, including Ministerial Direction 111, aim to restore sustainable student numbers and focus on genuine students and providers”.
A copy of Building a Better and Fairer Education System is available here.
