In a move that is sure to cause an already anxious international education sector even more anxiety, the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 has not been listed for debate in today’s Senate Order of Business.
Although the Bill appears in the Senate Notice Paper for Thursday, 10 October, it does not appear under the Government business orders of the day, in the Senate Order of Business.
It’s true that the business listed in the Order of Business is subject to change, however, it is highly unlikely that the ESOS Bill would be a late addition given that a range of other Bills are listed for debate.
This means that the earliest that the Bill will be debated in the Senate is in the next Parliamentary sitting period, which commences on 18 November for both Houses.
The absence of the Bill for debate follows the tabling of the Report of the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee inquiry into the Bill in Parliament last night.
“Overall, the Senate Education Committee process has been an enormous waste of effort and a distraction that our beleaguered international education sector could have well done without,” said Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA).
A waste of effort that now means that the sector will be without certainty for a 1 January 2025 start date, should the Government still decide to pursue this.
