The Koala has seen a document circulating titled “Recommencement of Evidence Level updates on Wednesday, 20 November 2024” released by the Department of Home Affairs today. It reads:
Visa applications for the first quarter of 2024-25 are lower overall than for the same period in 2018-19 (112,605 compared to 99,868 in 2024-25). This represents a decrease of 28 per cent when compared with the same period in 2023–24.
There are encouraging signs in some offshore markets that the quality of visa applications has been improving, and refusal rates are lower, while as older applications are finalised onshore, refusal rates have increased due to application of integrity measures and the commencement of the Genuine Student test.
Against this backdrop, on 3 October 2024 the Department of Home Affairs published a notice advising the pause of the September 2024 Evidence Level update.
Further to this notice, government has authorised the Department to proceed with an Evidence Level update, which will be implemented on the morning of Wednesday 20 November 2024, with the update taking effect between 9 am and 12 pm AEDT.
The update is based on immigration outcomes from the period 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024. The Evidence Level update will reward those providers that have shown improved performance, while making minor adjustments to support genuine providers to adapt their processes and recruit for semester 1, 2025. Country evidence levels will also be updated.
In this update:
– All education providers that have shown an improved Evidence Level rating will move up Evidence Levels.
– Education providers who have a worsening Evidence Level rating will also be updated.
- An exception is being made for those providers in the higher education, schools and public vocational education and training sectors. These providers will remain paused at their current Evidence Level. The Department will continue to closely monitor outcomes.
Routine Evidence Level updates are anticipated to recommence in March 2025.
The Department will continue to monitor providers between now and March 2025, and may recommend further interim adjustments to evidence levels should there be signs of inappropriate recruitment behaviour by particular providers.
The Department of Home Affairs will continue and expand communication and engagement with the education sector to support their recruitment of genuine students. The workshop on ‘genuine students’ recently announced has already garnered interest from the thousands of participants.
The Department strongly encourages providers to lodge high-quality decision-ready applications for genuine students as soon as possible to facilitate processing in time for the commencement of the academic year.
About Evidence Levels
The Department of Home Affairs updates the Evidence Levels of countries and education providers twice yearly in March and September to ensure that the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) and risk response is aligned to recent trends in Student visa outcomes.
An education provider’s Evidence Level is calculated based on the rate of adverse immigration outcomes from their students, including the rate of visa cancellations and visa refusals due to fraud in the preceding year. Under SSVF, education providers have a responsibility to enrol genuine students qualified to study their intended course.
The combined country and education provider Evidence Levels are then used to guide financial and English evidence requirements for Student visa applicants.
Education Providers have a shared responsibility to maintain the integrity of the Student visa program
The reputation of Australia’s international education industry depends, among other things, on a Student visa program with a high level of integrity. The integrity of Australia’s student visa program is the responsibility of stakeholders across the international education sector, including education providers, other Australian government agencies and regulators, education and migration agents, and the students themselves.
It appears that the Private VET and ELICOS sectors are in Home Affairs’ scope and have been targeted by the exception being put in place. The Koala’s read is that only institutions in these two sectors will have a downgrade enforced, if applicable.
More as it comes in.
