As Parliament prepares to return in late July, The Koala News caught up with Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), to discuss what lies ahead for the international education sector. With a newly returned government and policy momentum building, Honeywood shared insights into the issues set to dominate the agenda.
From the outset, Honeywood emphasised the critical role of collaboration among peak bodies in shaping a unified sector voice. “The first post-election joint meeting of the peak bodies will be held in Canberra on 1 July,” he said. “Symbolically, this is a significant date for our sector, as the non-refundable student visa application fee rises from $1,600 to $2,000 that day.”
A key focus of the meeting will be developing a coordinated approach to advocating for a reduction in visa costs. “One of the priority agenda items is building consensus on how to roll back the $2,000 visa charge,” Honeywood explained. “We’ll also need to propose viable cost offsets that would allow the government to reduce the fee while maintaining revenue.”
IEAA’s Position
Honeywood confirmed IEAA will be taking a strong position to the meeting. “We believe visa fees should be reduced to $1,000 for standalone ELICOS, learning abroad programs, and any course under 12 months in duration,” he said. “We expect some slightly alternate views among the peak bodies, but it’s vital we present a united front and don’t allow ourselves to be divided by departmental modelling requirements.”
The NOSC Allocation Model Under Review
Another pressing issue on the table is the methodology behind the New Overseas Student Commencements (NOSC) allocation model. Many in the sector, including stakeholders The Koala has spoken with, believe the current system needs to evolve.
“There will be discussion around the 2026 enrolment allocations and whether changes can be made to the model used previously,” Honeywood said. “The government is also interested in hearing the sector’s views on how unused NOSC allocations might be redistributed.”
This aspect of the framework—largely under-discussed until now—may soon take centre stage. As predicted prior to its rollout, some institutions are not expected to fully use their allocations. The question now is what happens to those unused places.
Revisiting the ESOS Amendment Bill
Also expected to feature prominently on the agenda is the integrity component of the previously withdrawn Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024.
“Another critical issue is the future of the ESOS integrity provisions and whether we can agree on which measures should be taken forward,” Honeywood noted.
While there is broad support across the sector for strengthening integrity measures, the 2024 Bill sparked division. Many argued it lacked clarity and failed to address key concerns. Senate hearings at the time saw the debate overshadowed by urgent questions around allocation frameworks.
What’s clear is that the sector is united in its desire for a more robust and transparent legislative foundation. What remains to be seen is how that takes shape—and 1 July marks a discussion point.
The Koala News thanks Phil Honeywood for his time and candour in sharing his perspectives on these vital issues.
