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The Australian Government, through the Department of Education and Training, administers the ESOS Act and its associated instruments.
The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) sets out the legal framework governing delivery of education to international students in Australia on a student visa.
The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) governs:
In December 2015 changes to the ESOS Act passed by the Australian Parliament removed unnecessary red tape and streamlined the Act with domestic quality assurance frameworks administered by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).Three measures in the new legislation came into effect on 14 December 2015 to directly reduce administrative costs for education institutions. For more information see fact sheets outlining the changes to:
Other changes that simplify registration and regulatory processes take effect from 1 July 2016 and can be found here:
The National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students (the National Code) provides nationally consistent standards for the conduct of registered providers and the registration of their courses.
The standards set out requirements and procedures to ensure providers of education and training courses to international students can clearly understand and comply with their obligations under the National Code.
English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) are central to Australia’s international education sector. Students come from overseas to study the English language for a variety of reasons. Some need to improve their English for work or career purposes, some have a personal interest in becoming fluent in English, and some intend to travel. Other students may want to continue their education in English, either in Australia or elsewhere, and need to develop the necessary language skills to undertake further study. The ELICOS Standards enhance Australia’s reputation as a provider of world class international education and help attract high quality international students to Australia.
The ELICOS Standards became an enforceable legislative instrument under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act in 2011. The ELICOS Standards provide a basis on which regulatory authorities may register a provider on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), under the ESOS Act, to deliver an ELICOS course. ELICOS providers wanting to be registered on CRICOS need to meet the Standards.
The department undertook public consultation on proposed revisions to the ELICOS Standards from 14 July 2017 to 11 August 2017. Submissions received can be found on the departmental website.
On 11 October 2017, the Education and Training Minister’s delegate approved revised ELICOS Standards. The ELICOS Standards 2018 will apply to new and existing providers from 1 January 2018, and to transitioning providers from 1 March 2018.
The main change amends the definition of an ELICOS course to bring all intensive English language courses registered on CRICOS within the scope of the ELICOS Standards. The ELICOS Standards will apply to providers who deliver courses which are solely or predominantly of English language instruction to student visa holders in Australia, including vocational education and training (VET) English courses.
From 2018 providers will also have to meet minimum requirements relating to course contact hours, teacher qualification and staff-student ratios.
Providers delivering English language courses which are not currently registered as ELICOS will be informed by the regulator (the Australian Skills Quality Authority [ASQA] or Teritiary Education Quality and Standards Agency [TEQSA]) if they need to transition to ELICOS delivery and start meeting the requirements of the ELICOS Standards. Existing ELICOS providers will need to meet the standards from 1 January 2018.Transitioning providers will be given until 1 March 2018 to meet the majority of requirements. Transitioning providers will be given an extra year, until January 2019, to meet requirements relating to Teaching Staff Qualifications (Standard 6.4).
The ELICOS Standards 2018 are now available on the Federal Register of Legislation.
A Fact Sheet with further detail on the changes can be found here (pdf,docx).
Foundation programs are courses designed for international students to equip them with the skills and capabilities to seek entry into higher education programs in Australia. Generally, foundation programs provide an academic entry pathway to first year undergraduate study or its equivalent.The Foundation Program Standards must be met by all foundation program providers wanting to be registered on CRICOS.