In August 2009 the then Minister for Education, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, asked the Hon Bruce Baird AM to review the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 and report back to the Government with changes designed to ensure Australia continues to offer world-class quality international education.
The review considered the need for enhancements to the ESOS legal framework in four key areas set out in the Terms of reference (
pdf 74kb) (
rtf 51 kb): supporting the interests of students; delivering quality as the cornerstone of Australian education; effective regulation; and sustainability of the international education sector.
Following extensive consultation with the international education sector, Mr Baird presented his final report to Government on Tuesday 9 March 2010, with recommendations for how the legislation can be changed to better protect international students and the integrity of the Australian international education sector.
Following the release of the final report, the Government indicated its intention to implement a number of recommendations immediately and consult further with the international education sector on its response to the remaining recommendations.
The Government implemented its response in two phases.
A number of changes to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 as part of the Government’s second phase response to the Baird Review were enacted on 20 March 2012.
The Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection Service and Other Measures) Act 2012
The Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment (Tuition Protection Service) Act 2012
and
The Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Act 2012.
The amendments include a new Tuition Protection Service (TPS) which establishes a single mechanism to place students when a provider cannot meet its obligations, or as a last resort, to provide refunds of unexpended prepaid tuition fees.
To support the TPS, the amendments also introduce a number of complementary initiatives including:
- limiting the amount of upfront pre-paid tuition fees that may be collected by providers before the student commences to no more than 50 per cent (unless the course is 24 weeks or less)
- a requirement on some providers to keep initial pre-paid fees in a separate account until a student commences study
- strengthening record-keeping obligations and
- national CRICOS registration for providers who operate in more than one state or territory.
Please refer to the FAQ document for details on these reforms. This document will be updated regularly. Any additional enquiries regarding the reforms can be directed to the ESOS Enquiry Form.
ESOS Registration Charges Act Amendments - rebasing the registration charges
As a precursor to the Government’s second phase response to the Baird Review, legislative amendments were made to the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997.
These legislative amendments were in response to recommendations from the Baird Review that regulators adopt a risk assessment and management approach to the registration and ongoing monitoring of education providers delivering courses to overseas students, including the costs to apply at registration and through the period of registration.
This legislation was passed by the Parliament of Australia on 15 September 2011 and received Royal Assent on 26 September 2011.
The Fees and Charges page
ESOS Registration Charges Act amendment FAQ's [PDF], [RTF]
Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment Act 2011
Developing the Government's 2nd phase response to the Baird Review
On 7 December 2010 the Government released the discussion paper Reforming ESOS: Consultations to build a stronger, simpler, smarter framework for international education in Australia [pdf] [rtf] to seek feedback on the second phase of its response to the Baird Review. Submissions closed on 21 January 2011.
The Government was seeking feedback from stakeholders in relation to:
- risk assessment and management approach to the registration and ongoing monitoring of education providers delivering to overseas students
- strengthening the tuition protection framework
- a range of recommendations for making ESOS stronger, simpler and smarter; and
- the regulatory effect of these proposals and recommendations.
An implementation Regulatory Impact Statement related to the Government’s second phase response to the Baird Review of the ESOS legislative framework was approved by the Office of Best Practice Regulation on the 27 January 2012.
Regulatory Impact Statement (pdf, rtf)
On 22 September 2011, the Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Bills package was introduced to the Australian Parliament as part of the second phase of the Government’s response to the Baird Review.
The Bills package included:
- the Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment (Tuition Protection Service and Other Measures) Bill 2011
- the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment (Tuition Protection Service) Bill 2011 and
- the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Bill 2011.
On 22 September the House of Representatives referred the ESOS Amendment Bills to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment who conducted a full inquiry.
22 Submissions were received. On Tuesday 1 November the Committee released their final report which made 5 recommendations related to the TPS Bills including that the House of Representatives pass the Bills. On 3 November the ESOS Amendment Bills passed the House of Representatives and will now be considered by the Senate.
On 13 October the ESOS Bills were referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. 11 Submissions were received. On 8 November 2011, the Senate granted an extension of time for reporting. The Senate Committee is released their final report on 27 February 2012.
The Bills package was passed by the Senate on Wednesday 29 February 2012 with some minor amendments. The amended Bills were passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday 1 March 2012. The Governor-General gave Royal Assent to the legislation with effect from 20 March 2012.
On 27 October 2010 the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Legislation Amendment Bill, which lapsed due to the Federal Election, was reintroduced to the Australian Parliament as a part of the first phase of the Government’s response to the Baird Review. This Bill was passed in Parliament on 21 March 2011, enacted on 8 April 2011 and will now be known as the ESOS Amendment Act 2011.
The changes to the ESOS Act 2000 and Ombudsman Act 1976 include:
- further strengthening the registration requirements of education providers delivering to overseas students with a specific focus on business sustainability
- introducing a consistent risk management approach to the regulation of international education
- limiting the period of registration and allowing conditions to be placed on a provider’s registration according to risk
- extending the range of non-compliant behaviour that could attract financial penalties to strengthen regulation
- publishing targets and regularly reporting on regulatory activities undertaken, and
- expanding the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman for external complaints relating to private providers.
Further information on these changes can be found in the below document:
Frequently Asked Questions [pdf] [rtf]
ESOS review final report
The final report, Stronger, Simpler, Smarter ESOS: Supporting International Students, sets out the issues facing the sector and makes a number of recommendations along two central themes:
- ensuring students are better supported through improved information, management of education agents, stronger consumer protection mechanisms and enhanced support to study and live in Australia, including having somewhere to go when problems arise
- improving regulation of Australia’s international education sector and ways to make ESOS stronger, simpler and smarter to ensure Australia maintains its reputation as a high quality study destination.
ESOS Review Final Report – February 2010 (pdf 1.15 mb)
ESOS Review Final Report – February 2010 (rtf 3 mb)
ESOS review interim report
Prior to releasing his final report, Mr Baird released an interim report on 3 December 2009. The interim report sets out his initial observations following the consultation process.
ESOS Review Interim Report – November 2009 pdf
ESOS Review Interim Report – November 2009 rtf
Issues Paper
The consultations process began with the release of an issues paper on 23 September 2009, and called for written submissions to the review via email or an online forum. Submissions closed on 30 October 2009.
ESOS Review Issues Paper – September 2009 (pdf 146kb)
ESOS Review Issues Paper – September 2009 (rtf 544kb)
Submissions to the ESOS review
Around 150 formal submissions to the ESOS review were received and are available online via the links below:
Submissions received A-L
Submissions received M-Z
Please note: the ESOS review accepted confidential submissions from organisations/individuals where requested.
Consultations
During the consultation period, Mr Baird held forums with students and providers from the tertiary, English language and school sectors, involving some 200 individuals. He also met with state and territory government officials, regulatory bodies, student organisations, industry bodies and diplomatic missions.