Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Review

Education institutions and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to have their say on a discussion paper on the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Review, released today. The ESOS arrangements reflect Australia’s commitment to the protection of international students’ consumer rights, and supports the integrity of the student visa system. The discussion paper is based on consultations with stakeholders held between March and May 2014 on ways to improve and deregulate the ESOS framework. Minister for Education, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, said the reform measures outlined in the discussion paper would deliver substantial benefits to education institutions, including a significant reduction in the compliance and reporting burden. “ESOS is unique in the world in providing protection for international students and while there is strong support for ESOS, stakeholders also identified a number of areas where its effectiveness could be improved without compromising quality,” Mr Pyne said. “ESOS will continue to feature world-class protection mechanisms but can be more streamlined and simpler to ensure it does not impose unnecessary and duplicative obligations on education institutions already operating effectively in domestic education. “The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to refine the proposed reforms to ensure they take account of the diversity of education institutions offering their services to international students.” Australia’s international education industry is worth around $15 billion annually and growing. For the year-to-date at June 2014, enrolments across all education sectors increased by 11.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. New enrolments have increased by 20.7 per cent over the same period. Written comments on the discussion paper are due by Friday, 31 October 2014 to [email protected]. Comments on other issues or matters that will support the effective implementation of any changes are also welcome.