The Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Streamlining Regulation) Bill 2015 and the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment (Streamlining Regulation) Bill 2015 were introduced by Education Minister Christopher Pyne today.
Universities Australia Deputy Chief Executive Anne-Marie Lansdown said that the legislation would slash red tape, enabling universities to better focus resources on their core mission of education and research.
“These bills retain strong consumer protections while cutting down on the volume of overly onerous reporting obligations on universities. This will free up funds currently spent on report writing and form filling, so they can be redeployed into teaching and learning. We urge Parliament to pass them without delay,” Ms Lansdown said.
“The ESOS framework is a vital pillar of the quality assurance regime for Australian international education. Though it is the envy of many competitor nations and a hallmark of good practice for consumer protection, the associated regulatory burden has been growing ever larger.
“Unfortunately, compliance is now at a point where certain provisions are actually limiting student choice and the capacity of education providers to provide the best options for their students.
“These bills address the concerns head-on and will allow universities to focus on what they do best, delivering an international education experience of uncompromising quality,” Ms Lansdown said.
The changes include:
- Reducing a number of duplicative and expensive reporting and registration requirements; and
- Streamlining quality assurance processes.
Universities Australia thanks Education Minister Christopher Pyne and the Department of Education and Training for their open and extensive consultation process and the ongoing work on changes to the ESOS National Code.
