̽»¨ÊÓƵ

Changes to Australia¡¯s international education rules risk fuelling unintended consequences by driving ¡°bad actors¡± underground, industry figures fear.

A recent increase to the country¡¯s target quota for international students has highlighted the difficulty facing small private colleges in attracting fresh offshore enrolments. And forthcoming ¡°integrity measures¡± could undermine their last viable income stream by constraining onshore recruitment.

Analyst Neil Fitzroy said a perception that policy settings had ¡°prioritised¡± public universities had helped to drive a ¡°huge increase¡± in ¡°poaching¡±. Students were gaining admission to Australia by enrolling at public universities, then transferring to institutions with cheaper tuition.

The government has proposed banning the payment of commissions for onshore transfers of foreign students. But Fitzroy said there were ¡°legitimate reasons¡± for students to switch institutions, and ¡°obvious loopholes¡± to circumvent the ban included offering payments in cash, disguising them as marketing fees or farming them through offshore companies.

He warned that agreements between students and agents, whereby fees were not treated as commissions, risked nullifying the consumer protection measures under the Education Services for Overseas Students (Esos) Act.

Last year¡¯s proposed Esos amendment paved the way for a , through changes to a national code of practice, by redefining commissions. But the bill stalled in November and lapsed following the May federal election.

The government says it remains committed to strengthening integrity in international education, particularly vocational education. Industry insiders expect an explicit ban on onshore commissions in a new bill.

Fitzroy, Australasian managing director of the Oxford International Education Group, said banning onshore commissions had been a ¡°live conversation¡± for over a decade but ¡°it¡¯s always ended up in the too difficult basket¡±.

Industry insiders also expect the government to introduce a A$2,500 (?1,206) ¡°transfer fee¡± for international students who switch institutions, to offset the cost of discounting the A$2,000 visa fee for foreign students undertaking short courses. Fitzroy questioned the need for a transfer fee as well as a ban on onshore commissions.

He also warned that rumours of an impending cut to visa fees could encourage would-be students to postpone their applications, further dampening international enrolments. ¡°We could potentially see a whole slew of students delaying their studies.¡±

This would primarily affect small private colleges, which had gained little benefit from the recent increase to the government¡¯s indicative cap on fresh overseas students. The change has overwhelmingly favoured public universities, which are set to receive 17,500 of an additional 25,000 places ¨C boosting their overseas commencements by as much as 12 per cent ¨C with their individual allocations to be revealed in October.

Public and larger private vocational colleges have attracted a 5 per cent increase to their foreign student quotas, with growth of?only 3 per cent afforded to private higher education institutions. Allocations to smaller vocational colleges ¨C those that enrol up to 100 new international students a year ¨C will be aggregated in a ¡°pool¡±, with visa processing slowed down when visa grants reach 80 at each institution or 80 per cent of the overall pot.

Vocational colleges are already struggling, according to the Department of Education. Around 16 per cent of almost 1,000 vocational colleges have reached 80 per cent of their indicative allocations, compared?with 68 per cent of public universities.

Tertiary education consultant Claire Field that about eight universities had exceeded their 2025 quotas and ¡°so far suffered no repercussions¡±. International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil Honeywood said he expected this to change.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com