Student fee key to safety, say backers

Universities have linked the passage of the federal government's fee for students to the improved safety and security of international students as the sector ramps up its pressure on politicians to pass the fee when federal parliament resumes next month.

The government is seeking to introduce an annual student amenities fee of up to $250 a head to be charged by universities and spent on a specific set of services.
But the government has failed to meet its July 1 start date for the fee and has yet to secure the necessary votes in the Senate to ensure its safe passage.

Universities and federal and state governments have been under pressure to address a series of violent incidents against international students and a delegation was recently dispatched to India to assuage some of these concerns.

Universities Australia chief executive Glenn Withers said the new funds would allow universities to improve services particularly for international students, as well as rural and regional students studying away from their home environments.

"They don't have the networks in health and employment to assist them," he said.
The government said around $170 million was stripped out of universities' collective student services budgets because of the Howard government's decision to make membership of student unions voluntary in 2006.

Dr Withers said the fresh injection of funds would make an immediate difference to universities' ability to support international students.
"Where they are getting into lots of trouble is when they are going to employers and landlords who do not provide proper duty of care," he said.
"If we had better-funded student services we could validate the employment arrangements that we refer students to, refer them to more and Campus safety behind pressure for new amenity fees better validated employment opportunities and accommodation opportunities."

UA is represented on the delegation to India by Queensland University of Technology deputy vice-chancellor (research) Arun Sharma.

Dr Withers said from what he had been told the delegation was received positively, with parents and students keen to hear what the Australian representatives had to say.

In comments made last week, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' Colin Walters, who is leading the delegation in India, flagged possible reforms by the Indian authorities to tighten up the activities of Indian education agents.

Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations president Nigel Palmer said international postgraduate students were a major user of advocacy services on campus.

He said it was not uncommon for more than half of a postgraduate student association's advocacy case load to be made up of international students.
"The best case scenario is that the passage of [the student amenities and services ] bill will enable universities and student organisations to sustain a suite of support services which will have an immediate and direct impact in the quality of [international students'] experience of studying in Australia," Mr Palmer said.
Australian Technology Network director Vicki Thomson said the passage of the bill would give "greater certainty and predictability to the provision of student services for all students".