2005 – Inquiry into the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment Bill 2005.

Attachment: CAPA Submission

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is the national peak body representing Australia’s 257,000 postgraduate students. These students are engaged in both coursework and research programs and include 84,600 international students. CAPA welcomes the invitation to make a submission to this inquiry. We also refer the Committee to our submission to the current Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (2005 Measures No. 4) Bill 2005, for a comprehensive analysis of the issues arising from the operation of a campus of a private foreign university in Australia.

The main objectives of the proposed amendment to the ESOS Act are to:
(1) enable Table C listed foreign owned and operated higher education providers (subject to proposed amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 or HESA) to also be registered as providers under the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000. Such providers would therefore be able to enrol international students.
(2) enable providers registered under the ESOS Act to charge international students an amount as part of their tuition fee to meet the provider’s obligations under the National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities
and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students (National Code). This fee will not breach the ESOS Act or any education related Act.

This submission will address these two objectives.