Quality Assurance and Consumer Protection

Australia takes its responsibility for providing quality education and training to international students seriously and regulations governing it are set in law, in the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislation.

 

All institutions wanting to deliver courses to international students in Australia must be registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and meet special registration conditions.

 

Both public and private institutions must meet high standards of quality and ethical practice that take into account such issues as curriculum, qualifications of teaching staff, and facilities.

 

A Transnational Quality Strategy works to ensure that Australian courses delivered in other countries are delivered to the same standards as they are in Australia.

 

Australia provides the world’s most rigorous protection for international students through the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) legislation, which requires institutions that provide education to international students to meet nationally consistent standards in education delivery, facilities and services. It ensures consistency with the standard of education delivered to Australian students.

 

The legislation also provides tuition and financial assurance for international students if an institution cannot meet its commitments.

 

The legislation ensures a nationally consistent approach to provider registration and enables the Australian Government to monitor education providers. Breaches of the Act are treated very seriously and the penalties can be significant.

 

The Australian Government has brought forward the review of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 in the context of significant growth in the number of overseas students, the changing composition of the international student body and emerging issues in the sector.

 

The review, led by the former Federal Member for Cook, the Hon Bruce Baird, is an opportunity to further enhance the education quality and protection of international students.