Parliament Updates

13 August 2024

I move amendments (1) to (33), as circulated in my name, together:

As I said during my second reading speech on this bill, international students contribute to the wellbeing of Australians by fuelling the economic growth and prosperity that provide jobs for Australians. In 2023, international education contributed $48 billion to the Australian economy. I maintain that this bill represents a kneejerk reaction to the coalition's false attribution of our current housing supply crisis to migration, particularly international students. However, since the government is insisting on proceeding with it, I wish to offer several amendments to improve it.

I'd like to thank the higher education sector—in particular, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney—for their engagement with me and my office. I'd like to thank the minister and his office for engaging as well. He knows that this bill, I think it is fair to say, can be improved, and we have had productive conversations, but ultimately I do hope to see in his response in this process and in the other place some more clarity around his commitment to where the government is willing to look at improving this legislation.

We need to make sure that we enhance the higher education sector. I don't disagree with making sure we have guardrails and protections where providers are not operating as they should, but, in relation to the higher education sector, we need to make sure we are not destroying a very vital part of our economy. In particular, locally in Warringah, I know that small businesses rely a lot, when it comes to retail and hospitality, on the contribution of international students.

The amendments go firstly to defining enrolment, which is a core issue of this legislation, to avoid the caps being issued being lower than actual acceptance. Currently, the definition in the bill refers to the caps going to an enrolment. Caps on offers are very different to caps on enrolments. This is aimed at ensuring that the legislation avoids the situation where a provider can have a limit imposed which is less than the number of overseas students that have already been accepted and confirmation of enrolment issued before the commencement date. It's also incredibly important because good practice—and it often happens—is that not all offers issued by any one institution are accepted. In fact, it's often the case that more offers need to be issued to ensure ultimately a full acceptance rate and enrolment in those courses and that they are taken up. With a cap in place, providers then have a problem whereby they can only issue as many offers as is allowed by the cap. But, with not all offers being accepted, final enrolments will be well under that cap, so it's very important that that definition in relation to that cap applies to enrolments, not offers.

Secondly, I propose that this legislation be deferred for commencement for public universities and TAFE till 2026. We have had some debate on this issue, but it is worth repeating. It will ensure that there is time for implementation of this bill thoroughly and not in a rushed manner, avoiding any unintended consequences for the higher education sector. It's good that a review period has been agreed to, but that is after the fact, whereas deferring commencement ensures that this is done well and does not damage our international reputation ahead of time. It is particularly important from a planning perspective but also helps ensure proper policy processes and implementation can be done for such a large and complex piece of legislation and in such an important industry.

I also propose that the legislation have a sunset clause put in effect to avoid giving the minister power in perpetuity. It would send an important signal to the sector and provide reassurance. I note discussions about implementing a body that would take over the role from the minister, but that is not an assurance in itself for these institutions. The date for setting enrolment limits should also be amended to being in July rather than September the preceding year. This, again, would help students in higher education institutions plan better. They need to make their decisions at least six months in advance, often with a lead time of two or more years.

Finally, I propose amendments to ensure transparency for setting enrolment limits to be done by disallowable instrument, rather than by notice, alongside removing the automatic suspension for an operator in breach of provisions. These two amendments are both key to ensuring the powers in this bill do not have any unintended consequences but also that there is greater clarity and scrutiny in this place on the decisions the minister makes now or in the future in relation to these caps. It is important to have this as a disallowable instrument.