Australian tertiary institutions will need regulatory approval to deliver their courses overseas, under new legislation introduced into parliament.

The education minister will also gain the power to suspend approval of new colleges or courses catering to foreign students on home soil, if the regulators become overwhelmed by their existing workloads.

The changes are among a flurry of proposals to improve integrity in international education, after reviews by former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson and former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon exposed unethical and criminal behaviour in the industry.

¡°International education is an important national asset...but it¡¯s also the target for unscrupulous individuals trying to make a quick buck,¡± education minister Jason Clare told parliament.

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Most of the measures were originally proposed in an which passed the House of Representatives last year, but lapsed amid political bickering over the government¡¯s proposal to cap international enrolments. The new bill contains no measure to limit international student numbers ¨C something the government is pursuing separately through changed visa processing arrangements.

However, the move to require Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Teqsa) authorisation of offshore educational delivery was not part of the original legislation. It was added as Australian institutions rushed to boost their offshore activities ¨C in response to the government¡¯s crackdown on onshore international enrolments ¨C and amid warnings about potential risks to institutional autonomy and national security.

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Clare said the ¡°light touch¡± changes would require universities and colleges to notify Teqsa of new offshore delivery arrangements, and to report annually on their transnational activities. ¡°This will give regulators the information they need to monitor quality and address risks early,¡± he said. ¡°Students who study with an Australian provider overseas will have the same confidence in the quality of an Australian qualification as those who study here.¡±

If the bill passes parliament, Clare will also be able to suspend the processing of applications for new providers or courses for up to a year. This would enable regulators to ¡°focus resources on integrity issues¡±, he explained. An explanatory document says the newfound power would only be used in ¡°limited circumstances¡±.

The UK¡¯s Office for Students suspended the registering of new higher education providers last December,?in order to concentrate on the financial pressures facing universities and colleges. Processing of UK applications has now resumed, but new institutions have faced delays and difficulties obtaining registration and degree-awarding powers.

Other provisions in the Australian legislation include the automatic cancellation of colleges¡¯ registration if they have failed to teach overseas students for 12 consecutive months. The education and skills ministers would also gain the power to suspend or cancel courses that have ¡°systemic¡± quality problems, ¡°provide limited value to Australia¡¯s skills¡± or are ¡°used by students to subvert immigration and education systems¡±.

This power would not apply to publicly funded universities. ̽»¨ÊÓƵ understands that it is mainly designed to target low-cost vocational courses exploited by students as de facto work permits, including leadership and teaching diplomas with ballooning enrolments.

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Two years ago, parliament¡¯s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade the government to block international enrolments in programmes with ¡°persistent quality and integrity issues¡­such as leadership and management courses¡±.

International education insiders mostly support the new bill, amid longstanding concerns about dodgy business practices, onshore poaching of students and criminal activities among some private colleges and agencies.

However, some of the proposals have attracted opposition ¨C particularly a requirement for newly registered colleges or universities to teach domestic students for two years before being allowed to enrol international students.

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This rule will give new entrants the opportunity to provide ¡°evidence of their commitment to quality education¡±, Clare explained. But Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, said it could prevent reputable foreign universities establishing Antipodean campuses to educate international students closer to home.

Honeywood said the rule would effectively prevent any new vocational colleges from operating in Australia, where students now have widespread access to tuition-free training at public TAFE colleges. ¡°How would you go about teaching domestic students when you¡¯re up against free TAFE? It¡¯s impossible.¡±

The Australian bill also includes a suite of provisions to prevent student poaching by banning the payment of commissions to education agents for ¡°onshore student transfers¡±, Clare said. Honeywood said this risked preventing agents charging for legitimate advice, such as options for international undergraduates to pursue postgraduate study.

The bill also includes a proposal to uncap places on medical?courses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com