Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L01182:reg:4:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L01182
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 11143–14387

4               Australia's international education quality assurance process

    The ESOS legislative framework is administered by a number of agencies across the Commonwealth and states and territories. Their roles are outlined briefly below.

Australian Government

Department of Education and Training

    The Commonwealth Department of Education and Training is responsible for:

        * the overarching policy development and administration of the ESOS Act and its associated legislative framework, including the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) framework and the management of PRISMS
        * administering ESOS-related charges for cost recovery
        * final registration or renewal and compliance monitoring and enforcement decisions (including suspensions and cancellations) as the ESOS agency for schools.

Tuition Protection Service

    The TPS is a placement and refund service to assist overseas students whose registered providers are unable to fully deliver their course of study. The TPS ensures overseas students can either:

        * complete their studies in another course or with another registered provider or
        * receive a refund of their unspent tuition fees.

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

    The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Immigration) is responsible for administration of the student visa program under the Migration Act and associated legislation. The ESOS framework also plays a role in ensuring registered providers uphold the integrity of Australia's student visa program through their ongoing contact with overseas students during their stay in Australia. Under subsection 19(2) of the ESOS Act, registered providers are required to notify the Commonwealth when overseas students have breached their student visa conditions, such as by failing to maintain satisfactory course attendance or progress. The National Code 2018 sets out the course attendance, progress and completion requirements for overseas students that registered providers must monitor and report on.

Australia's quality assurance agencies

    The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national regulator of the higher education sector. Under the ESOS Act, TEQSA is the ESOS agency for providers or registered providers of higher education courses.

    The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is the national regulator for the vocational education and training sector and registered training organisations (RTOs) (within the meaning of the NVETR Act) in Australia. Under the ESOS Act, ASQA is the ESOS agency for providers or registered providers of vocational education courses.

    Both ASQA and TEQSA have powers to register providers to deliver courses to overseas students, as well as to investigate and instigate enforcement action against registered providers for breaches of the ESOS Act and the National Code.

    ASQA and TEQSA also have oversight responsibilities for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) and foundation programs, except where these courses are delivered in the capacity of a school under the ESOS Act.

State and territory governments

    For schools seeking to register