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Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS)

What's New...

The presentation (921kb) on tips and suggestions for the National Code from the ESOS National Code Good Practice Workshops held around Australia from May to June 2009.

DEEWR recently funded ISANA to produce a pre-arrival handbook called 'The Rainbow Guide'. This can be downloaded from ISANA and institutions can brand and customise it to suit their students' needs.

Providers can now print ESOS information products for Orientation kits.

If your college has stopped teaching your course before you have finished please read the following important information.

More

Introduction
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations regulates the education and training sector’s involvement with overseas students studying in Australia on student visas. It does this through the Education Services for Overseas Students legislative framework. This protects Australia’s reputation for delivering quality education services and the interests of overseas students, by setting minimum standards and providing tuition and financial assurance.

The legislation mandates a nationally consistent approach to registering education providers so that the quality of the tuition, and care of students, remains high. The professionalism and integrity of the industry is further strengthened by the ESOS legislation’s interface with immigration law. This imposes visa related reporting requirements on both students and providers. A simple explanation of the framework is the Easy Guide to ESOS.


ESOS Legislative Framework
The ESOS Acts and Regulations set out the legal framework for the delivery of education to overseas students. It governs:

  • Which providers may be registered
  • The CRICOS registration process
  • Obligations of providers
  • Tuition assurance and consumer protection mechanisms
  • Enforcement and compliance powers
  • Charges providers pay to enrol overseas students.

National Code of Practice 2007
On 1 July 2007 the original National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students was substantially revised to improve clarity and to give institutions more flexibility. For students the changes brought about greater protection. All CRICOS-registered providers must comply with the provisions of the National Code of Practice 2007.

The National Code 2007 contains:

  • A description of the principles and guidelines that underpin the National Code 2007;
  • A description of the roles and responsibilities of state and territory governments;
  • Requirements for CRICOS-registered providers; and
  • Standards for CRICOS-registered providers.

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The Explanatory Guide
The Explanatory Guide mirrors the structure of the National Code of Practice 2007 with a focus on Part D. It contains:

  • Education sector-specific case studies
  • Instructions on how to apply standards to education sectors
  • Sector-specific compliance tips
  • The relationship of each standard to other standards and the ESOS Act
  • Useful website addresses, phone numbers and eMail addresses.

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Further Information

General Enquiries:

Visa Enquiries:

Phone: (02) 6240 5069 Phone: 131 881 (within Australia)
Fax: (02) 6123 5870 Website:

http://www.immi.gov.au 

email:

esosmailbox@deewr.gov.au

PRISMS Help Desk:

ARC Hotline:

Phone: (02) 6240 7647 Phone: 1300 793 993 (January to April each year within Australia)
Fax: (02) 6123 7558 email: esosarcmailbox@deewr.gov.au  
email:

prisms@deewr.gov.au