Government crackdown on shonky colleges and education agents

The Albanese government will launch a crackdown on exploitation of student visas by education agents and shonky colleges.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Exploitation of student visas by education agents and shonky colleges will be the targets of a new crackdown as the Albanese government vows to step up monitoring of the industry and make sure international students are actually attending classes.

In the first of a series of ­announcements this week on ­moves to plug holes in the ­ migration system, the government said on Sunday that it would strengthen standards applying to education agents and stop people owning an education agency, which recruits international students, and a college, which educates them.

“In addition, we will prohibit agent commissions on student transfers between providers in Australia to remove incentives for unscrupulous agents and providers to ‘poach’ students,” a government statement said.

The move aims to stop the growing use of a backdoor entry scheme to gain work rights in Australia, which relies on using a student visa to enter the country with no plan to seriously engage in study.

To use the scheme, a student first enrols in a reputable Australian university or college – which gives the student a higher chance of getting a student visa – and then, under the guidance of an unethical education agent, transfers to a dodgy college that allows them to skip classes and assignments and instead spend their time working.

“International students are back, but so are the shonks seeking to exploit them and undermine our international education system. That’s why we are acting,” Education Minister Jason Clare said.

The latest move builds on the government’s announcement in August that international students must spend at least six months enrolled at a university or college ­before transferring to different one.

In Sunday’s announcement, the government also said universities and colleges would be given more access to government information about education agent performance, such as the visa-rejection rates and course-completion rates for students placed by a particular agent.

“These benchmarks will help providers choose quality education agents as partners,” the government statement said.

“The Albanese government will not tolerate the manipulation of the international education and student visa systems, or the exploitation of international students.”

The government said it would also strengthen the “fit and proper test” for education providers, a move specifically aimed at dodgy colleges offering vocational qualifications to international students.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O‘Connor. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Taylor

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor is expected to release more details early this week, including a beefed-up role for the vocational education regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood welcomed the government action but said more needed to be done.

“Bad practices that took root during the Covid pandemic were overdue to be fixed,” he said.

“This first tranche of reforms should go some way to reinstating Australia’s quality study destination reputation.”

The new measures are part of the government response to the Rapid Rapid Review into the ­Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System, an inquiry held by former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon, which was completed more than six months ago but not released.

However, media leaks revealed it called for tough action against dodgy colleges and education agents, as well as migration agents more generally.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil is expected to officially ­release the visa system review on Wednesday.