Page 790 - Week 03 - Thursday, 25 March 1993
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training to overseas students. It relies, however, upon appropriate accreditation and approval processes in States and Territories. Members will be aware of the financial collapse of a number of private providers and, unfortunately, of unscrupulous practices occurring in some instances. The main objective of this legislation is to ensure that Canberra's reputation in the export education market is upheld, and to assure overseas students of the quality and integrity of education services offered to them. The Bill will provide financial safeguards for students and cover the standard of facilities, teachers, courses and student welfare services. It will also require that information furnished to intending students be fair and accurate.
It will help to explain the need for and scope of this legislation if I briefly summarise a recently completed review of Commonwealth legislation. The Commonwealth Act has been the subject of a Senate standing committee's inquiry into its operation which was required by order of the Senate to be completed by December 1992. The committee's findings, and an earlier evaluation by the responsible Commonwealth agency, found that the legislation had been effective and is an appropriate means of improving security of students' fees and providing assurances of quality.
During the consultative phase of the committee's work the majority of respondents in all States and Territories commented that the Act was both necessary and appropriate. The Independent Teachers Federation's view was that the Act was necessary, and remains so. The federation considered that the harm caused to the industry as a whole by the poor financial practices of a few colleges around Australia justified regulation of financial practices of the whole industry for an indefinite period. A further comment from a private sector respondent agreed that the Act contained effective measures to safeguard fees prepaid by students and was essential to damage control and building future confidence in the industry. Such measures must recognise the commercial constraints experienced by the institutions they regulate.
The Senate committee concluded that the sunset clause of the Act be amended to extend its provisions for a further year, to the end of 1994, to enable time for States and Territories to introduce legislation. Both the committee and the evaluation report recommended that there should be increased monitoring of the quality of education, however, and recognised that this task is fundamentally the role of States and Territories. The evaluation concluded that States and Territories are in a better position to monitor the conduct of providers, given their responsibility for education generally and the accreditation and approval of providers in particular, and recommended that States and Territories should implement legislation as a matter of urgency. All jurisdictions are acting on the recommendation. Western Australia and Tasmania have passed legislation. It is in this context that the present Bill is being introduced today.
The Government's response is a balanced piece of legislation which will safeguard students' interests and establish a minimal and practical regulation framework in which this important and expanding export industry can operate successfully. Administration arrangements will dovetail with those of the Commonwealth. There will be no duplication, and registration will be a simple, effective process.
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