Migration Review – advocacy
English Australia led a meeting with the heads of the other major industry peak bodies this month to discuss the potential impacts of the Migration Review recommendations. Our colleagues have echoed their support for the issues that we’ve raised, particularly related to Recommendation 30 of the review, which states “Align the English language requirements of the Student and/or Graduate visas with skilled visa English language requirements.”
I met with senior representatives from Minister O’Neil’s Office along with Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). The meeting allowed us to outline our concerns with the Migration Review recommendations, along with our issues such as the 408 visa. I will continue to pursue these matters with the Ministers office.
English Australia 40th Anniversary: 40 Voices campaign
The English Australia Secretariat team and creative agency partner, Zoubakin, have been busily interviewing a remarkable cross-section of highly influential people from English Australia’s past and present, as well as sector leaders, who will combine to create our 40 Voices campaign.
Keep your eye out for our suite of captivating and nostalgic videos featuring the likes of Seamus Fagan, Sue Blundell, Marc Weeden-Newstead, Robynne Walsh, Patrick Pheasant, and Helen Zimmerman (just to mention a few). The 40 Voices campaign will be launched at the upcoming English Australia Conference.
The PIE Live Australia on the Gold Coast
I recently presented at the first ever PIE Live Australia event on the Gold Coast on a panel titled ‘Building Back Better’. The session was facilitated by Kent Anderson, Deputy Vice Chancellor – University of Newcastle, Australia, and joined by Ainslie Moore, Deputy Director International – The University of Auckland, Jana Perera, Executive Director Commercial Business – The Gordon, Rob McGowan, Vice President of International – Torrens University, Australia. My focus was to call for us to work together to ensure international education, and the ELICOS sector was valued by the Australian community, and to acknowledge the important role that education agents play in our eco-system.
I was also honored to be included in The PIE Leadership Digest’s 50 Voices list.
English Australia Conference
We’re excitedly preparing for our annual conference this month. The conference will take place in Sydney on 30 August -1 September and will include special commemorative celebrations for our 40th anniversary, the English Australia award winner presentations, and a bumper program covering the areas of Management, Assessment, Teaching & Learning, Student & Staff Support, and Market Development.
We have just extended our discount registration pricing so it’s not too late to register staff from your centre.
English Australia Conference workshops
Our Special Interest groups have been busy preparing their pre-conference workshops, which will happen on the first day of our conference on 30 August. These workshops can be registered for discretely from the main conference and will be a fantastic opportunity to bring SIG members from around the country together to discuss current issues in the areas of Assessment, Direct Entry Programs and Post-entry English Support.
We’re also running free post-conference workshops for teachers in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane with our conference plenary speaker Mike Mayor. Run in partnership with Pearson, these workshops are an opportunity for teachers who did not attend the main conference to have a taste of the English Australia Conference.
Mental Health SIG Symposium
Our Mental Health SIG held its annual online Symposium this month, with a strong member turnout. The program offered support in the areas of student wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention. Thank you to all the member college staff who presented case studies of good practice in the areas of student support and wellbeing.
Department of Home Affairs – Education Visa Consultative Committee (EVCC)
I will be representing our members at the Education Visa Consultative Committee (EVCC) tomorrow, 1 August 2023.
Members may have seen a number of recent media reports such as this one, where I’ve continued our calls for the Department of Home Affairs to end the access of Student visa (subclass 500) to the 408 visa. This will be high on the agenda again at tomorrow’s meeting.
August Board Meeting
The English Australia Board will be meeting this month and will be reviewing our performance against our previous strategic plan supported by the input from our members that have contributed to the annual member survey. Alongside the general business of the Board, we will be putting the final touches on our new Strategic plan 2024-27.
Membership renewals
I would also like to thank everyone who has supported us by renewing their English Australia membership. We remain committed to advancing a strong and valued English language teaching sector, which is only made possible with the support of our members.
As always please contact us should the need arise.
