March has presented us with another month of challenges, compounded by the cessation of JobKeeper. Our sector has already experienced significant job losses and I realise the incredibly difficult situation that JobKeeper’s end will place on many member colleges. I want to assure you that English Australia will continue our fight for the support that we need now and until the borders are reopened.
Last week, I met with the Federal Minister for Education and Youth, The Hon. Alan Tudge in Canberra. It was a productive meeting, and I am hopeful that it will lead to positive outcomes for our sector. However, I believe that now is the time to place concerted pressure on the Federal government ahead of the May budget. Our recently distributed advocacy toolkit is a great starting point for members to begin contacting their local MPs and raising our sector’s challenges. Your collective voice will add further weight to English Australia’s advocacy as we rally for assistance.
We have also turned our focus towards state and territory government support. We will continue to ensure our members have access to programs such as NSW’s Export Assistance Grants, further detailed in this month’s newsletter. The state and territory governments have all contributed to supporting impacted international students over the past year which we greatly respect. We now require their support for the businesses who would normally welcome these international students.
Branch meetings
Thank you to everyone who attended our recent branch meetings. It was great to be able to attend one of these meetings face-to-face and catch up with other members via virtual/hybrid meetings.
I’d also like to extend my thanks to attendees for participating in our first discussion under our ‘Future of ELICOS’ project. We are currently compiling your feedback and will integrate this into an upcoming survey that members can complete. The survey results will sharpen our focus on what members want with regards to policy and form the basis for further workshops in the coming months. These workshops will include representatives from DESE, TEQSA, ASQA, and Austrade. Your input will be invaluable in shaping our future policy direction.
Student returns
We continue to work closely with State and Territory governments on plans to bring back international students. As noted at the branch meetings, the plans for each jurisdiction are all different and still likely to only return modest numbers via initial pilot programs. Alongside the Australian Tourism Export Council, we continue to pursue our agenda with GoPassport and our Safe Travels pilot program. GoPassport has made considerable development on the managed travel platform and will be well-positioned to meet the call from the government for an industry led model.
Government forums and industry liaison
There has been considerable activity and liaison with government stakeholders over the past month.
International student returns were high on the agenda at the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s International Education Stakeholders Forum followed by an update on the refresh of Australia’s national strategy for international education. The Minister for Education and Youth outlined this process in his speech at RMIT today.
The Department of Home Affairs, Education Visa Consultative Committee covered items on travel exemptions and conditions related to student visas for students that remain stranded offshore. Members will note the drastic decline in visa lodgements that we profiled in the December Market report with overall lodgements (all sectors) down 144,000 at the end of last year, which is three times the decline experienced back in 2010. Independent ELICOS visa lodgements continue to raise concerns down 97% on the prior year in January 2021.
I met with ASQA to undertake our Quarterly Provider Roundtable and utilised the opportunity to thank ASQA for their ongoing support and flexibility. I also noted some of the limitations with the hibernation model and will continue to work with ASQA on how this option could be amended to be more suitable for colleges.
I had my first meeting with the new TEQSA Chief Commissioner, Emeritus Professor, Peter Coaldrake AO, this month as part of a briefing that he provided on the new Provider Category Standards. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Chief Commissioner, Professor Nick Saunders AO, for his dedicated support over his tenure in the role. I look forward to continuing our strong partnership with TEQSA under Emeritus Professor, Peter Coaldrake’s, leadership.
English Australia played a key role in bringing industry leaders from Universities Australia, International Students Education Agents Association (ISEAA), Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), and representatives for independent schools, and state/territory study bodies together with government representatives from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Department of Home Affairs and Austrade as part of an International Education roundtable. The meeting focused on the assistance required by the industry, the return of international students and models being implemented in competitor countries, and how we navigate a post-COVID environment.
I meet with the Director and senior staff from the Tuition Protection Service (TPS) last week in Canberra to discuss the risk profile of our sector. Our ongoing relationship with the TPS provides support for colleges that require advice and assistance if course or college operations are unviable. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss any circumstances related to your college.
Annual market report update
Many of you would have been contacted by our research partner, Bonard, as part of our Annual Market Report program. Thank you to all the colleges who have provided their data. The data provided via this important annual survey is critical to validate the impact of Covid-19 on our sector. While the survey period has closed, our research partner, Bonard are kindly accepting late submissions. If you would still like to participate, please contact Svetlana Cruz.
