Australia’s controversial education reforms clear Senate

The Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 proposes amendments across several key acts within education, including the Education Services for Overseas Students Act (ESOS). According to government, the reforms aim to strengthen the quality, integrity and long-term sustainability of Australia’s education system, particularly the international education sector.

On November 27, amendments put forward by the Opposition were accepted, adding safeguards and clarifications of language to the Bill, as it enters the final administrative stages in the House of Representatives, with only the Governor-General’s ceremonial assent remaining.

Neil Fitzroy, managing director for Australasia at Oxford International Education Group has been following the legislation closely as it makes it way through parliament. For him, although many of the amendments are “sound and broadly supported”, he said it was “deeply unedifying that, after so much consultation and scrutiny, the Bill was ultimately passed under a guillotine with zero debate amid a clearly pre-packaged political deal”.

Certain parts of the Bill garnered fierce criticism from the sector. A public call for submissions gathered concerns about changes to the definition of an education agent and whether ministerial intervention powers were appropriately balanced.

“There is still considerable nuance in how this Bill will now be operationalised,” said Fitzroy. “The broader definition of who constitutes an education agent is a particular area to watch, given the likelihood that it will capture entities that were never intended as targets.”

The Bill is set to tighten oversight of education agents by broadening the legal definition of who qualifies as an agent and introducing new transparency requirements around commissions and payments.

Elsewhere, one of the most significant points of concern related to new ministerial powers over provider and course registrations. The Bill would allow the minister to make legislative instruments suspending the processing of applications for provider registration – or registration of new courses – for periods of up to 12 months.

“For prospective and current students, their families and the agents watching from afar, this long and confusing process, combined with high subjective visa refusal rates and the shadow of MD106 and MD107, has arguably been as damaging to Australia’s reputation as the bad actors the amendments aim to disrupt,” continued Fitzroy.

But despite the long saga surrounding the reforms, Fitzroy told The PIE News that “the most contentious issues were never part of this legislation” – adding higher visa fees and increased living cost requirements to his list.

The new Bill closely mirrors last year’s version but drops the proposed hard cap on international student enrolments that contributed to the earlier Bill’s failure in parliament. Instead, the government is managing new enrolments through its National Planning Level and visa processing directive MD115, rather than legislated limits.

Ian Pratt, managing director at Lexis English, a staunch critic of the government’s delivery of the Bill, commented on its progression: “And just like that, in the final hours of the last sitting day of the year, the ESOS Amendment Bill will be ticked off by the House and posted off to the Governor-General to become law.”

Pratt criticised the government, saying it has effectively “ignored” industry consultations and peak body negotiations.

“Whatever the case, it’s done and settled, and now the sector needs to learn how to live with what will come,” said Pratt, who “lives in hope” that the government may now shift their focus to the ELICOS sector, as it continues to lobby for a reduction in Australia’s AUD$2000 visa fee for certain short-term students.

“Perhaps now we can move into a more settled period and put some of this confected government silliness behind us. There are good years ahead for the Australian ELICOS sector, but it will be despite the efforts of the current government when they come,” he added.

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