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2019 - 2020 - 2021
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
EDUCATION SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS (TPS LEVIES) AMENDMENT BILL 2021
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Alan Tudge MP)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................................................ 1
OUTLINE .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 3
CONSULTATION ............................................................................................................................................... 3
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS................................................................................... 4
NOTES ON CLAUSES ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Schedule 1--Amendments ............................................................................................................................... 7
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GLOSSARY
Abbreviation Definition
CRICOS Commonwealth Register of Institutions and
Courses for Overseas Students
ESOS Act Education Services for Overseas Students
Act 2000
OBPR Office of Best Practice Regulation
Registration Charges Act Education Services for Overseas Students
(Registration Charges) Act 1997
Registration Charges Bill Education Services for Overseas Students
(Registration Charges) Amendment Bill
2021
The Bill Education Services for Overseas Students
(TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021
The department Department of Education, Skills and
Employment
TPS Levies Act Education Services for Overseas Students
(TPS Levies) Act 2012
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EDUCATION SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS (TPS LEVIES) AMENDMENT BILL 2021
OUTLINE
The Australian Government decided, as part of the 2021-22 Budget, to implement an
updated cost recovery model for registration on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions
and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and associated regulation costs. These changes
will be achieved through amendments in four separate bills:
the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill)
will amend the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Act 2012 (TPS
Levies Act)
the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment Bill
2021 (Registration Charges Bill) will amend the Education Services for Overseas
Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997 (Registration Charges Act)
the ESOS Amendment (Cost Recovery and Other Measures) Bill 2021 will amend the
Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act)
the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Amendment Bill 2021
will amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Act 2021.
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the TPS Levies Act which is required as a result of
proposed amendments to the Registration Charges Act. The Tuition Protection Service (TPS)
is an initiative of the Australian Government to assist overseas students and eligible
domestic students to complete their studies in another course or with another education
provider, or receive a refund of their unspent tuition fees, if their education provider is
unable to fully deliver their course of study.
The TPS is funded by an annual TPS levy on all registered providers, imposed under the TPS
Levies Act. The TPS levy comprises administrative fee and base fee components which are
based on a provider's enrolment numbers, a risk rated premium and a special tuition
protection component. Amounts collected are credited into the Overseas Students Tuition
Fund (OSTF), which is a Special Account under the Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013. The OSTF is established under section 52A of the ESOS Act.
The definition of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act currently refers to the number of
total enrolments for a provider worked out in accordance with section 5 of the Registration
Charges Act. The Registration Charges Bill provides that section 5 will be repealed and
replaced with a new section that does not refer to 'total enrolments'. As such, the definition
of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act needs to be updated to remove the reference to
section 5 of the Registration Charges Act. The amendments are set out in detail in Schedule
1 to the Bill. The Bill will not change the amount of the TPS levy or the way the levy is
calculated.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The changes proposed by this Bill have no financial impact on the Commonwealth or
registered providers.
CONSULTATION
The department undertook public consultation in January 2020 and May 2021.
No substantive issues were identified during the consultation period that warranted
changing the model.
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STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021
The Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021 (the Bill) is
compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international
instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Bill
The Australian Government decided, as part of the 2021-22 Budget, to implement an
updated cost recovery model for registration on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions
and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and associated regulation costs. These changes
will be achieved through amendments in four separate bills:
the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill)
will amend the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Act 2012 (TPS
Levies Act)
the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment Bill
2021 (Registration Charges Bill) will amend the Education Services for Overseas
Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997 (Registration Charges Act)
the ESOS Amendment (Cost Recovery and Other Measures) Bill 2021 will amend the
Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act)
the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Amendment Bill 2021
will amend the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Act 2021.
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the TPS Levies Act which is required as a result of
proposed amendments to the Registration Charges Act. The Tuition Protection Service (TPS)
is an initiative of the Australian Government to assist overseas students and eligible
domestic students to complete their studies in another course or with another education
provider, or receive a refund of their unspent tuition fees, if their education provider is
unable to fully deliver their course of study.
The TPS is funded by an annual TPS levy on all registered providers, imposed under the TPS
Levies Act. The TPS levy comprises administrative fee and base fee components which are
based on a provider's enrolment numbers, a risk rated premium and a special tuition
protection component. Amounts collected are credited into the Overseas Students Tuition
Fund (OSTF), which is a Special Account under the Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013. The OSTF is established under section 52A of the ESOS Act.
The definition of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act currently refers to the number of
total enrolments for a provider worked out in accordance with section 5 of the Registration
Charges Act. The Registration Charges Bill provides that section 5 will be repealed and
replaced with a new section that does not refer to 'total enrolments'. As such, the definition
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of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act needs to be updated to remove the reference to
section 5 of the Registration Charges Act. The amendments are set out in detail in Schedule
1 to the Bill. The Bill will not change the amount of the TPS levy or the way the levy is
calculated.
Human rights implications
This Bill does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms as the amendments
proposed by the Bill are merely technical.
Conclusion
The Bill is compatible with human rights because it does not raise any human rights issues.
Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon Alan Tudge MP
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EDUCATION SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS (TPS LEVIES) AMENDMENT BILL 2021
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short title
1. This provision specifies the short title of the Act, which is how it is to be cited.
Clause 2: Commencement
2. The table in subclause 2(1) sets out when the Act's provisions will commence. The
table provides that the whole of the Act commences at the same time as the
Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment Act
2021 commences (1 January 2022). However, the provisions do not commence if
that Act does not commence.
3. Subclause 2(2) provides that any information in column 3 of the table is not part of
the Act. It provides that information may be inserted into column 3, or information
in it edited, in any published version of the Act.
Clause 3: Schedules
4. This clause gives effect to the provisions in Schedule 1 to the Bill.
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Schedule 1--Amendments
Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Act 2012
5. The purpose of the Bill is to make consequential amendments to the TPS Levies Act
required as a result of proposed amendments to the Registration Charges Act. The
Registration Charges Bill sets out the proposed changes to the Registration Charges
Act to better align the charging framework under that Act with the Australian
Government Charging Framework.
6. Schedule 1 to the Bill includes the main amendments to the TPS Levies Act.
Item 1: Subsection 4(1) (definition of total enrolments)
7. Item 1 amends subsection 4(1) of the TPS Levies Act to repeal the definition of 'total
enrolments' and replace it with the following:
total enrolments for a registered provider for a year has the meaning given
by section 4A.
8. The current definition of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act refers to the number
of total enrolments for a provider worked out in accordance with section 5 of the
Registration Charges Act. The Registration Charges Bill provides that section 5 will be
repealed and replaced with a new section that does not refer to 'total enrolments'.
As such, the Bill updates the definition of 'total enrolments' in the TPS Levies Act to
remove the reference to section 5 of the Registration Charges Act.
Item 2 - After section 4
9. Item 2 amends the TPS Levies Act to insert a new section 4A, which defines the term
'total enrolments'. The definition of 'total enrolments' is a factor that partly
determines a provider's TPS levy liability and reflects the definition as it existed in
section 5 of the Registration Charges Act, with some minor amendments discussed
below.
10. The definition under the Registration Charges Act had provided that 'total
enrolments' for a provider in a year was to be calculated by adding together the
number of enrolments of overseas students for each course provided by the
provider in the year. Each student who was enrolled in a course of at least 26 weeks
duration at any time during the year was to count as one enrolment. For courses of
13 weeks or more, but less than 26 weeks duration, students enrolled at any time
during the years was to count as 0.5 of an enrolment, and for courses of less than 13
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weeks duration, each student enrolled at any time during the year was to count as
0.25 of an enrolment.
11. The updated definition retains the same thresholds, but specifies that a student
counts towards 'total enrolments' if they are undertaking the course at any time
during the relevant year, in addition to being enrolled in the course. This means that
a student who enrols in a course and then withdraws before the course commences,
or remains enrolled and defers for the entire year, is not factored into the
calculation of total enrolments for the TPS Levy.
Item 3 - Section 6 (note 1)
12. Item 3 amends note 1 in section 6 of the TPS Levies Act to delete the reference to
section 4 and replace it with a reference to section 4A.
Item 4 - Section 7 (note 1)
13. Item 4 amends note 1 in section 7 of the TPS Levies Act to delete the reference to
section 4 and replace it with a reference to section 4A.
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