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Education Services for Overseas Students framework

Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Education and Training

On 17 September 2015, the Minister for Education and Training announced the introduction of the Education Services for Overseas Students (Streamlining Regulation) Amendment Bill 2015 (ESOS Act). This Bill streamlines the current regulatory arrangements between the international and domestic legislative frameworks. The Bill includes removing the requirement to maintain a designated account for tuition fees paid prior to course commencement and also removes the limit of 50 percent of collection to tuition fees prior to course commencement. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared and certified by the Department under the Australian Government best practice regulation requirements, and has been assessed as compliant but not best practice by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The RIS would have been assessed as best practice if it more clearly demonstrated that the preferred option would result in the highest net benefit taking into account the various risks and implementation factors of the options presented. The RIS estimates the average annual regulatory cost saving at $28.9 million per annum. The OBPR has agreed to the regulatory cost saving.