Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment 2021

## What it does
This bill updates how Australia charges education providers for registering international students. It replaces the old registration system with a new annual charge that applies to any provider registered to teach overseas students on January 1st each year. The government can set these charges through regulations, either as a flat fee or calculated using a formula.

## Why it matters
International education is a major part of Australia's economy, and this change streamlines how providers are charged for maintaining their registration. The new system is cleaner and more flexible than the previous rules, making it easier for the government to adjust fees as needed without changing the law itself.

## Key details
- **Annual charge applies**: Any organisation registered to teach international students pays a charge once per calendar year (on January 1st)
- **Flexible pricing**: The government sets the actual amount through regulations, so fees can be adjusted without parliament needing to pass a new law each time
- **Starts 1 January 2022**: The new system kicks in on this date, replacing the old registration charge rules that existed since 1997

Official Description

Introduced with the Education Services for Overseas Students (TPS Levies) Amendment Bill 2021, Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Cost Recovery and Other Measures) Bill 2021 and Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Charges) Amendment Bill 2021, the bill amends the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997 to: replace the annual registration and entry to market charges by imposing an annual charge payable by providers who are registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and impose a charge for applications by schools for initial registration and renewal of registration on CRICOS.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

24 June 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

27 Aug 2021

Last checked by Crossbench

2 days ago

Full text indexed

2 days ago

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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