The introduction of a simplified international student visa framework (SSVF) to support Australia’s education services sector was announced last week by the education minister and the assistant minister for immigration.

The following changes are planned as a part of this framework:

*           A reduction in the number of student visa subclasses from eight to two, and

*           The introduction of a simplified single immigration risk framework for all international students.

*           The SSVF will replace both the Streamlined Visa Processing (SVP) arrangements and the current Assessment Level Framework and will apply to all international students. It will lay out a student’s financial and English language evidentiary requirements based on two things: the immigration profile of the student’s country of citizenship and of their education provider.  Subject to the regulatory change process, it is expected that the SSVF will be implemented from mid- 2016.

“Australia is open for business and welcomes genuine and high quality international students who provide a much-needed boost to our economy, our local communities and jobs, and who boost our country-to-country relationships,” Minister Pyne said.

“We warmly welcome genuine international students and we are committed to improving and protecting the integrity of our immigration system.”

These changes follow consultations on the Government discussion paper ‘Future Directions for Streamlined Visa Processing’.

ME Alliance welcomes an upgraded approach to the administration of student visas as part of the SSVF as it will have many benefits. It is important to maintain complete integrity of the student visa programme, however, there are improvements that can be made to regulatory and processing arrangements.

“The SSVF will support the growth of the international education sector by enhancing both competitiveness and integrity while extending streamlined processing to all education sectors and all course types,” Minister Cash said.

Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham, has welcomed the announcement and said, “The decision to simplify the international student visa framework is good news for our economy, our local communities and jobs and the vocational education and training (VET) international students here in Australia. This new model will achieve greater equity in student visa arrangements, and delivers benefits to a broader range of education institutions, including VET providers.”

A working group with international education sector stakeholders is being formed to guide implementation of the new framework on the expiry of SVP arrangements on 30 June 2016.

"The new simplified student visa process will boost equity and support an environment where high quality and low risk providers can prosper. We support a risk managed approach to the student visa regime that rewards low risk providers with access to simpler visa processes for their students," said Deputy Chief Executive of peak body Universities Australia, Anne-Marie Lansdow.

The agencies responsible for the quality assurance and regulation of education services for overseas students will work closely with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection on the new regime.