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Federal Education minister Alan Tudge during question time . Photo : Sam Mooy / Getty images
Many non-university providers have seen revenue decline very sharply .
Help for the ‘ hardest hit ’
Independent providers benefit from latest funding support .
By Wade Zaglas
The Morrison government will provide than $ 50 million of targeted support for international student providers that have been worst affected by the pandemic border closures .
The new measures will assist thousands of both domestic and international students , as well as help Australian businesses support local jobs , Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said .
The measures will apply only to providers that were “ hardest hit by COVID-19 and encourage providers to refocus their business models on Australian students and expand online and offshore course offerings ”.
The $ 53.6 million package of support measures targeted to English language and non-university higher education providers includes :
• $ 26.1 million for an extra 5000 short course places in 2021-22 , so nonuniversity higher education providers can attract more Australian students .
• $ 9.4 million to start an innovation fund that will offer grants of up to $ 150,000 for providers to grow offshore and online delivery .
• $ 17.7 million to further extend the pause on fees and charges from CRICOS ( Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students ), TEQSA ( Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency ), and ASQA ( Australian Skills Quality Authority ) until 31 December 2021 .
Further FEE HELP loan exemptions for roughly 30,000 students will also apply until 31 December 2021 .
“ Our international border closures have been our single best defence in keeping Australians safe from COVID-19 , but have obviously meant no new international students coming to Australia ,” the federal education minister said .
To illustrate , data from February shows international student enrolments were down 12 per cent at universities , compared to a 17 per cent drop at non-university higher education providers ( with some as high as 70 per cent ). There has also been a 67 per cent decline in enrolments for English language providers .
“ International students will be welcomed back when conditions allow , and these measures will support providers to maintain as much capacity as possible in the meantime ,” Tudge said .
“ Many non-university providers have seen revenue decline very sharply and without some support , they may close or lose serious capacity .
“ The package is measured and targeted at those who need it most while borders are closed .
“ The innovation grants will encourage providers to take advantage of growing domestic student numbers and deliver more education online to international students offshore .
“ A further $ 7.1 million reduction in administrative costs will benefit about 1,200 private international education providers , bringing total annual deregulation savings for the sector to $ 60.0 million .”
The measures announced by the education minister – including the $ 47.5 million reduction in regulation costs for the education and training sector – form part of
the government ’ s Higher Education Relief Package to help kick-start the sector . The government also provided an extra billion dollars in research funding for the university sector and 30,000 more places in 2020 .
The $ 500 million for the JobTrainer Fund ( which is to be matched by states and territories ) will continue , as well as the $ 4 billion wage subsidy scheme for trainees and apprentices .
Minister for Employment , Workforce , Skills , Small and Family Business , Stuart Robert , said the VET sector has been agile in adapting to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ The continuation of Government assistance through fee relief will support sustainability for the VET sector and its recovery post-pandemic ,” Robert said .
“ The planned move to cost recovery for both TEQSA and ASQA , scheduled to commence on 1 July 2021 , has been delayed to 1 January 2022 .”
Independent Tertiary Council Australia ( ITECA ), the peak body for the independent sector , welcomed many of the announcements .
“ The extension of TEQSA and ASQA regulatory fee relief for a further six months is something that ITECA has been a strong proponent of and will help release the cash flow that is critical for independent higher education and vocational training providers to support jobs within their businesses ,” ITECA chief executive Troy Williams said .
The peak body also welcomes the creation of 5000 extra higher education short courses , as well as the government ’ s decision to continue deferring the student loan tax .
“ ITECA has long been a proponent of the elimination of the 20 per cent loan tax on FEE-HELP Loans for students at independent higher education providers , and thus the further extension of the existing suspension to the end of this year is most welcome ,” Williams said .
“ We continue to negotiate for its permanent elimination , along with the student loan tax that applies to vocational training loans .” ■
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