Exporting TAFE: Challenges and constraints

The Commonwealth Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) recently introduced a new visa regime designed to arrest the flow of overseas students deemed to be at a high risk of breaching their visa conditions. Since the new visa system was introduced on 1 July 2001, the number of visas granted to VET students has fallen by 23 per cent while undergraduate student visas have increased by 18 per cent. As students applying for VET courses generally face more stringent assessment criteria than students applying to enter universities, the new visa system appears to be encouraging prospective VET students to enroll in universities. TAFE institutes, which cater for about 22 per cent of overseas students in the VET sector, were surveyed to collect data on the rate of non-compliance with visa conditions at TAFE institutes. We found that TAFE institutes’ non-compliance rate was well below the global average, suggesting that DIMIA should create a separate visa sub-class for TAFE institutes, to differentiate the TAFE system from other VET providers. Such a policy change would enhance the integrity of the new visa system and promote the long-term viability of Australia’s education export industry.