Labor has vowed to crack down on the unregulated world of international education agents after revelations that general practitioners may be involved in student recruitment schemes.
Foreign agents have been used by Australian universities for decades to drive enrolments and assist students offshore with application processes and accommodation.
Agents have been accused of luring international students with false promises of full-time work and a path to permanent residency while receiving huge bonuses from private providers with poor course outcomes.
On Monday, a parliamentary inquiry heard counsellors and GPs were helping onshore and offshore agents engage in “institution swapping”, allowing agents to earn additional commission.
Once agents secured students visas at prestigious universities, the agents engaged medical professionals to provide medical certificates supporting their move to alternative cheap private providers. International students must be approved from release from their institution if they wish to swap providers within six months, and illness or distressing events are included in the possible grounds for changing institutions.
Varsha Devi Balakrishnan from international education specialists the Lygon Group told the inquiry agents used a “loophole” to secure visas at reputable public institutions before moving students on to cheap providers, sometimes more than once.
“They have counsellors and GPs that can provide letters to progress through institution swapping … we see a lot of students going down that route and having that conversation with agents prior to coming,” she said.
“They’re hoping Australian education will lead to an Australian work outcome but that’s where they’re finding a lot of hurdles and barriers.”
Chair of the committee senator Deborah O’Neill said the international education sector, previously described as a “ponzi scheme”, was ripe for exploitation and posed a reputational risk to Australia.
An industry-led review undertaken by the former government failed to reach agreement among peak bodies after two years of deliberations.
“There was a lot of talk but when difficult decisions needed to be made and care needed to be taken to make sure there weren’t gross and exploitative profits being made at the cost of international students, the work that needed to be done wasn’t done,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill said there wasn’t a “timetable formalised” for reform but the government and committee understood it “wasn’t something to be delayed”.
“We need careful, considered governance and change not left for another couple of years,” she said.
Dr Angela Lehmann, also from the Lygon Group, told the inquiry there had been instances of diaspora communities “taking advantage” of vulnerable offshore students before they’d even arrived in Australia, including through social media apps such as WeChat.
She said students would be “shocked” by the rates of commission agents were receiving, cited as being as high as 50% of fees.
Work restrictions for student visa holders, which were relaxed throughout the pandemic also played a factor, she said, with international students being told by agents they could come to Australia and “work as much as you want”. Labor has announced it will reintroduce restrictions.
Peak bodies agreed reform was needed to prevent malpractice but were split on the best route to take.
Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson said she was “shocked” by reports of exploitation of international students and it had “put a cloud” over the reputation of tertiary education.
“There are lots of good guys and some very bad guys,” she said.
She said a whole sector approach was needed, tying in departments and providers, but claimed the “vast majority” of problems lay outside the university sector and that the current self regulation approach was working.
O’Neill said the notion the current system was working “doesn’t sit with the evidence”.
“Someone’s making money somewhere, and it’s not the students,” she said.
“There can be a shadow economy that exists that operates out of unprofessional incentives. It’s wrong and at odds with ethical demands.”
Robert Parsonson, executive officer of the International Student Education Agents Association said the sector was “severely lacking accountability” and there was “no cross talk” between providers and departments.
The Department of Home Affairs employs less than 20 staff to cover more than 5,000 registered trading officers.
International student enrolment and commencement levels have this year matched or exceeded 2019, primarily driven by south Asian countries including India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Labor MP Julian Hill told the inquiry “history would tell us we should be suspicious of rapidly fast growth” and question its sustainability.
“Those rapid growth figures do ring some alarm bells,” he said.
