{"id":"C2004A00759","name":"Education Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000","slug":"education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"166 of 2000","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6120,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00759-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Education Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 166, 2000\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 166, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to repeal the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991, and for other purposes\n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title...................................\n\n2 Commencement...............................\n\n3 Schedule(s)..................................\n\n4 Definitions..................................\n\nSchedule 1—Repeal of the old ESOS Act\n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991\n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997\n\nSchedule 2—Application and transitional\n\nSchedule 3—Amendment of the Migration Act\n\nPart 1—Disclosure of immigration information\n\nMigration Act 1958\n\nPart 2—Consequential amendment\n\nMigration Act 1958\n\nSchedule 4—Changed administrative law arrangements\n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students Act 2000\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000\n\nNo. 166, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to repeal the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991, and for other purposes\n\n[Assented to 21 December 2000]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Education Services for Overseas Students (Consequential and Transitional) Act 2000.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) This section and section 1 commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n\n (2) Item 1 of Schedule 4 commences at the later of:\n\n (a) the time when Parts 4 to 10 of the Act that establishes the Administrative Review Tribunal commence; and\n\n (b) immediately after the commencement of section 5 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.\n\nNote: The Act that establishes the Administrative Review Tribunal is either the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2000 or the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2001.\n\n (3) The rest of Schedule 4 commences at the later of:\n\n (a) the time when Parts 4 to 10 of the Act that establishes the Administrative Review Tribunal commence; and\n\n (b) immediately after the commencement of section 176 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.\n\n (4) The remaining provisions of this Act commence on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.\n\n (5) However, if any of those remaining provisions do not commence under subsection (4) within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that period.\n\n3  Schedule(s)\n\n  Subject to section 2, each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n (1) In this Act:\n\nnew ESOS Act means the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.\n\nnotified trust account has the same meaning as in section 6A of the old ESOS Act.\n\nold ESOS Act means the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991.\n\n (2) Other expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the new ESOS Act.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 1—Repeal of the old ESOS Act\n\n \n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991\n\n1  The whole of the Act\n\nRepeal the Act.\n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Act 1997\n\n2  Section 4\n\nOmit “Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991”, substitute “Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000”.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 2—Application and transitional\n\n \n\n1  Application—starting day for obligations of registered providers\n\nMinister must publish starting day\n\n(1) The Minister must publish a notice in the Gazette specifying the starting day of the obligations in sections 19, 20 and 21 of the new ESOS Act. The starting day must be at least 28 days after the day of the publication.\n\n(2) The Minister must also notify in writing each registered provider of the starting day.\n\nNotification of details about accepted students\n\n(3) The requirements in section 19 (giving information about accepted students) of the new ESOS Act apply to all events that happen on or after the starting day in relation to all persons who became or become accepted students on or after that day.\n\n(4) The requirements in paragraphs 19(1)(d) and (e) and subsection 19(2) of the new ESOS Act also apply to events that happen on or after the starting day in relation to persons who became accepted students before that day.\n\nNotification of student visa breaches\n\n(5) The requirements in section 20 (sending students notice of visa breaches) of the new ESOS Act apply to all breaches that happen on or after the starting day.\n\nRecord keeping\n\n(6) The requirements in section 21 (record keeping) of the new ESOS Act apply to all current and future accepted students from the starting day onwards.\n\n(7) However, the notice under subitem (1) may prescribe a period or further period giving providers who are registered when the requirement in section 21 takes effect extra time to comply with the requirement.\n\n2  Transitional—registration\n\n(1) The registration of a provider that was in effect under the old ESOS Act immediately before the commencement of this item continues to have effect after that time as if the registration had been done for the same courses under the new ESOS Act.\n\n(2) If that registration was suspended under the old ESOS Act immediately before the commencement of this item, the new registration has effect after that time as if it had been suspended to the same extent under the new ESOS Act.\n\n3  Transitional—national code\n\nThe national code may prescribe a period or a further period giving providers who are registered when the code takes effect extra time to comply with the requirements of the code.\n\n4  Application—notified trust accounts and ESOS Assurance Fund\n\n(1) The requirements in the old ESOS Act relating to notified trust accounts continue to apply until Part 5 of the new ESOS Act commences even if Schedule 1 to this Act repealed those requirements earlier.\n\n(2) The requirements in the new ESOS Act relating to the ESOS Assurance Fund apply to 2001 and later years.\n\n(3) However, the Minister may publish a notice in the Gazette stating that those Fund requirements apply instead to 2002 and later years.\n\n(4) In that case, the requirements in the old ESOS Act relating to notified trust accounts continue to apply until the later of:\n\n (a) the beginning of 2002; and\n\n (b) the commencement of Part 5 of the new ESOS Act;\n\neven if Schedule 1 to this Act repealed those requirements earlier.\n\n5  Transitional—money in notified trust accounts\n\n(1) This item applies to course money that was in a notified trust account immediately before the requirements in the old ESOS Act relating to such accounts ceased to apply.\n\n(2) The course money is no longer considered to be held on trust after that time.\n\n6  Transitional—regulations\n\nRegulations under the new ESOS Act may provide for the transition from the old ESOS Act to the new ESOS Act, and for related transitional matters.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 3—Amendment of the Migration Act\n\nPart 1—Disclosure of immigration information\n\nMigration Act 1958\n\n1  After subparagraph 488(2)(a)(v)\n\nInsert:\n\n (vi) the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000;\n\n (vii) prescribed Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation;\n\n2  At the end of subsection 488(2)\n\nAdd:\n\n ; or (f) authorise an employee of the Department whose Minister administers the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to perform for the purposes of that Act one or more of those actions; or\n\n (g) authorise a prescribed employee of a prescribed agency of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory, to perform for prescribed purposes one or more of those actions.\n\n3  After section 488\n\nInsert:\n\n488A  Giving information to other relevant agencies\n\n (1) For the purposes of:\n\n (a) assisting with the regulation of providers; or\n\n (b) promoting compliance with the conditions of a particular student visa or visas, or of student visas generally;\n\nthe Secretary may give information obtained or received for the purposes of this Act to an agency of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory, that is responsible for or otherwise concerned with the regulation of providers.\n\n (2) However, subsection (1) does not override section 488.\n\nNote: Section 488 prohibits the disclosure etc. of movement records except in limited circumstances.\n\n (3) In this section:\n\nprovider has the same meaning as in the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.\n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Consequential amendment\n\nMigration Act 1958\n\n4  At the end of subsection 504(1)\n\nAdd:\n\n ; and (l) making provision for matters that, under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, are required or permitted to be prescribed in regulations made under this Act.\n\n\n\n\nSchedule 4—Changed administrative law arrangements\n\n \n\nEducation Services for Overseas Students Act 2000\n\n1  Section 5 (definition of Tribunal Member)\n\nOmit “Administrative Appeals Tribunal”, substitute “Administrative Review Tribunal”.\n\n2  Subsection 176(1)\n\nOmit “Administrative Appeals Tribunal”, substitute “Administrative Review Tribunal”.\n\n3  Paragraph 176(2)(a)\n\nOmit “Administrative Appeals Tribunal under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975”, substitute “Administrative Review Tribunal under the Act that establishes that Tribunal”.\n\n4  Paragraph 176(2)(b)\n\nOmit “section 28”, substitute “section 57”.\n\n5  Paragraph 176(2)(b)\n\nOmit “a statement that includes reasons”, substitute “a statement of reasons”.\n\n6  At the end of subsection 176(2)\n\nAdd:\n\nNote: The Act that establishes the Administrative Review Tribunal is either the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2000 or the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2001.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 30 August 2000\n\nSenate on 10 November 2000]\n\n \n\n(148/00)\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating the transition from the 1991 ESOS Act to the 2000 ESOS Act. The amendments to the Migration Act and the Administrative Review Tribunal updates are directly consequential to this transition, not scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple contingent commencement dates tied to proclamations and other legislation (Administrative Review Tribunal Act)","Transitional provisions requiring cross-referencing between old and new ESOS Acts (trust accounts, registration continuity, suspended registrations)","Conditional timing mechanisms for the ESOS Assurance Fund (2001 vs 2002 based on Ministerial Gazette notice)","Nested application rules for provider obligations with Ministerial discretion on 'starting day' and grace periods","Amendments to the Migration Act creating new information sharing powers with specific limitations and cross-references to existing secrecy provisions","Only 4 defined terms but heavy reliance on external definitions from the 'new ESOS Act'"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation is a 'clean-up' law that supports the introduction of a new system for regulating education providers who teach international students in Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Repeals the old law** — scraps the Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration of Providers and Financial Regulation) Act 1991 and updates references to it in other laws.\n- **Smooths the transition** — ensures education providers already registered under the old system automatically stay registered under the new 2000 Act, with their existing suspensions carrying over.\n- **Sets up timing rules** — lets the Minister choose when certain new obligations (like reporting on international students and keeping records) actually start, with at least 28 days' notice to providers.\n- **Manages money protections** — temporarily keeps the old 'trust account' system (where course fees had to be held in special protected accounts) running until the new 'ESOS Assurance Fund' kicks in, either in 2001 or 2002 depending on what the Minister decides.\n- **Allows information sharing** — amends the Migration Act 1958 so immigration officials can share information about international students with education regulators to help monitor visa compliance and provider behaviour.\n- **Updates tribunal references** — changes mentions of the 'Administrative Appeals Tribunal' to the new 'Administrative Review Tribunal' (a planned replacement tribunal that was being set up around this time).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Education providers registered to teach international students (universities, colleges, English language schools, etc.)\n- International students on student visas\n- The Department of Immigration (now Home Affairs) and education regulators\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis Act prevents chaos when switching from the old regulatory system to the new one. Without it, providers might have lost their registration overnight, student fee protections would have vanished, and there would be legal gaps in information sharing between immigration and education departments. It ensures continuity while Australia moved to a more modern framework for protecting international students."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is transitional and consequential: its primary function is to repeal the old ESOS Act and to provide staged commencement, continuity of registrations, transitional financial arrangements (trust accounts vs. Assurance Fund), and necessary consequential amendments to the Migration Act and administrative review cross‑references. It does not expand the substantive regulatory scope of the ESOS regime beyond implementing the new ESOS Act; rather it preserves continuity and creates the legal mechanics for change (timing, data‑sharing pathways, and transitional financial treatment). Any substantive scope changes are effected by the new ESOS Act itself, not by this consequential/transitional instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Short primary Act with 4 Schedules, but heavy reliance on cross‑references to the new ESOS Act and the Migration Act","Staged and conditional commencement rules (section 2) that link to commencement of Parts of another Act (the Administrative Review Tribunal Act), creating inter‑Act dependency","Multiple transitional rules with timing options and Ministerial discretions (e.g. Minister must publish starting day with at least 28 days' notice; Minister may defer application of the ESOS Assurance Fund to 2002) (Schedule 2, items 1 and 4)","Transfer of existing registrations including suspended registrations to the new regime (Schedule 2, item 2) — a continuity rule that relies on reading across two Acts","Change in legal status of funds held in notified trust accounts on cessation of trust rules (Schedule 2, item 5) — a single provision with outsized legal effect","Insertion of a new information‑sharing provision into the Migration Act (new s488A) with limits and a non‑override clause, which interacts with existing secrecy rules (Schedule 3)","Delegation and reliance on subordinate instruments: Gazette notices, regulations, and the national code will determine practical detail and timing (Schedule 2, items 1, 3 and 6; Schedule 3, item 4)","Administrative law technical amendments replacing references to one tribunal with another and changing cross‑references and wording (Schedule 4), including note about alternative establishing Acts (2000 or 2001)","Several defined‑term interdependencies: definitions referencing the new ESOS Act, the old ESOS Act, and terms like 'notified trust account' carry interpretive load (section 4 and Schedule 1)"],"plain_english_summary":"Repeals the old ESOS Act and smoothly transitions existing registrations and obligations into the new ESOS Act, with the Minister publishing a starting day (≥28 days) to phase in provider duties on reporting, student notices and record‑keeping. It preserves registrations, stages trust‑account versus Assurance Fund changes, and amends the Migration Act to permit targeted immigration‑data sharing with education regulators. Affects registered providers, international students (prepaid fee protections and reporting) and agencies—centralising timing control and creating compliance and student‑funds trade‑offs."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000","history":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000/history","analysis":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/education-services-for-overseas-students-consequential-and-transitional-act-2000/documents"}}