Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000

For providers — what they must do:

• Get registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) before they can legally enrol international students or even advertise to them
• Registration lasts up to 7 years and must be renewed
• Report detailed information about students (enrolment, attendance, visa breaches) to the government — this helps enforce Australia's migration (visa) laws
• Keep student contact records up to date every 6 months
• Not engage in misleading advertising when recruiting students
• Maintain and publish a list of all their education agents
• Pay annual charges and levies to fund the student protection system
• Notify regulators of significant events (like changes of ownership, financial trouble, or criminal convictions of key staff)
• Providers must be 'fit and proper' — regulators check criminal history, past cancellations, financial failures, and links to education agents

For education agents:

• Must be listed on their provider's public website
• Commissions they receive must be disclosed to the government on request
• Providers with close ownership ties to agents face extra scrutiny

Why does it matter?

Australia's international education sector is one of its largest export industries. This law exists to:

1. Protect students from losing money or being stranded if a provider fails
2. Protect Australia's reputation as a quality education destination
3. Support immigration enforcement by requiring providers to report on whether students are actually attending their courses (relevant to visa compliance)

Providers who break the rules can have their registration suspended or cancelled, meaning they can no longer enrol international students — a serious commercial consequence. Criminal penalties (up to 2 years imprisonment) apply for operating without registration.