The Albanese Government has pushed through the first substantive rewrite of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act in more than a decade, with Royal Assent granted on 4 December 2025. Coming into force on 5 December, the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act introduces a suite of integrity safeguards aimed at stamping out migration abuse and protecting Australia’s $47 billion international-education export sector.
Background & drivers – Overseas students account for roughly one-quarter of all temporary entrants in Australia. A 2024 joint Home Affairs–Education review found “systemic exploitation” of would-be students by unregulated sub-agents who were charging illegal fees, lodging non-genuine visa applications and channelling graduates into undocumented work. The new law replaces the generic term “agent” with a legally defined “education agent”, obliges providers to disclose commission structures and forces them to undertake far more rigorous “fit-and-proper-person” checks.
![Australia tightens oversight of education agents in major ESOS Act overhaul]()
Key provisions – • Mandatory public register of education agents, their commissions and visa refusal rates. • Expanded cancellation powers allowing regulators to suspend providers implicated in serious breaches. • Data-sharing gateway between the Department of Home Affairs and state/territory regulators so that non-genuine enrolments trigger compliance action more quickly. • Civil penalties of up to A$555,000 for providers that knowingly deal with banned agents.
Practical implications – Universities and VET colleges will need to renegotiate contracts with offshore recruitment partners within six months or risk losing their Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) status. Corporate mobility managers should expect shorter processing times once “document shopping” applications are filtered out, but must advise sponsored students to budget for modestly higher tuition fees as providers absorb compliance costs. Education agents, for their part, face unprecedented transparency: their commission rates, success ratios and disciplinary history will be visible to students and employers alike.
Outlook – Canberra hopes the reforms will reinforce Australia’s reputation as a high-quality study destination just as competition from Canada and the UK intensifies. A follow-up exposure-draft of regulations—covering real-time agent analytics and whistle-blower protections—is due in early 2026.
Background & drivers – Overseas students account for roughly one-quarter of all temporary entrants in Australia. A 2024 joint Home Affairs–Education review found “systemic exploitation” of would-be students by unregulated sub-agents who were charging illegal fees, lodging non-genuine visa applications and channelling graduates into undocumented work. The new law replaces the generic term “agent” with a legally defined “education agent”, obliges providers to disclose commission structures and forces them to undertake far more rigorous “fit-and-proper-person” checks.
Key provisions – • Mandatory public register of education agents, their commissions and visa refusal rates. • Expanded cancellation powers allowing regulators to suspend providers implicated in serious breaches. • Data-sharing gateway between the Department of Home Affairs and state/territory regulators so that non-genuine enrolments trigger compliance action more quickly. • Civil penalties of up to A$555,000 for providers that knowingly deal with banned agents.
Practical implications – Universities and VET colleges will need to renegotiate contracts with offshore recruitment partners within six months or risk losing their Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) status. Corporate mobility managers should expect shorter processing times once “document shopping” applications are filtered out, but must advise sponsored students to budget for modestly higher tuition fees as providers absorb compliance costs. Education agents, for their part, face unprecedented transparency: their commission rates, success ratios and disciplinary history will be visible to students and employers alike.
Outlook – Canberra hopes the reforms will reinforce Australia’s reputation as a high-quality study destination just as competition from Canada and the UK intensifies. A follow-up exposure-draft of regulations—covering real-time agent analytics and whistle-blower protections—is due in early 2026.
