A proposed rule change enabling Australian ministers to cancel foreign students¡¯ courses will duplicate existing regulatory functions and could lead to lawsuits, the federal opposition has warned.

Shadow education minister Julian Leeser said the mechanism, part of the government¡¯s resurrected legislation to improve integrity in international education, was ¡°overreach¡±.

The ¡°integrity and other measures¡± contains clauses that empower the education and skills ministers to suspend or cancel private university and college courses that have ¡°systemic¡± quality problems, subvert the ¡°public interest¡± or ¡°provide limited value to Australia¡¯s skills¡±.

Leeser said this gave ministers too much discretion to intervene in matters best handled by the regulators. ¡°That power is essentially unchecked,¡± he told the House of Representatives. ¡°It¡¯s a massive power.¡±

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The measure was originally part of a bill that passed the lower house last year but lapsed amid a squabble over the government¡¯s proposed international enrolment caps. Leeser said the caps had not been the only area of contention, with other elements raising ¡°concerns about missteps and overreach¡±.

Monash University policy expert Andrew Norton raised similar worries, saying that the proposed power was unjustified, unnecessary and dubious. ¡°It gives the minister broad discretion to personally decide what courses should not be offered,¡± Norton observed in a .

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¡°Rules specifically targeting clearly defined wrongdoing are much better from a rule of law perspective. The government has not given an adequate explanation as to why its existing powers are insufficient.¡±

Introducing the bill into parliament in early October, education minister Jason Clare said its combined measures would ¡°make it harder for dodgy operators to enter or remain in the sector, while supporting the majority of providers who are doing the right thing¡±.

¡°These changes safeguard our reputation as a world leader in education, both here and overseas,¡± he told parliament¡¯s Federation Chamber during a subsequent debate.

Norton said it made no sense to ¡°force¡± international students ¡°to do courses related to Australia¡¯s skills needs¡±, given that most overseas students eventually returned home. ¡°The immigration minister already has the power to suspend the registration of providers abusing the migration system,¡± Norton pointed out.

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The International Education Association of Australia has raised similar concerns. CEO Phil Honeywood warned that Canberra could antagonise neighbouring governments by allowing its skill needs to override theirs.

Independent politician Allegra Spender expressed ¡°serious concern¡± about the new ministerial powers. She said cancellations were overseen by independent regulators under existing arrangements, but the proposal would not even require the ministers to consult the regulators. ¡°This is a significant centralisation of power and one that carries risk.¡±

Fellow independent MP Kate Chaney told parliament that the course cancellation power was her ¡°one serious concern¡± about the bill, but said she was ¡°willing to trust¡± that it would be used sparingly. ¡°While I have concerns about how this power could be used, I would assume good faith in the rare exercise of this power and trust in the parliamentary oversight process.¡±

The bill will next face the Senate, after passing the House of Representatives on 30 October. Leeser said the opposition wanted it handed to the Senate¡¯s Education and Employment Committee for a ¡°short¡± inquiry. ¡°It behoves us as legislators to understand the impacts before we pass this bill into law,¡± he said.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com