A Senate committee has backed legislation to boost integrity in Australia’s international education industry, overriding sector concerns about loose definitions and ministerial overreach.

The Education and Employment Legislation Committee recommended unamended passage of the “Integrity and Other Measures” bill, echoing its endorsement of a predecessor bill – which would have empowered the government to cap foreign student numbers – more than a year previously.

While the current legislation is not as widely opposed as the earlier bill, stakeholders nevertheless expressed major concerns about some measures.

They included the potential cancellation of courses by federal ministers, the automatic deregistration of institutions that had not taught overseas students for 12 months, and a requirement on new higher education colleges to teach domestic students for at least two years before being allowed to recruit foreigners.

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Critics also say the bill’s proposed definition of “education agents” – a precursor to a proposed ban on commissions for students poached onshore from competitor Australian universities or colleges – is so broad that it could capture people and organisations that have no role in recruiting or representing students.

In its submission to the inquiry, Universities Australia warned that the definition as drafted arguably encompassed marketers, payment platforms and tertiary admissions centres and could prevent institutions from accepting students graduating from pathway colleges or switching providers for “compassionate reasons”.

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In its 24 November , the committee shrugged off such arguments, saying the “seriousness” of integrity issues – particularly the criminal activities exposed in the Nixon Review – justified “addressing this behaviour robustly”.

“Policy guidance” will ensure that the sector “has clarity on the scope of the new definitions”, the report insists. Automatic cancellation of inactive colleges’ registration is “appropriate given the integrity risks of unethical providers using their registration for non-genuine purposes”, it adds.

Ministerial powers to suspend the processing of new registrations “would only be exercised in limited circumstances”, the report says.

“Overall, the committee considers the measures in the bill to be an important step in strengthening the quality, integrity and sustainability of the delivery of education in Australia.”

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In dissenting comments, Australian Greens higher education spokeswoman Mehreen Faruqi recommended removal of the “additional ministerial powers” relating to courses and registrations. Faruqi highlighted criticism of the course cancellation power as “a concerning overreach” that risked supplanting “process-driven powers” with “personal ministerial discretion”.

“Instead of centralising control for itself”, she said, the government should adequately fund the higher education and training regulators to use their existing powers.

“The committee’s report acknowledges the criticism…of these elements of the bill [but] has not prompted further action,” Faruqi observed. “The autonomy of students to select the course they wish to pursue cannot be subject to the market desires and interests of the government of the day.”

The bill’s unamended passage appears inevitable, given that committee members from both major parties have given it unqualified support. The government has flagged its intention to shepherd the legislation through parliament by 27 November, the final sitting day of the year.

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International education consultant Tracey Harris said the Labor administration had good reason to move quickly. “With parts of the bill scheduled to apply from 1 January 2026, the government has only a narrow window for it to pass the Senate and receive royal assent,” Harris in The Koala News.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com