Australian Immigration Daily News

The Immigration (Education) Amendment (Expanding Access to English Tuition) Bill 2020 (the Bill) amends the Immigration (Education) Act 1971 (the IE Act) to expand eligibility for migrants to access English tuition.

The changes made by the Bill will send a strong message regarding the support provided by the Government for migrants to learn Australia¡¦s national language, and the importance of English proficiency for social cohesion. The Bill will enable the Government to further incentivise English language learning, and provide greater flexibility for migrants in the way they undertake English studies. It will provide English tuition to bridge the gap for migrants who are currently ineligible for the program, or who have exhausted their available tuition hours without reaching the level of vocational English.

Specifically, the Bill amends the IE Act to:

• remove the 510 hour statutory limit on an eligible person¡¦s entitlement to English tuition, in order to support and incentivise English proficiency;
• amend the upper limit for eligibility to access English tuition to a new level of vocational English, which will enable eligible persons to continue their language learning to a higher level of English proficiency;
• remove the statutory time limits for registering for, commencing and completing English tuition for certain people who held a visa and were in Australia on or before 1 October 2020; and
• allow for the provision of English tuition to certain visa holders or visa applicants outside Australia, to support their English language learning in preparation for their migration to Australia.

Source: IE-Amendment-2020.pdf and IE-Amendment-2020-Explanatory-Memorandum.pdf