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Committee's Report

The committee tabled its Report No.1 , 56th Parliament - Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2018 on 2 March 2018.

The Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2018 was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 6 March 2018.

View:    Report

View:    Transcript  of parliamentary debate on the Bill (starts pages 191-200 and 211-246).

View:    The debate on the bill can be viewed by clicking on the movie icon within the transcript.

View:    Minister's Explanatory Speech

View:    Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2018

View:    Explanatory Notes

The Bill

On 15 February 2018 the Minister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations introduced the Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2018 into the Queensland Parliament.  The bill was referred to the Education, Employment and Small Business Committee for detailed consideration.  

 The explanatory notes stated that the policy objectives of the bill were to:

• create a new regime for the regulation of providers of courses to overseas students and international student exchange programs
• provide the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority with functions to administer new senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems, commencing for students entering Year 11 in 2019
• make minor and technical amendments to the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 and the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000, and
• amend the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990 to provide that larger retailers (non-exempt shops) in regional areas without Sunday or public holiday trading (seven day trading) be allowed to open on the public holiday on Easter Saturday.

The provisions and objectives of the bill were largely consistent with the Education (Overseas Students) Bill 2017, which was examined and reported on by this committee’s predecessor – the Education, Tourism, Innovation and Small Business Committee (ETISBC) of the 55th Parliament. That bill was yet to be debated when the previous Parliament was dissolved, and therefore lapsed on dissolution. 

The Minister advised of two key differences to the lapsed bill, incorporated as additional amendments:

• in response to a recommendation of the ETISBC, amendments to ensure that information or documents obtained by the regulator or authorised compliance officers under a ‘help requirement’ cannot be used in proceedings other than for offences created by the bill or about the false or misleading nature of the information or document, as intended to appropriately better safeguard rights against self-incrimination, and
• amendments to the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990 to address a drafting omission made when the Act was amended in 2017, and thereby allow 'non-exempt shops' in regional areas without seven day trading to open on Easter Saturday.

In examining the bill, the committee had regard to evidence provided to the former committee in relation to the lapsed bill. 

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