The Knight Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program 2011. (September 23, 2011)

Between 1995 and 2001 Michael Knight  served as Minister for the Olympics  in the NSW Carr Labor government. At the end of June this year he delivered to the Gillard Labor government the 195 page report (xxx + 165) Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program 2011.

Is there more to it than the mere recommendation to improving

expectations of attracting more international cash?

In his introduction Mr Knight writes in part:

My task was to make recommendations for a sustainable program which will balance Australia's economic interests, educational interests and migration interests. This Report is my response.

I have sought to do is to provide practical recommendations which build upon the existing framework while at the same time making what I consider to be essential reforms. I have tried to make recommendations which should be relatively easy to implement, but which can still make a substantial difference.

It is an integrated package. The initiatives that will enhance the position of some providers should not exist in isolation. Those initiatives, and the additional integrity measures proposed for the international student visa program, are interdependent. In my view it would be quite dangerous to have one without the other.

The executive summary points out:

Having more sensible criteria for assessing applicants for student visas should go a long way towards ensuring that the integrity of Australia’s migration controls are not undermined by people seeking a migration outcome rather than an educational outcome. The best place to manage risk is in the initial visa decision offshore. However, even with the best possible assessment offshore there will inevitably be some applicants who misbehave once they reach Australia. A minority will work illegally, not turn up at the courses they are enrolled in, participate in sham marriages to bring others to work illegally, overstay their visa periods, or fail to comply with their visa conditions in a variety of other ways. Therefore it is crucial that DIAC has robust and effective integrity and compliance measures within Australia.

Unfortunately the current measures are a long way short of optimal. There is an extremely complex web of regulatory and legislative requirements including a system of automatic cancellations and mandatory cancellations. This Report recommends repealing the automatic cancellation and mandatory cancellation provisions and granting DIAC officers more discretion in such matters. It recommends targeting resources to areas of high risk. Through no fault of their own, DIAC integrity and compliance officers spend disproportionate time on procedural matters. Changing those settings will allow DIAC to concentrate more integrity and compliance resources on making life difficult for anyone rorting the student visa system.

Of particular interest to TFW were the report's comments regarding international Higher Degree by Research HDR students. But attracting the best of this group will require significant improvements in resources and conditions not merely a reduction in the conditions for visa applications and assurances of adequate personal funds

There are important non�-monetary benefits to having international students at Australian universities. They bring a diversity of culture and background which enriches campus life for all students. International students expose domestic students to different cultural experiences and friendships are created across national boundaries. These people to people links can have an enduring value for Australia over many decades. But in the end the biggest attraction is the financial benefits most university students bring; their fees and the broader economic stimulus that comes from the money they spend on food, accommodation, leisure, travel etc.

The situation with Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students is very different. For Australian universities the revenue from PhD and Masters by Research students is almost incidental. The main driver for wanting HDR students is the talent, the skills and the research opportunities they embody. There is strong global competition to attract the brightest students and researchers, particularly in the sciences, mathematics and technology. The economic benefit they bring to Australia is not from the money they spend here; it is from the jobs created for others by applying the research they create.

This Report makes several recommendations to help make Australia a more attractive destination for international HDR students.

 There follow forty-one recommendations: