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Provider Registration
Before QUT can offer any courses to international students the University must
be registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas
Students (CRICOS).
The QUT institutional code is 00213J.
ESOS Compliance requirements for Providers
It is an offence to provide or promote courses to international students without
the course being registered on the CRICOS list. The ESOS legislation states:
Offence: providing or promoting a course without a registered provider
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if the person:
(a) provides a course in a State to an overseas student; or
(b) makes an offer to an overseas student or an intending overseas student to
provide a course in a State to that student; or
(c) invites an overseas student or intending overseas student to undertake,
or to apply to undertake, a course in a State; or
(d) holds himself, herself or itself out as able or willing to provide a course
in a State to overseas students;
unless:
(e) the person is registered to provide the course for that State; or
(f) the person does so in accordance with an arrangement that the person has
with a registered provider for the course for that State.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.
Registering a Course
QUT Procedure
Before QUT can offer an international student a place in a course, the course
must be registered with CRICOS. International Student Business Services (ISBS) cannot
apply for a CRICOS code before the course has received full QUT course approval.
Academic Policy and Programs Unit (APPU) is responsible for course development
and approval processes. At APPU's website you will find a list of approved courses
as well as THE APPU QUICK GUIDE TO COURSE AND UNIT DEVELOPMENT.
Requirements and Obligations of Registration on CRICOS
Once a course is approved internally, a request for CRICOS registration will
be made by the International Administration Coordinator in the International Student Business Services (ISBS). An application for a CRICOS code for a new course is made to
the Queensland Department of Education. All new course approvals are referred
by Queensland Education to DEST (Canberra) to add to the Register. Currently
this process takes about one month.
New courses must meet the following criteria stated in the National Code of
Practice:
* Full-time courses
Only full-time courses in Australia can be registered. Although, some courses
can be studied as a full-time or part-time student, it is QUT's responsibility
to enrol students in Australia on student visas only as full-time students enabling
international students to meet the terms of their visa.
* Course duration
The duration of the course must be included in the CRICOS registration. The
registered duration cannot exceed the time normally required for full-time study
to complete the course.
* Educational resources and facilities
QUT must have appropriate staff for teaching courses to international students
as well as suitable space and facilities. QUT also has to maintain teaching
and technological resources for all CRICOS registered courses. If there is any
intention to relocate premises, students must be notified at least three weeks
in advance.
Marketing and Recruitment Information for Students
Recruitment of international students has to be carried out in an ethical and
responsible manner. Any offer made by QUT of a place in a course must be based
on an assessment by a suitably qualified person (National Code Par 26) and
must include information on requirements for English language skills (National
Code Par 27) and requirements of the course (National Code Par 28).
QUT's Obligations as Registered Provider
Registered providers must not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct.
A registered provider must not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct in
connection with:
(a) the recruitment of overseas students or intending overseas students; or
(b) the provision of courses to overseas students.
QUT’s Obligations with Regard to its Agents
QUT is not only responsible for its own marketing and student provided information
activities , but also for the information provided by its agents or those
involved in the provision of a course.
QUT must ensure that marketing of its education and training services is carried
out with integrity and accuracy. The National Code of Practice states: "It
must uphold the reputation of Australian international education and training.
No false or misleading comparisons shall be drawn with any other provider or
their courses. The provider must not make any inaccurate claims of association
with any other provider or organisation, or give inaccurate advice as to acceptance
into another course."
Subsequent to the introduction of the ESOS Act 2000 all agreements with formal
and informal agents were reviewed. All formal agents on the QUT register have
signed new ESOS compliant agreements. Only applications from formal agents are
accepted by ISBS for processing. Applications from non-registered agents are
returned without being processed with a letter explaining what they need to
do to become a QUT formal agent.
Provision of Information to Students
International students must be given the following information about their
courses when or before they are being made an offer of a place in the course
It is acceptable under the Act to provide this information in electronic format.
QUT is not allowed to accept students for enrolment for any course if this information
has not been supplied to the student. Pars 21.1 to Pars 21.4 of the National
Code of Practice read as follows:
21.1 The following information about the course:
i. a general description of the content;
ii. the qualification or accreditation gained on completion;
iii. the duration;
iv. the teaching methods used (including any field trip or work experience requirements);
v. the assessment methods used;
vi. if another provider is also involved in providing the course, that fact
and the location of course delivery by that provider;
vii. details of any arrangements with other providers for recognition of the
course or completed components of the course; and
21.2 A general description of:
i. the facilities (for example classrooms, furniture, fittings);
ii. the equipment (for example audio-visual teaching aids);
iii. the learning resources (for example reference texts and software) available
to students undertaking the course and;
21.3 An itemised list of all fees payable to the provider; and
21.4
Information about the minimum level of English language proficiency, educational
qualifications and work experience required for the student to be accepted for
the course (unless this is clearly not relevant).
All offer letters direct the students to the relevant sites on the QUT website
for this information.
Promotion of Courses pending CRICOS Codes
Under the ESOS Act and its accompanying National Code of Conduct QUT cannot publish course information for courses offered to international students that do not yet have CRICOS registration.
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