1.1
On 12 November 2020, the Senate referred the provisions of the Immigration (Education) Amendment (Expanding Access to English Tuition) Bill 2020 (the bill) to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report by 27 November 2020.
1.2
The Senate referred the bill to the committee following a recommendation of the Selection of Bills Committee. The report of the Selection of Bills Committee presented multiple reasons for referral, including:
the bill does not explain how changes to English language requirements are expected to work;
the reach to potential eligible migrants and retention within the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), and how this will interact with existing service provider contracts; and
the financial impact of the bill and whether service providers will be asked to do more within the current funding envelope and existing contract.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.3
Details of the inquiry were advertised on the committee's webpage. The committee called for submissions to be received by 24 November 2020 and also wrote to a range of organisations inviting them to submit. The committee received 12 submissions, which are listed at Appendix 1.
1.4
The committee considers the short length of time for its inquiry, as determined by the Senate, made it difficult for the committee to discharge its responsibilities. The practice of referring inquiries with such short deadlines has occurred under both Coalition and Labor governments, and should be avoided wherever possible.
Acknowledgement
1.5
The committee thanks all submitters for the evidence they provided to the inquiry. The committee acknowledges the short deadline for making a written submission and thanks submitters for their efforts in doing so.
Structure of the report
1.6
This report comprises two chapters:
This chapter outlines the key provisions of the bill and provides administrative details relating to the inquiry.
Chapter 2 examines the key issues raised in submissions and provides the committee's view.
Purpose of the bill
1.7
The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on 29 November 2020 by the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alan Tudge MP. In his second reading speech, the minister explained that the bill is 'designed to support migrants to increase their English language proficiency'.
1.8
The minister outlined the importance of English language skills for migrants, stating that without these abilities 'it's harder to get a job, it's harder to integrate into a person's local community, and harder to participate in Australia's democracy'. The minister explained:
[o]nly 13 per cent of those with no English skills are in work today compared to 62 per cent of those who speak English well.
Migrants with no English skills are also more vulnerable to fall victim to foreign interference and misinformation, and will likely find it harder to seek help if they are a victim of family violence or exploitation.
English language is also vital to our social cohesion—if we can't communicate at school, or work, or in social settings, how can we fully connect as a nation?
1.9
The minister stated that census data has demonstrated that 'the number of people in Australia who do not speak English well or at all has risen' from about 560,000 in 2006 to 820,000 in 2016. Based on that trend, he estimated that:
there is now likely now close to a million people living in Australia who do not speak English well or at all—about half of those are working age.
It's in their interest and it's in the interest of all Australians that we reverse this trend. We must do better.
Background and context of the bill
1.10
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) has provided free English tuition to migrants for over 70 years. It is Commonwealth funded and legislated under the Immigration (Education) Act 1971 (IE Act).
1.11
Reform of AMEP has been the subject of a number of reviews, including by:
Professor Peter Shergold AC, Kerrin Benson and Margaret Piper, Investing in Refugees, Investing in Australia: The finding of a Review into Integration, Employment and Settlement Outcomes of Refugees and Humanitarian Entrants in Australia, 2019;
Social Compass, Evaluation of the AMEP New Business Model, 2019;
Settlement Council of Australia, Maximising AMEP and English Language Learning Consultation Report, 2019;
Scanlon Foundation, Australia's English Problem: How to renew our once celebrated AMEP, 2019;
2017 Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes, December 2017; and
ACIL Allen Consulting, AMEP Evaluation, 2015.
1.12
In addition, two further reviews—one undertaken by the Department of Home Affairs (the department) and another commissioned by the Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services—also considered reforms to the AMEP.
Key provisions of the bill
1.13
The bill seeks to amend the Immigration (Education) Act 1971 (IE Act) to expand eligibility for migrants to access English tuition through the AMEP in four ways:
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, 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.
Removal of 510 hour statutory limit
1.14
The IE Act currently provides that the minister's statutory obligation to provide, or arrange the provision of, tuition in an approved English course to an eligible person ceases after that person has completed 510 hours of learning. The bill proposes to remove that statutory time limit. The intention of this is to support and incentivise eligible persons to improve their English proficiency, and enable their English language learning to continue.
Replacement of functional English with vocational English
1.15
The bill proposes to repeal the definition of 'functional English' in the IE Act and insert a new term, 'vocational English'. Similar to the repealed term, 'vocational English' would be defined as follows:
a person has vocational English if the provider of an approved English course determines, in accordance with any procedures or standards specified by the Minister under subsection (2), that the person has vocational English.
1.16
The bill would also repeal and substitute subsection 3(2) to provide that the minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination specifying procedures or standards for the purposes of the new definition of vocational English in subsection 3(1). This would allow transparency in the procedures used to assess a person's English, further clarify the meaning of 'vocational English' by linking it to a particular standard of English proficiency, and enable the minister to link the definition to internationally recognised standards or Australian standards.
1.17
The bill would replace reference to the term 'functional English' with 'vocational English' as one of the statutory requirements for eligibility for access to English courses. It is intended that vocational English will reference a higher level of English proficiency when compared to functional English, and therefore a person who meets the totality of requirements for eligibility will have access to English language learning until they attain the higher level of vocational English. The intention of this amendment is to support eligible persons to increase their level of English proficiency and improve their future education and employment prospects, as well as their ability to integrate into Australian society.
Exemptions to time limitations for access to English courses
1.18
The IE Act currently provides that eligible persons are subject to time limitations within which they can register and commence approved English courses:
(2)
The person stops being eligible:
(a)
if he or she fails to register with the provider of an approved English course within:
(i)
if he or she was aged under 18 years on his or her visa commencement day—the period of 12 months starting on that day; or
(ii)
if he or she was aged 18 years or over on his or her visa commencement day—the period of 6 months starting on that day; or
(b)
if he or she fails to start an approved English course within the period of 12 months starting on his or her visa commencement day.
1.19
The bill proposes to exempt certain individuals whose visa commencement day fell on or before 1 October 2020 from these time restrictions. Visa commencement day is defined in subsection 3(1) of the IE Act as the earlier of either:
the first day the person was in Australia on or after the day when a permanent visa held by the person came into effect; or
the first day the person was in Australia on or after the day when a temporary visa of a class identified by the minister in a legislative instrument held by a person came into effect.
1.20
The exemption would apply to a person who has been granted either a permanent visa or a temporary visa of a class specified by the minister, and the first day that person was in Australia on or after that visa had come into effect fell on or before 1 October 2020. This would apply whether or not that person was in Australia on that date.
1.21
In addition, the IE Act currently establishes a time limit for the completion of English courses of five years from the visa commencement date. If a person fails to complete their English course within this time limit, then that person may apply for an extension of time.
1.22
The bill proposes to remove the five year time limit for persons who have been granted a permanent or a temporary visa of a specified class if the first day that person is in Australia on or after that visa comes into effect is a date that is on or before 1 October 2020. This applies regardless of whether or not that person is in Australia on that date.
1.23
These provisions would have the effect of re-enlivening the eligibility of certain individuals who have failed to register, commence and complete English language courses with approved providers within the requisite time limits. These amendments are intended to remove disincentives to English language learning for a cohort of persons in Australia on or before 1 October 2020 and allow these persons the opportunity to boost their education and employment opportunities, noting the particular challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
1.24
These amendments would have no effect on eligible persons whose visa commencement date falls after 1 October 2020. These visa holders would continue to be subject to the time restrictions currently set out in the IE Act.
Enabling access to visa holders outside of Australia
1.25
The bill proposes to vest the minister with the discretion to provide, or arrange the provision of, English courses to persons who are outside Australia and hold, or have applied for, either a permanent visa, or a temporary visa of a class specified in a legislative instrument. This amendment is intended to support English language learning in preparation for migration. The current provisions permit the delivery of English language courses to applicants for permanent visas. This legislation would extend access to individuals who have been granted a permanent visa, or who hold or have applied for, a temporary visa of a class specified by the minister in a legislative instrument.
Consideration by other parliamentary committees
Senate Standing Committee on the Scrutiny of Bills
1.26
The Senate Standing Committee on the Scrutiny of Bills had no comment on the bill.
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
1.27
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights made no comment in relation to the bill.
Financial impact
1.28
The explanatory memorandum states that these amendments will have a low financial impact.