Ban on the payment of agent commissions for onshore transfers
There has been a change to the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code) regarding the payment of education agent commissions.
Education providers are now prohibited from paying or giving an education agent a commission for the recruitment of an overseas student who is transferring from another provider. Once a student has commenced their study onshore with a provider, a new provider cannot pay or give an agent a commission for that student’s recruitment.
The ban will not apply where the relevant overseas student has been accepted for enrolment by a provider on or before 31 March 2026. The student does not need to have commenced study on or before 31 March 2026 for this exception to apply – only acceptance for enrolment is required, i.e. the student becomes an ‘accepted student’ as defined in the ESOS Act.
A transfer is when an overseas student moves from one provider to another provider without first completing their course.
For the purposes of the onshore transfer commission ban, a new provider is not allowed to pay or give an education agent a commission in relation to the recruitment of an overseas student who has already commenced their studies onshore. This ban applies even where a student has commenced studies and their enrolment is cancelled, they withdraw from their course, or they are in between courses in a package, as in these cases they have previously commenced a course with a provider.
Movement to further study does not constitute a transfer. This means that for students enrolling with a new provider for a course that will commence after they have completed their principal course, the new provider can pay an agent a commission for their recruitment.
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