Overview of Student Visa Changes to Assist International Education Sector

调整学生签证政策，推动国际教育发展

　　On 16 December 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, announced a strategic review of the student visa program and package of measures to ease the pressure on the international education sector.

　　2010年12月16日，澳大利亚移民与公民事务部（以下简称移民部）部长Chris Bowen和高等教育部长Chris Evans参议员宣布将对学生签证项目进行策略复审，以及多项具体措施以减轻国际教育部门的压力。

　　Certificate Level Vocational Education and Training courses

　　The department has updated its policy to reflect amendments implemented within the vocational education and training (VET) sector regarding the certificate level courses.

　　证书级别的职业教育与培训课程

　　移民部已更新相关政策，以体现对职业教育与培训证书级别的课程所作的改变。

　　From today, VET (subclass 572) visa applicants who are assessment level 4 may undertake a package of certificate level courses to meet requirements for the grant of a visa. 

　　从今天起，职业教育与培训（572类）学生签证评估等级(AL)4的学生签证申请人可以就读证书级别的配套课程，这将能够满足获得学生签证的要求。

　　Applicants can package up to four certificate level courses, which total at least one year’s duration, where one element is a certificate IV level course.  Previously for these applicants, it was a requirement that the certificate IV alone was of at least one year’s duration.

　　申请人能够配套就读最多四门证书级别的课程，所有证书课程的总学期至少为一年，并且课程中包含一门四级证书课程。而此前仅就读四级证书一门课程，就必须至少一年时间。

　　Prepaid formal boarding fees

　　预付正式寄宿学校的住宿费

　　Implemented immediately, the department will refine policy on the assessment of tuition and boarding fees by student visa processing officers.  This will encourage providers to separate the boarding component of fees prepaid by students from the tuition fees so that prepaid boarding fees can be counted towards the students’ cost of living requirements.

　　移民部将调整学生签证评审官对学费和寄宿学校住宿费的评估政策，此调整将立即实施。这将鼓励学校将学生预付的寄宿学校的住宿费与学费分列出来，这样，学生已预付的寄宿学校的住宿费就可以从签证申请所要求的生活费用中扣除。

　　New statistical publication

　　公布新的统计数据

　　The Ministers have committed to improve information exchange between the government and the sector. 

移民部长和高等教育部长承诺将改进政府与院校间的信息交流。

　　The first initiative, an in-depth statistical publication on the student visa program will be available on the department’s website from January 2011. This publication will be updated on a quarterly basis. 

　　第一项计划是从2011年1月起，将在移民部的网站上公布有深度的学生签证统计数据。公布的数据将每季度更新一次。