Partnerships between Australian universities’ foreign branch campuses and institutions in host countries will be subject to oversight and possible veto by the foreign affairs minister, under a legislative amendment introduced into parliament.
But dual and joint degrees will remain beyond the reach of the Foreign Arrangements Scheme, which obliges universities to notify Canberra about deals with foreign entities.
The bill has been tabled amid heightened concern about security risks in university research – reflected in the government’s quashing of 13 grants over undisclosed national security issues – and strengthened regulation of offshore courses, which now require approval from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Teqsa).
The government said the amendments would expand the Foreign Arrangements Scheme’s coverage to “evolving forms of international engagement” that had not been considered when the system originated in 2020, including foreign branch campuses.
However, dual or joint degrees with foreign universities will remain outside the scope of the scheme, which only covers courses leading to stand-alone Australian qualifications.
