Reminder—New ELICOS Standards commenced from 1 January 2018

New standards for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) have been developed by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training (DET).

The ELICOS Standards 2018 came into effect from 1 January 2018 for existing and new providers (and comes into effect from 1 March 2018 for transitioning providers – i.e. providers to which the ELICOS Standards did not apply prior to 1 January 2018 but are assessed by an ESOS Agency, such as ASQA, to be delivering an ELICOS course). The ELICOS Standards seek to enhance Australia’s reputation as a source of quality education to international education markets and assist in attracting high-quality international students to Australia.

Key changes to the ELICOS Standards

The definition of ELICOS courses has been expanded to include all courses ‘solely or predominantly of English language instruction’. This means that the ELICOS Standards will now apply to VET providers delivering (or seeking to deliver) English language instruction to overseas students. ASQA will shortly publish additional advice for VET providers delivering English language courses to overseas students.

The ELICOS Standards 2018 also include three new standards (P2.1, P2.3 and P2.4) that relate to ELICOS students under the age of 18.

For more information, please refer to the ELICOS Standards 2018 on the Federal Register of Legislation.