F2007L04871
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ESOS ASSURANCE FUND
2008 CONTRIBUTIONS CRITERIA
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The 2008 contributions criteria have been determined by
the Contributions Review Panel in accordance with Section 60 of the Education
Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and apply from 1 January 2008 to
31 December 2008.
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Period
of cover:
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1 January 2008 to 31 December
2008
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Application:
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All non-exempt providers registered
on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas
Students (CRICOS) at any time during 2008.
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Components
of the Criteria:
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·
Base
Premium - $510
·
Additional
Premium – Applicable
additional premium rate multiplied by annual overseas student fee income*
Primary
Assurance Mechanism / Ministerial Exemption
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Additional premium rate
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Tuition Assurance Scheme member
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0.075%
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Indemnity Agreement
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0.075%
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Bank Guarantee
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0.075%
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Ministerial Exemption
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0.75%
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* The definition of overseas student fee income is per the definition
of course money under
Section 7 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.
Each provider’s
contribution will be assessed based on their estimated overseas student fee income for the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008. For those
providers who were liable to the ESOS Assurance Fund (the Fund) in the
previous year, their 2007 contribution will also include an adjustment for any variances
between their estimated and actual overseas student fee income for the
period 1 January 2007
to 31 December 2007.
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Non-submission of required
information
Non-submission of the requested information in the
timeframe specified by the Fund Manager will result in a contribution notice
with the following components being issued:
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Components
of the Criteria:
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·
Base
Premium - $510
·
Non-refundable
Administration Fee - $325
·
Additional
Premium
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Additional premium calculation
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Non – responsive in 1 year
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The greater of either:
§
the
provider’s 2007 estimated overseas student fee income increased by a 20%
uplift factor, multiplied by the applicable Additional Premium rate,
or
§
the
provider’s 2007 estimated overseas student fee income multiplied by the
applicable Additional Premium rate plus a $220 surcharge.
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Non- responsive in 2 or more consecutive years
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The greater of either:
§
the
provider’s 2007 estimated overseas student fee income increased by a 20%
uplift factor, multiplied by the applicable Additional Premium rate multiplied
by a factor of 10, or
§
the
provider’s 2007 estimated overseas student fee income multiplied by the
applicable Additional Premium rate multiplied by a factor of 10 plus
a $220 surcharge.
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Providers with a Ministerial Exemption (ME) that
covers greater than $1 million in overseas student fee income
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Components
of the Criteria:
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·
Base
Premium - $510
·
Additional
Base Fee - $1,810
·
Additional
Premium – 0.75% of total overseas student fee
income covered by ME.
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In
addition the provider is requested to pursue one of three alternatives set
out below, which may result in an adjustment to their initial contribution.
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Alternatives:
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Description
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Adjustment
to contribution
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1
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Obtain
coverage under one of the options listed below for all or part of their
overseas student fee income covered by ME to reduce their exposure to the
Fund and their contribution fees:
·
insurance
coverage
·
bank
guarantee
·
their courses
to be covered by one or more TASs
·
suitable
assets over which the Fund can obtain security
·
enter into a
legally-binding agreement with an alternative provider approved by the Fund
Manager, where the agreement provides that should the first provider cease
to be able to provide a course of study, the alternative provider will
offer to enrol students of the first provider in a course leading to the
same or a comparable qualification, with full credit for the units of study
completed, and at no additional cost to the student for the part of the
course for which course money has been paid to the original provider
·
any
combination of the above.
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Where this coverage is obtained for:
·
the
provider’s entire overseas student fee income covered by ME, then the
Additional Premium portion of the provider’s contribution will be adjusted
based on 0.075% of their overseas income,
·
the portion
of the provider’s overseas student fee income covered by ME above $1
million, then the Additional Premium portion of the provider’s contribution
will be adjusted based on:
§
0.75% of
overseas income with ME (up to a maximum of $1 million), plus
§
0.075% of
overseas income with PAM coverage.
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2
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Establish
a trust account, at the provider’s own cost. All overseas student fee
income will need to be deposited into the trust account, which is required
to be managed by an external party. All payments from the trust account
will be managed in accordance with a trust deed agreed between the provider
and the Fund Manager. The trust arrangements will aim to ensure that the risk
to the Fund is mitigated to an extent equivalent to a PAM.
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The provider’s
Additional Premium will be adjusted based on a rate between 0.075% and 0.75%
(the final percentage to be determined by the Fund Manager) of their
overseas student fee income covered by the trust account arrangement.
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3
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Discuss
with the Fund Manager alternative ways of mitigating the risk to the Fund.
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The
provider’s Additional Premium will be adjusted at the Fund Manager’s
discretion which may include a rate greater or less than 0.75% of overseas
student income depending on the circumstances.
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Where providers fail to obtain one of the alternatives
listed above within 6 months of advising the Fund Manager
of their overseas fee income, the Fund Manager will
automatically apply Alternative 3.
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Providers not covered by a Primary Assurance
Mechanism (PAM) or a Ministerial Exemption (ME)
Should the situation occur where a
provider is, for a period of time, for whatever reason, without a PAM or ME,
the provider must inform the Fund Manager as soon as practicable, and the
provider’s contribution will be adjusted, based on the undiscounted
Additional Premium rate, for the period during which the provider is without
coverage, plus an additional
base fee of $1,810.
The Fund Manager will also immediately
request that the provider submit to the Fund Manager the necessary
information required for the Fund Manager to undertake an individual exposure
assessment to determine an appropriate additional premium rate. Failure to
provide the required information to the Fund Manager within 30 days of the
initial request will result in the Fund Manager advising the Department of
Education, Science and Training of the provider’s breach of section 26 of the
Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.
In addition, if the provider’s overseas
fee income is in excess of $1 million, the provider will be requested to
comply with alternative 1 or 2 in the above section of the contributions
criteria.
Should the provider subsequently secure
a PAM or an ME (along with an additional form of coverage listed under
alternative 1 or 2, where required) then the provider’s contribution will be
adjusted accordingly.
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Security over Assets
Providers can
request (and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis) that the Fund Manager
take a security over suitable assets. This will result in a reduction in the
provider’s annual Fund contribution.
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