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Early childhood education
Early childhood education

The Early Childhood Education Directorate monitors, supports and regulates early childhood education services in NSW.
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We ensure young children get the best start in life by supporting and regulating the early childhood education and care sector. We are the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population.

This policy is current as at 23/11/2019 12:53am, AEDT. Please refer to policy library website (https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library) for an updated version.

Overseas students and visitors

Instruction to staff for enrolling overseas students or hosting visits by overseas school students and adult educational groups.

1. Policy statement

1.1 The NSW Department of Education welcomes overseas students and visitors into our schools for short term visits or for longer periods to study.

1.2 Specific requirements relate to:

overseas students enrolling in or visiting schools for short-term programs
international students on study abroad programs
international secondary student exchanges
temporary residents program
study tours
sister-school relationships that involve hosting overseas groups and international travel by teachers and/or students
international volunteers, international interns, international teachers on practicum and language assistant teachers from overseas.

2. Audience and applicability

2.1 All NSW government schools.

3. Context

3.1 Schools enrolling overseas students are subject to the legislative requirements of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act and the National Code 2018.

3.2 The National Guidelines for the Operation of International Secondary Student Exchange Programs in Australia (2018) apply to all registered student exchange organisations operating in NSW.

4. Responsibilities and delegations

4.1 Principals:

4.1.1 enrol students from overseas in accordance with the appropriate departmental policy and DE International guidelines

4.1.2 enrol temporary residents in accordance with departmental policy and Temporary Residents Program procedures

4.1.3 decide to accept or decline a request to host a study tour in accordance with DE International guidelines on study tours

4.1.4 consult the list of registered secondary student exchange organisations on the DE International website to ensure the school only deals with organisations registered to operate in NSW

4.1.5 establish and monitor sister-school arrangements consistent with the implementation document

4.1.6 declare any personal or public disclosures related to any aspect of the activity such as gifts or donations using departmental procedures

4.1.7 check that requests to host visitors under 1.2. comply with the requirements as outlined in the implementation document.

4.2 DE International:

4.2.1 Conducts programs and provides advice in relation to:

International student program–international students holding a student visa, subclass 500P
Study abroad program–international students on short-term enrolments for one term to one year, holding a student visa 500P
Temporary residents program–holders of other visas including tourist or visitor visas
Study tours–groups of students and/or adults visiting schools; and
Secondary student exchange–students holding 500 student visas attend for minimum of one school term to maximum of one yea

4.2.3 Reports annually on reciprocity associated with the operation of international secondary student exchange programs.

4.2.2 Monitors, evaluates and reports on the enrolment of international students and temporary residents in NSW government schools and study tours in relation to this policy.

5. Monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements

5.1 The Director Business Systems is responsible for monitoring the implementation of this policy and reviewing its effectiveness every three years.

6. Contact

International Student Program
Telephone: 1300 300 229 (Option 2)
Email: isc@det.nsw.edu.au

Study Abroad Program
Senior Study Abroad Officer
Telephone: 02 9244 5018
Email: studyabroad@det.nsw.edu.au

Temporary Residents Program
Program Manager
Telephone: 1300 300 229 (Option 1)
Email: tempvisa@det.nsw.edu.au

Study Tours Program
Senior Study Tours Officer
Telephone: 02 8293 6910
Email: studytours@det.nsw.edu.au

Secondary Student Exchange Programs
Telephone: 02 8293 6982
Email: studentexchange@det.nsw.edu.au

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