Australia has adopted a new student visa processing that might make life a little easier for many students and higher education providers. The new process, called, the simplified student visa framework (SSVF), will come into effect by July 2016. The new process will take the place of the streamlined visa processing (SVP), which has been used since 2012. SVP has provided enhanced visa procedures for universities, resulting in limited numbers of private sector higher education and advanced diploma providers. The new SSVF will replace both SVP and the current Assessment Level Framework for non-SVP providers, and will apply to all international students

Under the new system, students applying to all education providers will be assessed for visa risk under a single framework. It will be based on the country they come from and the immigration compliance record of other students who have studied at that particular education provider. A student’s financial and English language requirements will be based on the immigration profile of their country and of their chosen education provider also.

These changes come as the number of international students is growing strongly. This year, Australia’s intake of new students is at its highest level ever in the March quarter, 11.5 per cent above 2014.

Private colleges will find it easier to benefit from Australia's booming international student business with the implementation of the new process. The new system is particularly welcome to private education providers, most of whom were shut out of the streamlined visa processing system established by the Gillard Labour government.

Labour's scheme, which was a response to immigration torts by some private vocational colleges, offered easy visa processing only to students at universities. The Abbott government extended the right to some private education providers but most were required to operate in a highly complex visa risk assessment system, which students found difficult to understand.

The Department for Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) said the role of agents was one of the key factors in the drafting of the new regulations. It said it was essential that any alternative framework was easily understood by all involved, including prospective students, education providers, agents, and department officers making decisions on visa applications.

A working group has been established to guide implementation of the new framework before SVP expires on June 30, 2016