What agent performance data can the Department publish in 2026?

Section 175 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) gives "the Secretary" the power to publish information about how education agents perform, and the statute itself spells out the measurable items: how many student visa applications from students an agent recruited or otherwise dealt with were granted, refused, withdrawn or invalid; how many granted visas were later cancelled or ceased to be in effect; how many of those students were accepted for enrolment with registered providers; and their completion rates. Transfer counts and commission information also appear in section 175, though in a different legal position, explained below. This follows the text published on the Federal Register of Legislation's official page for section 175, checked as at September 2026.

What exactly does section 175 authorise, and who holds the power?

The publishing power sits with "the Secretary", who "may cause to be published information relating to the exercise of functions by education agents" (s 175(4)). Two limits frame everything else. First, the subject matter must relate to the exercise of functions by education agents. Second, publication must serve one of the stated purposes: promoting compliance with the ESOS Act, the national code, the ELICOS Standards and the Foundation Program Standards, or promoting compliance with the conditions of a particular student visa or of student visas generally.

A separate limb, s 175(3), allows the Secretary or the ESOS agency to give the same kind of agent-related information to registered providers, for those compliance purposes plus protecting and enhancing Australia's reputation for quality education and training services for accepted students.

Which indicators does the statute name?

Subsection 175(5) opens with "without limiting" subsections (3) and (4), so the following list is illustrative rather than a closed ceiling — the four items are confirmed examples, not the outer boundary of what may be published.

Indicator	What it measures	Where it sits
Visa application outcomes	Applications by or on behalf of recruited students that were granted, refused or withdrawn, or are invalid	s 175(5)(a)
Post-grant visa status	Granted student visas that were cancelled or ceased to be in effect	s 175(5)(b)
Enrolment acceptances	Recruited students accepted for enrolment in courses at registered providers	s 175(5)(c)
Completion rates	Completion rates of accepted students recruited or dealt with by the agent	s 175(5)(d)
Provider transfers	Accepted students moving to a different provider or registered provider	s 175(6)(a)
Course transfers	Accepted students moving from one course to a different course	s 175(6)(b)
Commissions	Education agent commissions connected with recruiting accepted students	s 175(6)(c)

What counts as a "visa result" here?

The statute separates two different moments. Granted, refused, withdrawn and invalid describe the fate of the application, before or at decision. Cancelled or ceased to be in effect describes what happened to a visa that had already been granted. A published table that mixes these two columns together would be blending two distinct statutory categories, so it is worth reading the column headings carefully before drawing conclusions.

Note also that "withdrawn" and "invalid" are listed alongside "refused" rather than folded into it. An application withdrawn by the applicant and an application that is invalid are separate entries in the statutory wording, not synonyms for refusal.

Can transfer numbers and commissions be published too?

This is the part most summaries get wrong. Subsections (5)(a)–(d) begin with "without limiting subsection (3) or (4)", which is what makes those four indicators available for both publication and disclosure to providers. Subsection (6), which adds provider transfers, course transfers and commissions, is worded differently: it says "without limiting subsection (3) or (5), the information given under subsection (3) may relate to" those three matters.

Read literally, the transfer and commission items are anchored to information given to registered providers under subsection (3), not to publication under subsection (4). The practical reading is that the four outcome-and-completion indicators carry the clearest statutory footing for publication, while the transfer and commission items sit most squarely in the provider-disclosure channel. Because subsection (4) is expressed broadly enough to cover information relating to the exercise of an agent's functions, whether any particular commission or transfer figure is published turns on the text of the publication and its stated purpose, so the official published output remains the authority.

Is publication compulsory, and what is it for?

No. The section says the Secretary "may cause to be published" — it confers a discretion, not an obligation, and sets no schedule, format or threshold. Nothing in section 175 requires the figures to be released annually, requires them to be presented as rates or percentages, or requires any particular agent to be named. The statutory hooks are counts of applications, visas, students and completions; any derived rate is a editorial construct built on top of them.

The only purposes permitted for publication are those in subsection (4): compliance with the ESOS framework instruments, and compliance with student visa conditions. That purposes test is the boundary of lawful publication, and it is also why the same data can move through other channels.

Where else can this information go?

Beyond publication and provider disclosure, s 175(1) lets the Secretary or ESOS agency give information obtained under the Act to Commonwealth or State agencies concerned with immigration or the regulation of providers, the ESOS agency for a provider, the Secretary, the TPS Director, a Board member and the Overseas Students Ombudsman — for purposes including facilitating monitoring and control of immigration. Subsection (1A) adds enforcement bodies within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988, where the disclosure is reasonably necessary for enforcement-related activities. Subsection (2) separately allows visa information about an accepted or former accepted student to be given to that student's registered provider.

Why the wording matters to an agent's record

The attribution test throughout is students "recruited or otherwise dealt with by" an education agent. Suppose an agent recruits a cohort of students but only some of them end up lodging through that agent's office: on the face of the wording, the counts attach to the students recruited or dealt with, not to the paperwork any one office filed. Suppose instead a student transfers to a different provider six months after starting: that event belongs to the transfer images in subsection (6), not to the completion rate in subsection (5)(d). Keeping the categories separate is what stops one figure being read as evidence of another.

This is general reference material drawn from the statute, not advice about any individual agreement, application or business arrangement — anyone applying it to a specific situation should confirm against the official text and the latest official publication and get advice from a suitably qualified practitioner. Because the power is discretionary and its exercise is not guaranteed, the only reliable check in 2026 remains what the Secretary has actually caused to be published at the time of reading.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Secretary required to publish education agent data every year?

No. Subsection 175(4) says the Secretary "may cause to be published" such information, which is a discretion rather than a duty. Section 175 sets no deadline, format or reporting cycle, so absence of a published figure is not evidence of anything about an agent.

Which visa outcomes are specifically listed for publication?

Subsection 175(5)(a) lists applications that were granted, refused or withdrawn, or that are invalid. Subsection 175(5)(b) separately covers granted visas that were later cancelled or ceased to be in effect, which is a post-grant event rather than an application outcome.

Are withdrawn and invalid applications counted as refusals?

The statute lists them as separate categories alongside granted and refused. Reading withdrawn or invalid applications into the refusal count is a reader's own aggregation, not something the wording directs.

Can commission figures be published?

Commission information appears in subsection 175(6)(c), which is framed around information given to registered providers under subsection (3). Subsection 175(5), covering granted, refused, withdrawn, invalid, cancelled, enrolment and completion figures, applies to both giving and publishing.

The list mentions four indicators — is publication capped at those?

No. Subsection 175(5) begins "without limiting" subsections (3) and (4), so named items are examples. Publication still has to be about the exercise of functions by education agents and must serve the purposes in subsection (4).

Who else can receive this information besides the public?

Under subsection 175(1), recipients can include Commonwealth or State agencies concerned with immigration or provider regulation, the ESOS agency, the Secretary, the TPS Director, a Board member and the Overseas Students Ombudsman. Subsection (1A) extends this to enforcement bodies under the Privacy Act 1988 where reasonably necessary.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 s 175 Giving information to relevant bodies etc.