DOCUMENTS

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Assistant Minister for Education, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (16:58): I seek leave to make a short statement in regard to general business notice of motion No. 740. The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator CHISHOLM: The government will be opposing this motion. The data is commercially sensitive and may prejudice an individual education provider's commercial and financial interests as well as their reputation. Releasing information on visa statistics, such as visa refusals, linked to particular education providers may affect their commercial interests by providing insights into the recruitment behaviours and habits of individual education providers that may be of commercial value to competitors and other education sector entities.

This is consistent with the Department of Home Affairs policy of not publishing international student enrolment data by an education provider. The PRESIDENT: The question is that general business notice of motion No. 740, standing in the name of Senator Henderson and moved by Senator Askew, be agreed to.