This week Australia's Minister of Education Christopher Pyne announced the establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Advisory Council. The group will report to the minister and will be charged with ensuring that recommendations to reduce university red tape are carried out.

This week the Australian government will attempt to slash a number of federal laws in its first planned "repeal day" that will save AUD$1 billion a year in red tape. A number of "heavy handed" regulations affecting the university sector are set to be abolished in the process, a move that has been welcomed by international educators in the country.

Less than a month after Australia's newly elected coalition government has taken power, party leaders have wasted no time in prioritising international education marketing, reducing regulatory red tape and reviewing post-study work policies.

One of the two new national education regulators in Australia, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), has begun consultation with the Australian National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) after it was nominated as one of two authorities to oversee ELICOS programmes.