Overseas Students: Critical Incident Management Policy

1. What is this policy about?
   1. CNCIMR201301, the ACT Education Directorate’s (Directorate) Critical/Non-Critical Incident Management and Reporting Policy, applies in the international education context.  However, further considerations are necessary if, in the event of a critical incident, if the welfare or academic arrangements for overseas students, particularly those under 18 years, are disrupted. These are outlined in this policy, which should be read and actioned in conjunction with CNCIMR201301.
2. Policy Statement
   1. As a registered CRICOS provider, the Directorate complies with the legislative framework of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act (Clth) 2000 (ESOS Act) and the National Code of Practice 2018 (National Code).
   2. Standards 5 and 6 of the National Code reference responsibilities of the registered CRICOS provider in the treat of or actual emergency situations or critical incidents, when welfare arrangements are disrupted for those under 18 years and/or capacity of the overseas student to undertake or complete their studies is adversely affected.
3. Who does this policy apply to?
   1. This policy applies to overseas students who hold visa subclass 500 (school sector) and are enrolled in ACT public schools.
4. Context
   1. The International Education Unit (IEU) team assists (as required) with duty of care, immediate response, accurate reporting and recovery processes at individual school sites if overseas students are involved in a critical incident within standard school hours.
   2. The Directorate has care, accommodation and welfare (CAaW) responsibility for overseas students aged under 18 years in Homestay or the Family, Friends and Relatives Program (FFaRP). If a critical incident, or the threat of a critical incident occurring, disrupts those arrangements, guidelines and strategies are in place to:
      • Revise accommodation arrangements through such approaches as:
        • negotiate an alternative Homestay;
        • identify extended family members or other trusted, approved adults (under the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs (DHA) guidelines) willing to accept temporary care;
        • arrange overnight or short term motel booking for overseas student and a responsible adult (eg a Youth Worker to support out of hours duty of care);
        • re-purpose or setup a shared facility (eg Birrigai) for a limited period, noting there are implications for interagency co-operation.
      • deal effectively with the immediate and longer term health, welfare and safety of those involved, with sensitivity to cross cultural issues and the challenge of distance or language with families overseas;
      • facilitate clear lines of communication and debriefing opportunities for affected students;
      • engage collaboratively and purposefully with relevant service providers and authorities (eg health professionals, Embassy staff);
      • support administrative or legal requirements;
      • liaise with the DHA and/or provide appropriate tuition fee refund if student studies will be interrupted or ceased;
      • prepare and retain, for at least two years after the overseas student ceases to be an accepted student, a record of any critical incident, associated briefings and remedial action.
5. Responsibilities
   1. International Education Unit (IEU):The IEU is responsible for:
      • ensuring the continuing safety of the international cohort, particularly those overseas students under 18 years for whom the Directorate has CAaW responsibility;
      • providing students and their host families with out of hours contact details (eg access to identified IEU team members, Mondial 24/7 Assistance);
      • taking necessary action to isolate a student from imminent, or potential, danger;
      • negotiating revised, approved accommodation arrangements, without break in continuity, in applicable circumstances (noting there may be transition placement between the prior and future on-going accommodation);
      • connecting the student with relevant support systems and people (eg counsellors, legal assistance, police, translators);n;
      • conducting “well-being check-ins” in the aftermath of a critical incident;
      • extending flexibility (eg study deferral to return to home country to manage trauma);
      • communicating with host and overseas families to inform and reassure.
   2. International Private Students (IPS) Co-ordinators: Co-ordinators are responsible for:
      • providing a trusted point of contact for the student;
      • liaison with the IEU staff when students are distressed or perceived to be “in harm”.
   3. Accommodation Host Hosts in Homestay or FFaRP are responsible for:
      • timely reporting of any concerning or critical incident that does, or potentially may, impact an overseas student in their care (eg. phone the IEU or Mondial 24/7 Assistance line).
   4. Overseas Parents: Parents are responsible for:
6. Monitoring and Review
   1. The Policy Owner monitors the policy. This includes an annual scan of operation and review. A full review of the policy will be conducted within a three year period.
7. Contact
   1. For support, contact the IEU on (02) 6205 9178 or via email at ieu@act.gov.au.
8. Complaints
   1. Any concerns about the application of this policy or the policy itself, should be raised with:
      • the IEU via email at ieu@act.gov.au or by phone on (02) 6205 9178 in the first instance;
      • contact the Directorate’s Families and Students, Complaints and Feedback Unit on (02) 6205 5429.
      • online at http://www.education.act.gov.au/contact_us.
      • see also the Complaints Policy on the Directorate’s website.
9. References
   1. Definitions
      • ECritical Incident – A traumatic event, or the threat of such (within or outside Australia) which causes extreme stress, fear or injury.
   2. Legislation
      • Education Services for Overseas Students Act (Clth) 2000
      • National Code 2018
      • Education Act (ACT) 2004
   3. Implementation Documents
      • Overseas Students: Critical Incident Management Procedure
      • Directorate Critical / Non-Critical Incident Management and Reporting Procedure
   4. Related Policies and Information
      • IEU Operations Plan
      • IEU Risk Matrix

is the unique identifier of this document. It is the responsibility of the user to verify that this is the current and complete version of the document, available on the Directorate’s website at http://www.education.act.gov.au/publications_and_policies/school_and_corporate_policies/A-Z/.