Under-18 Foundation Students in Australia: Provider Child Safety Duties in 2026
What child safety and child protection duties do Australian foundation program providers owe students under 18, and who carries them?
If you are asking what child safety duties an Australian foundation program provider owes a student who is under 18, the answer sits in two obligations. First, where a provider enrols students under 18, its operations must be appropriate to those students' age, maturity and English language proficiency. Second, the provider must comply with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements — and each teacher must do the same personally. Both obligations come from the Education Services for Overseas Students (Foundation Program Standards) Instrument 2021, made under section 176C of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000; as at September 2026, this is the text published on the Federal Register of Legislation page for that instrument.
When do these child safety duties apply at all?
The Foundation Program Standards apply to a provider in the provision of a foundation program, including where any part of the program is delivered through arrangements with another party, whether in Australia or overseas. The underlying point for a family is that the duty follows the program, not just the classroom.
The Standards do not apply to a provider in the provision of:
- a course at a level that, under section 15 of the Australian Education Act 2013, constitutes primary or secondary education;
- an ELICOS course;
- a course that leads to a qualification recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework; or
- an undergraduate preparatory program delivered exclusively to non-student visa holders.
So the duties discussed here are specific to CRICOS-registered foundation programs — programs that Standard 1 requires to be delivered by a CRICOS-registered provider and to provide an academic entry pathway to first-year undergraduate study.
What does Standard 10 actually require?
Standard 10 ("Younger students") is the core provision. Where a provider enrols students under 18, its operations must be appropriate for their age, maturity and English language proficiency. The instrument spells out what that includes:
- making arrangements for students under 18 that comply with the national code;
- ensuring that facilities and operations for any mixed-age student cohorts are designed to meet the needs of students of different ages, maturity and levels of English language proficiency;
- giving students access to the services, learning opportunities, facilities and equipment that address their English language and academic learning needs; and
- making sure course materials and teaching are tailored to student learning requirements, taking into account their differing levels of age and maturity.
Standard 10 then adds the compliance obligation itself: the provider must comply with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements.
Who carries the duty — the provider, the teacher, or a third party?
All three feature, but in different ways. Standard 8 places a parallel duty on individual teachers, and section 14(13) (within Standard 7, Assessment) requires the provider to comply with the national code in identifying, notifying and assisting an overseas student who is at risk of not achieving adequate assessment results or grades for their intended pathway or stated goal — an academic-progress obligation rather than a child safety duty.
| Who | What the instrument requires |
|---|---|
| Provider | Operations appropriate to age, maturity and English proficiency; arrangements for under-18 students that comply with the national code; compliance with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements |
| Teacher | Compliance with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements; minimum degree and teaching qualification or experience; annual professional development (which Standard 8(6) requires the provider to deliver to teachers) |
| ESOS agency for the provider | Approves the curriculum on registration and renewal; must approve significant changes; may grant the exemption that allows 16-year-old entry |
The table matters because responsibility is not transferable by contract. Since the Standards apply to the provider even where part of the program is delivered through arrangements with another party, in Australia or overseas, the provider remains the entity answerable for how that part is run.
Does the duty change when the student is 16?
The entry age is where the Standards link child safety to a provider's licence to enrol. For both a standard and an extended foundation program, the default is that the student must be at least 17 years of age at the time of commencement.
A student may start at 16 only if two things hold. The provider must have been granted an exemption by the ESOS agency for the period, or remaining period, of the provider's CRICOS registration. And the provider must satisfy one of two alternatives:
- it has a substantial history of enrolling students of 16 years of age without significant adverse feedback to the ESOS agency; or
- it has demonstrated appropriate welfare processes and resources to deal with students of 16 years of age.
In other words, welfare processes and resources are one of two alternative gateways to the exemption — a provider may instead rely on a substantial history of enrolling 16-year-olds without significant adverse feedback to the ESOS agency. A provider that relies on the second limb is relying on exactly the sort of welfare processes that Standard 10 then expects to see in day-to-day operations.
What does "appropriate to age and maturity" look like on the ground?
The Standards give this content rather than leaving it as a slogan. Mixed-age cohorts are the clearest test: facilities and operations must be designed around students of different ages, maturity and English proficiency, and course materials and teaching must be tailored with those differences in mind. Assume a 16-year-old is placed in a cohort dominated by students who have already finished Year 12 — on the instrument's terms, the provider has to show that the teaching materials, the facilities and the support around that student actually fit a 16-year-old, not merely that the student was admitted.
Supporting duties run alongside this. Providers must give all students regular access, for a reasonable period outside normal teaching hours and at no extra cost, to academic, careers and welfare support and counselling, both virtually and in person. Providers must also hold and apply a documented policy and process for assessing whether a student's English language proficiency, educational background or qualifications, or work experience, are enough to undertake the program.
Admission thresholds differ by program type. For a standard foundation program, a student must have completed Australian Year 11 or a comparable level, and reached English proficiency comparable to an overall IELTS score of 5.5 with a minimum of 5 in all skills, or equivalent. For an extended foundation program, the English threshold is comparable to an overall IELTS score of 5.
Which law applies — Commonwealth, state or territory?
Both, and that is the part families most often miss. The instrument does not itself set out state or territory child protection law; instead, Standard 10(3) and Standard 8(7) require compliance with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements. What those laws demand depends on where the campus sits and how the provider operates, and the instrument deliberately does not restate them.
This article describes that framework only, and is general information rather than advice about any individual student's circumstances; the requirements that apply in a particular state or territory, and their current form, should be checked against official published sources.
What records and oversight sit behind the duty?
Child safety obligations under the Standards are backed by documentation requirements. A provider must retain a curriculum vitae and certified copies of degrees and qualifications for all teachers currently employed to teach on the foundation program. It must have written policies governing teacher recruitment, induction and ongoing professional development, communicate those policies as part of the initial employment process, and deliver a professional development program to teachers annually.
Academic oversight runs in parallel. A provider may only deliver a foundation program if the curriculum has been approved by the ESOS agency on registration and renewal of registration, and it must not make significant changes without that agency's approval — significant changes include changes to more than 25% of course units or subjects since last approval, substantial variations to delivery, and substantial changes to nomenclature, duration, entry requirements, outcomes or structure. Where a student consistently performs below the standard required to achieve their stated goal, the provider must formally notify them.
Where does responsibility land if something goes wrong?
The ESOS framework is the accountability path. The provider's right to deliver depends on CRICOS registration, and the ESOS agency approves the curriculum at registration and renewal, controls significant changes, and grants the exemption on which 16-year-old entry depends. The instrument's transitional provisions preserve the repealed Foundation Program Standards in relation to enforcement action commenced under Part 6 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, and monitoring and searching actions commenced under Part 7 of that Act, before that commencement.
None of that shifts the underlying duty onto a partner organisation. Because the Standards travel with the program, including parts delivered through arrangements with another party in Australia or overseas, the registered provider is the entity whose obligations are engaged.
What must the provider already disclose?
Much of what a family needs to check is information the Standards require to be published, not information that has to be requested. Course information made available to potential applicants must specify the relevant entry requirements, state whether certified forecast or provisional examination results are acceptable where final results are not available, provide a table of alternative English language minimum admission requirements, and — for an extended program — indicate the basis for modification of standard requirements.
Course information must also list the higher education courses available on successful completion, any specific subjects required for entry to particular courses, and the foundation program grades required for each listed course, including any subject-area requirements; that information must be updated annually. Marketing rules apply too: a compliant program's title must include the word "Foundation" (and "extended" for an extended program), the provider must state that the program is specifically designed for overseas students, and it must not claim equivalence to an Australian Senior Certificate of Education or claim guaranteed entry into higher education from enrolment alone without clearly stating the conditions for entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these child safety duties apply to a 17-year-old?
Yes. Standard 10 applies wherever a provider enrols students under the age of 18, so a 17-year-old is covered. The provider's operations must be appropriate to that student's age, maturity and English language proficiency, and the provider must comply with all applicable child protection legislation and child safety requirements.
Can a provider enrol a 16-year-old?
Only under an exemption. The provider must have been granted an exemption by its ESOS agency for the period, or remaining period, of its CRICOS registration, and must either have a substantial history of enrolling 16-year-olds without significant adverse feedback to the ESOS agency, or have demonstrated appropriate welfare processes and resources for students of that age.
Is the provider still responsible if another organisation delivers part of the program?
Yes. The Foundation Program Standards apply to a provider in the provision of a foundation program, including where any part is delivered through arrangements with another party, whether in Australia or overseas. The provider cannot move the obligation elsewhere by contracting delivery out.
Do teachers have their own child safety duty?
They do. Under Standard 8, a teacher must comply with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements. That duty sits alongside the provider's own obligation under Standard 10, and is supported by requirements to keep teacher records and to deliver professional development annually.
Do the Standards replace state or territory child protection law?
No. The instrument requires compliance with all applicable state, territory and Commonwealth child protection legislation and child safety requirements rather than substituting for them. Which laws apply, and what they currently require, depends on the jurisdiction and should be confirmed against official published sources.
Do the duties apply to extended foundation programs?
Yes. The Standards apply to a provider in the provision of a foundation program generally, and the minimum commencement age of 17 applies to both standard and extended programs. A standard foundation program runs for at least 26 and no more than 36 teaching weeks with a minimum of 720 scheduled course contact hours; an extended foundation program runs for at least 37 and no more than 78 teaching weeks.