MELBOURNE: Australia on Tuesday vowed to crack down on migration scams targeting Indian students and condemned a ‘cowardly’ attack on a female reporter who blew the lid on the shady practices, AFP reported.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was tightening regulations on migration agents after a current affairs TV show exposed rip-offs exploiting students who have fuelled the country’s booming international education sector.

The revelations are the latest to damage the US$12.7 billion a year industry — Australia’s third-largest export earner — after a series of violent attacks on Indian students living in Melbourne and Sydney.

‘Any of these abuses we of course won’t tolerate and don’t tolerate,’ Smith told public broadcaster ABC, referring to the migration scams.

‘And the cracking down, so far as the migration agents’ regulatory arrangements are concerned, will assist in that process.’ Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard slammed the attack on the female Indian journalist, who was physically assaulted in a Sydney street over the weekend while working undercover for ABC’s ‘Four Corners’ programme.

‘Any attack like that which has been reported is cowardly and completely abhorrent,’ Gillard said.

‘The Australian government is absolutely committed to providing quality education for all students, and we have taken steps to improve the experience for overseas students,’ she added.

The expose, screened late on Monday, reported that some Indian families had been left broke after sending children to Australia for courses that failed to deliver any educational value.

It said hundreds of private colleges offering courses such as hairdressing, cooking and accounting had sprung up that lured students with false promises of gaining permanent residency in Australia.

 ‘Australia’s education exports face much deeper problems than safety issues. There’s now a rising clamour over dodgy courses, student rip-offs and an education system that’s turned into a visa factory,’ the report said.

The Australian Council for Private Education and Training has said it plans to launch a register of education agents to help students find honest providers.

Indian students last month protested in Melbourne and Sydney, following a series of attacks and muggings which strained diplomatic ties and prompted negative headlines in their home country.