As part of an immigration curb, Australia will limit the number of overseas students to 270,000 in 2025.
Under the policy, the government will cap the number of new international students at universities at 145,000 and in vocational training at 95,000, Education Minister Jason Clare said on Tuesday. Nearly 600,000 student visas were issued in the 2023 financial year, a significant increase from previous years.
Universities have repeatedly warned that any measures to limit the number of foreign students could harm the lucrative higher education sector.
“It’s an important part of our economy, there’s no doubt about that. That hasn’t changed,” Clare told reporters in Sydney after the announcement. “But the return of students has put the sector’s reputation under pressure.”
Overall, there will be around 15 percent more students at universities and 20 percent fewer at vocational schools in 2025, said Clare. The government informed the individual universities in writing of their upper limits on Tuesday.
“To suggest that this is somehow destroying international education is absolutely and fundamentally wrong,” said Clare. “It’s about making sure we set it up sustainably for the future. We want students to come here and study here.”
Universities Australia chairman David Lloyd said student caps would “slow down” the higher education sector..
Migration controls should not be imposed “at the expense of a single sector, and especially not an economic sector as important as education,” Lloyd added. The restrictions would damage Australia’s research and development capabilities.
The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia said in a statement that universities needed more information about the changes because the announcement “raises more questions than it answers”.
Australia is just the latest country to crack down on international students over migration concerns. Canada, the Netherlands and the UK have all implemented or are considering measures targeting the university sector. In Australia, the government has been discussing plans to introduce restrictions on international students for months, part of a broader initiative to curb high post-COVID migration numbers. The rise in migration has coincided with increasing voter concerns about a housing shortage, driving up rents and proving politically damaging for the centre-left Labor government.
Support for migration in Australia has fallen to its lowest level in five years, with 42 percent of respondents saying migration has a negative impact on the country, according to a poll released by Essential on Tuesday.
International students contributed A$48 billion (US$32.5 billion) to the Australian economy in 2023, making it the country’s largest services export.
The Property Council of Australia’s Student Accommodation Council said the 270,000 student visa cap was “sustainable” and the government’s announcement would give student accommodation investors the confidence to continue pouring money into the sector.
