International student policy in the spotlight during Australian election

Australia will hold its next federal election on 3 May 2025. The vote looks to be hotly contested, especially between the current governing Labor party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and the Liberal-National Coalition, under opposition leader Peter Dutton. Recent national polling has the two parties virtually tied less than a month out from the vote.

Immigration will figure prominently as an issue in this election cycle, including policies related to international students. It certainly became a prominent issue this week when a Coalition news release set out the opposition party's proposals for international education.

"An elected Dutton Coalition Government will act immediately to reduce the number of international students in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) as part of our plan to restore the Australian dream of home ownership and reduce pressure on the housing market," outlines the release.

"A Dutton Coalition Government will reduce the number of new international students commencing at public universities by at least 30,000 per year compared with Labor, freeing up housing supply in major metropolitan markets.

Under our plan, there will be at most 115,000 overseas student commencements each year at publicly funded universities and at most 125,000 in the VET, private university and non-university higher education sectors.

To achieve the reduction at public universities, a percentage cap will be applied from 2026 to the share of new foreign student commencements at these institutions.

The cap is expected to be around 25% but will be determined in government with access to the latest data and in consultation with the sector. Based on 2023 enrolments data, this is expected to overwhelmingly affect metropolitan, rather than regional universities, where pressure on housing and infrastructure is most acute.

The reduction will particularly affect the Group of Eight universities, which have admitted excessive numbers of international students."

In addition to the proposed reduction in cap levels for foreign enrolment in Australia, the Coalition announcement also states:

"The Coalition will also increase the student visa application charge to AUD$5,000 for Group of Eight universities and AUD$2,500 for remaining international students. A new charge of AUD$2,500 will be introduced for students who wish to change education providers [once in Australia].

We will also conduct a rapid review into the Temporary Graduate Visas (subclass 485) to address the misuse of post-study work arrangements as a way to gain access to the Australian labour market and as a pathway to permanent migration."

For context, the current fee to apply for an Australian study visa is AUD$1,600, a level set in July 2024, and representing at the time a 125% increase from the previous fee of AUD$710. The current fee considerably outstrips the visa fees levied by other major destinations. For example, the fee to apply for a Canadian study permit is CDN$150 (AUD$172) whereas students need US$185 (AUD$299) to apply for an F-1 study visa in the United States.

The numbers game

If we have learned anything about cap calculations over the past year, it is that they often require a rarified form of mathematical gymnastics. Industry consultant Claire Field had an excellent go at this in her analysis of the Coalition's proposed cap limits. She points out that:

• To reduce international students to 25% of all commencements at public universities would require a reduction of just over 21,000 students from 2023 levels.
• To limit new foreign student commencements to 125,000 in VET and private higher education would require a -29% decrease from 2023 levels.

Commenting on the proposed reductions, Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said, “Slashing student numbers by tens of thousands would take a sledgehammer to one of the nation’s biggest income generators. International education delivered more than half of Australia’s GDP growth in 2023 and almost singlehandedly kept us out of recession.”

Monash University's Andrew Norton points out in his detailed commentary on the Coalition release that the regulatory mechanism that would permit such government-mandated enrolment caps is anything but clear.

He explains: "I stand to be corrected on migration law, but if existing provisions could be used to target private education providers I am surprised that they have not been used already…It seems likely, therefore, that an effective cap on private education providers will need legislation.

If a Coalition government tried to legislate its changes it is possible that either the Senate or (in the event of a minority Liberal government) the House of Representatives Opposition plus crossbench would block it. The politics of this issue are far from over."

The eye-watering visa application fee

As even the few comparable fees we noted above will demonstrate, the application fee for an Australian student visa is already an outlier at AUD$1,600. The Coalition's proposal to nearly triple that fee for Group of Eight applicants, and nearly double it for all others, would widen that already-notable competitive gap considerably.

“Australia already has the highest student visa fees in the world. The Coalition’s plan to hike it even further in this targeted way only reinforces the negative and damaging messages Australia has sent to the international education market in recent years," said Group of Eight Chief Executive Vicki Thomson. "It beggars belief that the Coalition would single out the Go8 for extra burden – Australia’s top universities all ranked in the world’s top 100 – that attract the best and brightest minds from our region and around the world."

"These moves would cost tens of thousands of Australians their jobs," adds a statement from English Australia CEO Ian Aird. "They would decimate a vital sector of the Australian economy that underpins tourism, hospitality, retail, aged-care, child-care and not to mention subsidising degrees and training for Australians."

"A student visa fee of AUD$2,500 and of AUD$5,000 for students of the largest universities would see international student numbers plummet and businesses collapse. It would cost Australia billions of dollars in export earnings and billions of dollars in local economic activity. It would damage Australia’s position in the global economy and decimate the education sector’s significant contribution to Australia’s global and regional soft diplomacy at a time when the country can least afford it.

In 2024, the Labor government increased the student visa fee by 125%. This made it the most expensive student visa in the world. As a result, applications for student visas for study in the English-language sector have fallen by 50%. A further increase of 56% to AUD$2,500 would be fatal for the English-language teaching sector. As the average enrolment is less than 20 weeks, this application charge would be utterly disproportionate.

An AUD$2,500 student visa fee represents a clear message that Australia does not welcome international students. It says Australia does not want them to come, study, travel and learn to love Australia. It says Australia does not want international students to come, train, and fill the ever-widening skills gaps that are supressing productivity in Australia. It says Australia does not value the billions of dollars international students spend to subsidise the facilities and courses that Australian students enjoy or the billions they spend in local shops and businesses around the country.

English Australia calls on the leader of the opposition and on the government to do more to protect Australian jobs. In 2023, there were approximately 250,000 Australians employed in international education in Australia. That’s more than double the number employed in iron ore, coal, and gas mining combined."

For additional background, please see:

• "Analysis shows impact of immigration settings on international tuition fees at Australian universities"
• "Australia: Impact of more restrictive visa settings reflected in latest student sentiment survey"
• "Australia and Canada: Rising to the challenge of new immigration policies"
• "Australia implements immediate doubling of student visa application fees"
• "Under pressure: How global migration and economic trends are impacting international education"