Australia officially caps international student intake
Australia has announced plans to limit the number of new international students it will accept.
The decision, aimed at reducing overall migration to pre-pandemic levels, will see a cap of 270,000 new enrolments for 2025.
Education Minister Jason Clare unveiled the reforms on Tuesday, acknowledging the sector's struggles during the pandemic while highlighting current concerns.
“Students are back but so are the shonks - people are seeking to exploit this industry to make a quick buck,” Mr Clare stated, addressing allegations of unethical practices within some educational institutions.
The cap will be implemented across different education providers, with public universities limited to 145,000 new international students, private universities and non-university higher education providers allowed 30,000, and vocational education and training institutions restricted to 95,000.
Mr Clare emphasised the need for reform, stating, “These reforms are designed to make it better and fairer, and set it up on a more sustainable footing going forward.”
The government aims to tackle issues such as poor education standards, exploitation of students, and the acceptance of students with inadequate language skills.
However, the announcement has been met with fierce opposition from the tertiary education industry.
Vicki Thomson, representing some of Australia's most prestigious universities, described the proposed laws as “draconian” and “interventionist”, going as far as to label them “economic vandalism”.
The economic implications of the decision are significant.
International education contributed A$36.4 billion to the Australian economy in 2022-23, making it the country's fourth-largest export.
Economic modelling commissioned by Sydney University suggests the cuts could cost the economy $4.1 billion and result in about 22,000 job losses in 2025.
Despite these concerns, Mr Clare defended the decision: “To create the impression that this is somehow tearing down international education is absolutely and fundamentally wrong.”
He maintained that while some providers may face difficult budget decisions, the cap would not cripple the industry.
The government’s stance is clear: the reforms are necessary to address Australia’s record migration levels and the associated pressure on housing and infrastructure.
The cap is part of a broader strategy that includes tougher English-language requirements for international students and increased scrutiny of second study visa applications.
If you are interested in letting your property to students, accommodationforstudents.com is the no.1 student accommodation service in the UK.
