The Australian government has hiked the fees for international students, officials said on Monday.

The new fee hike will be implemented from July 1.

The fees have been increased from AUD 710 (USD 473) to AUD 1,600 (USD 1,068).

Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil said: “When we came to government we inherited a migration system that was broken and dysfunctional, and an international education system which was being compromised by rorts and exploitation.”

“Reform was essential, after a decade of neglect under the former government,” the Minister said.

The Minister said the implementation will make Australia’s migration system ‘fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia’.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles, said: “Our reforms will help vulnerable workers speak up, while we crack down on employers doing the wrong thing. We’re getting on with the job of delivering higher wages for skilled migrants and Australians after a decade of the former Liberal Government deliberately keeping wages low.”