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Having failed to introduce the caps on international student numbers, the Labor government has found a new way to achieve a similar end, without going through the parliament.
Under the new policy, once a university meets the maximum number of international students required by the government, immigration staff will then slow down processing visa applications from offshore prospective students.
The policy will be enforced through a Ministerial Direction rather than a bill, meaning it doesn’t need to gain support from both the Coalition and the Greens in parliament to make it work.
Federal Financial Minister Katy Gallagher says the measure is to ensure a sustainable growth of international student numbers.
“So we have been pretty upfront about it, it will prioritise visas for students going to those regional and smaller universities, which is something that we’d wanted to do through that legislation, and it will just help us manage that international student numbers which, as we’ve said, have contributed to quite substantial growth in numbers of people coming to Australia.”
This Ministerial Direction was issued on Wednesday, after the government revoked an existing directive that sparked controversy within the education sector.
The MInisterial Direction 107, which was issued one year ago, requested immigration staff to prioritise student visa applications from lower-risk countries to institutions that were regarded as lower risk.
The Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has described the direction as a ‘de facto cap’, while Universities Australia, the peak body of the university sector, said the direction has led to huge financial impacts on regional and small universities.
Under Directive 107, there had been a decline of student visa number granted in 2023 to 2024 Financial Year, which was 60,000 visas fewer than the previous Financial Year.
Alec Webb is the CEO of Regional Universities Network.
He welcomes the government to scrap Directive 107.
“This is absolutely wonderful news for regional and smaller universities. But it’s equally wonderful news for students, who will not now be forced to decide between the university of their choice and preference, versus applying for university simply to get a visa process.”
But not everyone is happy with the new directive.
Under the new directive, the slow-down process will be triggered once the numbers of granted visas hit 80 per cent of the international student targets that the government set for each university.
VIcki Thomson is the chief executive of the Group of Eight, representing the eight elite research universities in Australia.
In a statement, she says the new directive could confuse the international student market, causing further damage to the sector.
“The Government has acknowledged that our international student visa system must be underpinned by integrity and quality. However, by replacing one flawed process with another – effectively a ‘slowdown in processing’– it has shifted the goal posts yet again. We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings. For too many potential students, it makes Australia look too hard and too unwelcoming as a higher education destination. Having set targets for each Australian university’s international enrolments for 2025, it makes no sense that prompt Government support in processing visas will only apply to 80% of that target.”
Since late 2023, the Labor government has issued nine changes to the rules about international students, followed by a proposed bill on capping international student numbers.
The bill failed to pass through the parliament in December, as both the Coalition and the Greens opposed the bill.
However, the ongoing debate around international students has sparked concerns of redundancies at universities, which heavily rely on international students as revenue.
In October, the Australian National University announced redundancies, as it faced a deficit of $200 million this year.
In a statement, Dr Alison Barnes, National President of the National Tertiary Education Union, says the federal government must guarantee no job losses as a result of the changes to international student rules.
The Coalition’s Immigration spokesman Dan Tehan has also criticised the new policy.
“Labor always makes a mess in immigration. 18 months ago, they were boasting how many visas they were issuing, now, we have over a million people arrive during a housing and rental crisis. And it’s very hard to see how this is going to make any different.”
