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Australia has announced a cap on international student enrolment at 270,000 for 2025, as part of the government‘s efforts to manage record migration levels that have contributed to a surge in home rental prices.
This decision follows a series of measures implemented since last year to end Covid-era concessions for foreign students and workers in Australia.These concessions had previously helped businesses recruit staff locally while strict border controls prevented overseas workers from entering the country.
Education minister Jason Clare said in a press conference, “There’s about 10 per cent more international students in our universities today than before the pandemic and about 50 per cent more in our private vocational and training providers.” Clare said that the reforms aim to make the international student sector better and fairer, setting it up on a more sustainable footing for the future.
International education is a significant export industry for Australia, contributing A$36.4 billion ($24.7 billion) to the economy in the financial year 2022-2023. However, polls have indicated that voters are concerned about large influxes of foreign students and workers putting excessive pressure on the housing market, making immigration a potential major battleground in the upcoming election, which is less than a year away.
Net immigration in Australia reached a record high in the year ending September 30, 2023, increasing by 60 per cent to 548,800. This surge in migration, driven by students from India, China, and the Philippines, has expanded the labour supply and restrained wage pressures, but it has also exacerbated an already tight housing market.
To contain the surge in migration, the government recently more than doubled the visa fee for foreign students and pledged to close loopholes in rules that allowed them to continuously extend their stay.
This decision follows a series of measures implemented since last year to end Covid-era concessions for foreign students and workers in Australia.These concessions had previously helped businesses recruit staff locally while strict border controls prevented overseas workers from entering the country.
Education minister Jason Clare said in a press conference, “There’s about 10 per cent more international students in our universities today than before the pandemic and about 50 per cent more in our private vocational and training providers.” Clare said that the reforms aim to make the international student sector better and fairer, setting it up on a more sustainable footing for the future.
International education is a significant export industry for Australia, contributing A$36.4 billion ($24.7 billion) to the economy in the financial year 2022-2023. However, polls have indicated that voters are concerned about large influxes of foreign students and workers putting excessive pressure on the housing market, making immigration a potential major battleground in the upcoming election, which is less than a year away.
Net immigration in Australia reached a record high in the year ending September 30, 2023, increasing by 60 per cent to 548,800. This surge in migration, driven by students from India, China, and the Philippines, has expanded the labour supply and restrained wage pressures, but it has also exacerbated an already tight housing market.
To contain the surge in migration, the government recently more than doubled the visa fee for foreign students and pledged to close loopholes in rules that allowed them to continuously extend their stay.
