Starting next year, the number of international students allowed to begin studies at Australian universities and vocational training providers will be capped and the number of visas issued to this group of foreigners will be limited.
The federal government’s proposed reform aims to limit new international student commencements to 270,000 for 2025, VisaGuide.World reports.
The cap, formally referred to as the National Planning Level (NPL) on international student enrollments, will be allocated across institutions, distinguishing between higher education and vocational training sectors.
Now students are back. There’s about ten percent more international students in our universities today than before the pandemic and about 50 percent more in our private vocational and training providers.
Australia Reduces International Student Quota
According to government data, the cap will result in approximately 145,000 new students for public universities and about 95,000 for vocational institutions. This new cap is around 7,000 fewer than pre-pandemic levels and 53,000 below the previous year.
The caps are based on 2019 enrollment figures, with adjustments for institutions that grew between 2019 and 2023. Universities with high concentrations of international students will face stricter growth limits.
Otherwise, about 30,000 of the student spaces available under the cap will be given to other universities and non-university providers and about 95,000 will go to the VET sector.
Exempt Categories From Student Cap
As the government further explained, certain sectors that are excluded from the NPL include:
- Schools
- Higher degree research programs
- Standalone English-language providers (ELICOS)
- Non-award programs
Figures provided by the Department of Home Affairs also showed that the number of student visas granted in the most recent financial year was already down by 60,000 compared to 2023.
Universities Australia Chair, Professor David Lloyd, noted that visa grants for higher education have dropped by 23 percent compared to last year, resulting in a $4.3 billion economic loss and risking 14,000 jobs in the sector.
Additionally, the government has increased visa processing fees from $710 to $1,600, the largest hike in five years. Recent migration changes have already reduced offshore demand for vocational education, and further changes later this year are expected to impact permanent migration opportunities for international students.
In this regard, Australian authorities recently said such a decision may push potential students toward competing destinations. An IDP survey of 1,400 students found that one in three considered visa costs in their choice of study location. Specifically, 40 percent of prospective students from the Philippines and Malaysia indicated they might exclude Australia from their study destinations due to the higher visa fees.