Australia intends to cap the number of new overseas students it accepts starting in the next year as part of its efforts to return overall migration to pre-pandemic levels.
Introducing the policy changes, Education Minister Jason Clare said, “New international student numbers for university, higher education, and vocational training will be limited to 270,000 in 2025”
“It will mean that some universities will have more students this year than next year. Others will have less,” Clare added further.
Official data indicates that in 2023, overseas students gave Australian universities and Vocational Education Centers around AU$42 billion (US$28 billion). Over 577,000 student visas were granted to foreign people by Australian authorities for the fiscal year that concluded on June 30, 2023.
The Ministry of Education emphasized that this would equate to the same number of foreign students enrolling in classes the next year as there were before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Here is the breakdown for 2025
145,000 new foreign students for universities
30,000 for other higher education providers
95,000 for vocational education and training
The government data from early 2024 cites, Australia is currently hosting 717,500 international students
Clare stated that although higher education was severely impacted by the pandemic, with Australia sending overseas students home and enforcing tight border controls, the number of international students attending universities has increased by 10% since COVID-19, while the number attending private vocational and training institutions has increased by 50%.
“Students are back but so are the shonks – people are seeking to exploit this industry to make a quick buck,” he added.
Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, declared this month that the sector was “absolutely vital” to Australia.
However, he stated that because of the potential effects of migration, colleges shouldn’t depend too much on international students.
According to official estimates, net migration to Australia increased by 26.3 percent in calendar 2023 to 547,300, with 204,200 individuals leaving and 751,500 arriving.
(With inputs from the BBC and agencies)