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Posted: 2024-08-06 07:20:49

In short:

The chief executive of Universities Australia has warned that a fall in international student numbers could lead to up to 14,000 job losses in the university sector. 

University peak bodies have also criticised the government's plans to introduce limits on the number of international students able to study in Australia, describing it as "ministerial overreach". 

What's next?

The government is yet to finalise the details of a cap on the number of international students enrolled in Australian higher education, which it plans to introduce on January 1. 

Up to 14,000 workers could lose their jobs if the number of international students arriving in Australia continues to fall, the peak body for universities has warned.

The government is pushing ahead with its contentious plan to cap the number of international students enrolled in Australian universities from January 1, but says it is yet to finalise what that limit will be.

Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy told a Senate inquiry on Tuesday that the number of student visas being granted had already dropped by 23 per cent — or almost 60,000 students — over the past year.

He said the impact of 60,000 fewer international students arriving in Australia, according to recent data from Home Affairs, would represent a $4.3 billion hit to the economy and possibly tens of thousands of job losses.

Even without the introduction of international student number limits, Mr Sheehy accused the government of taking a "sledgehammer to the international education sector".

He attributed the drop in student visa grants largely to Ministerial Direction 107, which was handed down in December in a bid to streamline student visa applications. 

The direction slowed visa processing and led to a "spike in visa cancellations for many universities", he told the inquiry.

Almost 376,731 student visas were granted in this financial year to June 30, according to Department of Home Affairs data. 

Plans to cap students under fire 

The inquiry is examining a bill that would grant the minister powers to limit the enrolment of overseas students by provider, course, or location and pause the registration of new providers or courses. 

If it passes, the government will set limits on international students at every university, higher education and vocational education provider that educates an international student.

But on Tuesday a spokesperson for Education Minister Jason Clare rejected media reports that the government planned to set the cap on international students to 40 per cent of the student body, based on 2019 figures, stating that they had "not finalised the proposed limits for international education providers".

Independent Higher Education Australia's chief executive Peter Hendy told the inquiry that the 40 per cent figure was "very, very similar" to the information he had heard but that he had not had any detailed discussions with the government.

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