According to Australia’s Education Minister, Jason Clare, caps on international student enrolments will be calculated over the coming months. Clare stated, “I’m expecting the focus here and the work that we’ll do will take place over the next three months to set what those caps are, but the focus will be on the caps for the institutions rather than the courses.”
In May, it was suggested that Clare introduce a cap on the maximum number of international student enrollments at any institution as part of a new international education and skills strategic framework. This move was even reiterated in the Australian budget for 2024–25.
Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Skills and Training, emphasised that the main aim of this legislation and draft framework is to eliminate dodgy operators. Some institutions have been advocating for such a system, considering the ‘uneven’ nature of the sector.
Clare described the unregulated system of international education in Australia. He noted that while there is effectively a cap on funding for domestic students, this system does not apply to international students. Further, he argued, “If we regulate the number of Australian students, we should do that also for international students.”
This move aims to maintain the social license for this important export. Clare mentioned that there are currently 10% more international students in universities and 50% more in vocational institutions than before the pandemic. He noted a significant increase not only in universities but also in VET (vocational education and training).
However, stakeholders in the VET sector have criticised this stance, arguing that politicians are poorly briefing the media on VET enrollments. Troy Williams, Chief Executive of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia, called the government’s migration strategy “highly problematic” for the VET sector. Moreover, he claims that it “ignores the high-quality skills training outcomes that the majority of international students in Australia receive.”
The strategy highlighted evidence that graduate visa holders return to study after visa expiration, using VET courses to remain in Australia.
