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The decision, impacting universities and vocational courses, comes as public concern grows over housing pressures. International education, a major export, contributed $24.7 billion to Australia’s economy last year read more
 "Australia caps foreign student intake at 270,000 as migration crackdown tightens")
Australia is set to limit foreign student intake as it looks to reign in rental housing price surge due to immigration. Representation image/Pixabay
Australia announced Tuesday (August 27) it will limit the number of new international students enrolling in 2025 to 270,000, as part of government efforts to control record migration that has contributed to rising home rental prices.
The decision comes after a series of measures to reverse COVID-era concessions for foreign students and workers that were introduced to support local businesses during strict border closures. These concessions had allowed an increase in the number of international students in the country.
“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,” Education Minister Jason Clare told a press conference.
Impact on universities
Under the new cap, universities will be allowed to enroll 145,000 new international students, a figure consistent with 2023 levels, while practical and skills-based courses will be capped at 95,000.
The government will notify universities of their specific enrollment limits, Clare added.
Universities Australia, the peak body for the nation’s universities, expressed concern that the cap would significantly impact the sector.
“We acknowledge the government’s right to control migration numbers, but this should not be done at the expense of any one sector, particularly one as economically important as education,” said Universities Australia Chair Professor David Lloyd in a statement.
Australia’s fourth-largest export
International education is Australia’s fourth-largest export, following iron ore, gas, and coal, contributing $24.7 billion to the economy in the 2022-2023 financial year.
However, public opinion has increasingly linked the influx of foreign students and workers to pressure on the housing market, making immigration a potentially contentious issue in the upcoming national election, less than a year away.
Indian, Chinese, and Filipino students to be affected
Australia’s net immigration reached a record high in the year ending September 30, 2023, with a 60 per cent surge to 548,800, largely driven by students from India, China, and the Philippines. This figure surpassed the 518,000 people recorded in the year ending June 2023.
In response to the migration surge, the government last month more than doubled the visa fees for foreign students and pledged to close loopholes that allowed students to extend their stays indefinitely.
With inputs from Reuters
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English (US) ·