Australia Limits Foreign Student Enrolments

✨ Major Changes to Australia’s Student Visa Policy!

The Australian government has announced a cap on international student admissions, limiting the number of new students to 270,000 in 2025.
This move aims to curb immigration and ease the country’s housing crisis, but it has sparked heated debate in the education sector.

Many Australian universities argue that the policy could lead to major economic losses and tens of thousands of job cuts.
On the other hand, the Department of Education defends the decision, saying it’s necessary to maintain the quality of education.

So what does this mean for international students? And what are both sides really saying?

👇 Scroll down to find out more!

Policy Background：

  • As the COVID-19 pandemic eased, the Australian government introduced more favorable immigration policies, aiming to support local businesses by helping them recruit foreign workers in response to ongoing labor shortages.
  • Since the pandemic, the number of international university students in Australia has grown by 10%, while vocational education students have surged by 50%.
  • By September 2023, net migration had reached a record high of 548,800 people, mainly students from India, China, and the Philippines.
  • This sudden influx of foreign workers and students has intensified pressure on the housing rental market, contributing to a rising number of homeless individuals across the country.
  • The government has also expressed concern over unethical practices by certain education providers, such as admitting students with insufficient language skills, offering poor quality education, or targeting students who are more interested in working than studying.
  • With a federal election less than a year away, immigration is shaping up to be one of the key battleground issues.

Quota Allocation

Each higher education institution will be given a specific cap on the number of new international student admissions.

  • Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers will face the largest cuts. The number of new international students allowed to enroll in public universities will be reduced to 145,000.
  • Private universities and non-university higher education providers will be permitted to admit up to 30,000 new international students.
  • VET institutions will have their intake capped at 95,000 students.

The government will inform each university of its specific enrollment limit.

Other Measures

  • Stricter English language requirements for international students, along with tighter scrutiny of those applying to extend their student visas.

  • A substantial increase in student visa fees, more than doubling in July 2025 from AUD 710 to AUD 1,600.

  • Crackdowns on hundreds of “non compliant” education providers, targeting institutions with poor practices or low academic standards.

  • Encouraging universities to offer adequate housing for international students to address accommodation shortages.

  • A new specialist visa for highly skilled workers will be introduced, with a fast-tracked processing time of just one week, to help businesses attract top global talent amid intense international competition.

Updated Visa Criteria

Starting in 2024, applicants for Australian student visas must continue to provide a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and, where applicable, Welfare Arrangements. However, they now also need to meet stricter English language requirements and undergo assessment under the new Genuine Student (GS) criteria, which have replaced the previous Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) standard.

English Language Requirements

  • CAE (Cambridge English: Advanced): Minimum score of 169

  • IELTS (Academic): Overall band score of 6.0 or above

  • PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English): Minimum score of 50

  • TOEFL iBT: Total score of 64 or higher

Important Notice

  • Test results must be from within the last two years at the time of application.

  • The following test formats are not accepted:

    • TOEFL iBT – Home Edition

    • Computer-based Cambridge C1 Advanced test

    • PTE Academic Online

    • IELTS Online

    • IELTS Indicator

  • TOEFL scores obtained between July 26, 2023, and May 4, 2024, will not be accepted under current Australian student visa application rules.

Genuine Student Requirements

New Screening Requirement Introduced in March 2024

  • Applicants must demonstrate that studying in Australia is their primary purpose for applying for a student visa.

As part of the application, they are required to provide detailed information about:

  • their family, financial, and employment background,

  • their understanding of the course they plan to study in Australia, and

  • their motivation for choosing to study in Australia.

⚠️ General statements without supporting evidence will not be considered valid in this assessment. Applicants must submit relevant supporting documents to back up their claims.

Response from the Education Sector

International education is Australia’s fourth-largest export industry after iron ore, natural gas, and coal, contributing approximately AUD 36.4 billion to the economy in 2022-2023.

The University of Sydney, where international students make up about half of the total student population, commissioned an economic model predicting that these new restrictions could cause an economic loss of around AUD 4.1 billion in 2025 and result in the loss of approximately 22,000 jobs.

Higher education institutions have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the policy. Some universities have labeled it as an “economic sabotage,” fearing serious negative impacts on both the education sector and the broader economy.

Many institutions feel they are being made the “scapegoats” for housing and immigration issues and worry that the policy will deal a severe blow to the industry.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne stated,
“Restrictions on international students will have adverse effects on our university, the entire higher education sector, and the country’s future over the coming years.”

 

Government Position

Australia’s Minister for Education, Jason Clare, has denied that the new restrictions will destroy the education industry. He emphasized that these reforms are designed to improve education quality and ensure the integrity and sustainability of Australia’s international education sector.

 

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