With just a few months to go until Australia’s federal election, though the exact date remains uncertain, Opposition Senator Sarah Henderson took the stage in Canberra and addressed university leaders at the Universities Australia Solutions Summit.
Henderson emphasized the party’s stance that “Australian students must come first.” She reminded the attendees of party leader Peter Dutton’s pledge to impose stricter caps on international students than those sought by the current government.
According to Henderson, these caps would focus on “the excessive number of foreign students in metropolitan cities, especially Melbourne and Sydney, where two-thirds of foreign students live and study.”
She told the universities, “But our approach will ensure you have long-term certainty, supported by proper consultation, with special consideration given to regions where foreign students are crucial to the local economy.”
During the Senate hearings in 2024, Henderson was a vocal critic of the government. The Albanese government was trying to pass legislation to cap international student enrollments at the provider level. However, the bill was blocked by the Coalition, which claimed it didn’t go far enough to reduce the number of international students and is still pending in the Senate.
Henderson said, “In the two years since I first addressed your summit, we expected some bumps along the way. But this has been a wild ride. I don’t think anyone could have imagined what was to come – the Albanese government struggling from crisis to crisis, leaving higher education providers in great turmoil.”
“Regrettably, the government opened the floodgates to a record number of international students, fueling the housing crisis, and then introduced a botched student cap policy, which has truly damaged regional universities.”
Henderson pointed out that the number of international students in Australia has reached a record 849,000, an 8.3% increase since December 2023, and warned of the growing pressure on housing, infrastructure, and services. However, research suggests that international students are unfairly blamed for the country’s housing crisis.
She continued, “The uncontrolled surge in international students is a direct result of the Labor Party’s ‘Big Australia’ policy – an immigration mess.” She also mentioned, “This, of course, is bringing in huge revenues for some of the Group of Eight universities, but regional universities are still suffering from Ministerial Direction 107 and now 111.” She was referring to the new visa processing directive, Ministerial Direction 111, which replaced MD 107 in December.
A day earlier, Education Minister Jason Clare defended MD 111 at the conference. Under this directive, department officials prioritize student visas for each provider until they reach 80% of their cap figure, also known as their net overseas student commencement number. These numbers were determined under the government’s thwarted National Planning Level for 2025.
Henderson said, “At one of the Group of Eight universities, foreign student revenue reached $1.45 billion in 2023, and international students make up 50% of the total student population. The proportion of foreign students is often much higher in postgraduate courses.”
She added, “For too long, universities have relied on a business model that has brought them staggering revenues, but this model is neither sustainable nor in line with the expectations of the Australian community. We need to strike the right balance. Every country has the responsibility to manage its migration program in the national interest.”
On the same day Henderson addressed the universities, Luke Sheehy, the CEO of Universities Australia, reminded parliamentarians at the National Press Club of Australia that international education is Australia’s largest export industry outside of mining.
He said, “This is an additive industry, not an extractive one. It funds essential services, supports 250,000 jobs, funds vital university research, and crucially, it subsidizes the education of Australian students.”
“This means Australian taxpayers pay less. That’s why it’s crazy to even think about curtailing it.”
“Let’s also not forget what international students contribute to our workforce and our communities. They work in the hospitality, retail, tourism, and health sectors while they study. And they strengthen Australia’s cultural fabric and links to the outside world.”
Sheehy pointed out that the Reserve Bank of Australia recently warned that federal policies to limit international students are weakening education exports.
He said, “International education should be above politics. Yet, we’re told that all of this is worth less than a few votes at the ballot box. That’s a very bitter pill to swallow.”
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