Australia’s bid to cap international students likely to be blocked

CANBERRA – Australia’s plan to cap international student numbers looks set to be blocked after opposition politicians decided to vote against the proposed laws, even after they had repeatedly urged cuts to migration. 

The Australian Parliament was expected to debate the legislation in the coming two weeks, the final sitting period for the year.

The government said it would limit foreign student commencements at 270,000 for 2025 under the new laws.

The plan comes as the centre-left Labor government seeks solutions to a surge in immigration and an unprecedented housing crisis ahead of a federal election due by May.

Ms Sarah Henderson, education spokeswoman for the centre-right Liberal-National coalition, said on Nov 18 that the Bill is “chaotic and confusing” and fails to address “the structural issues” the government has created.

“We cannot support measures which will only serve to compound this crisis of the government’s making. Based on their record so far, we have absolutely no confidence the government is capable of fixing its immigration mess,” she said in a statement.

The Greens Party has also rejected the proposed laws, leaving the government without the numbers in the Australian Senate to pass the legislation.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has previously said he would limit net international migration, including students, to 160,000, without specifically outlining how the numbers would be achieved.

The proposed law would bring the number of new international students across higher education and vocational training back to pre-pandemic levels, the government has said.

“You can’t talk tough on immigration and then vote against putting a limit on the number of people that come to this country every year,” Education Minister Jason Clare told Parliament on Nov 18, responding to the Opposition’s policy shift.

Speaking after the announcement, Universities Australia chief executive officer Luke Sheehy said the decision to block the law merely lengthened “a phony war blaming international students on the migration and housing issue”.

“Both sides of politics need to get real about investing in Australia’s world-class university sector that relies so much on international student revenue,” he said. BLOOMBERG