SINGAPORE: The Australian federal government will use a legal workaround to limit international student numbers, local media reported on Thursday (Dec 19), after a previous plan received pushback from opposition lawmakers.
The ruling Labor Party had earlier this year put forward a Bill that would have given the education minister the power to restrict international student numbers, but the Bill was opposed by the Coalition and Greens.
Under the workaround, immigration officials will give high priority to student visa applications until thresholds for education providers set by the government are met, after which visa processing will fall to a standard priority level, ABC News reported on Thursday.
Applications at this level will be processed at a slower pace.
The thresholds amount to 80 per cent of the caps the federal government had wanted to impose on education providers, though the government said that the thresholds were not intended to be taken as hard limits or caps on the total number of visas granted to providers, ABC News added.
International education is one of Australia’s largest export industries, but polls have shown that voters are concerned about large influxes of foreign students and workers putting excess pressure on the housing market.
Australia boosted its annual migration numbers in 2022 to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic brought strict border controls, and kept foreign students and workers out for nearly two years.
Migration – driven by students from India, China and the Philippines – has expanded labour supply and restrained wage pressures, but exacerbated an already tight housing market.
Labor had hoped to bring temporary migration numbers back to pre-pandemic levels by limiting the number of international students starting to study in Australia next year.
Both Labor and the Coalition, Australia’s opposition, have said that they want to lower net overseas migration.
The new directive replaces an earlier direction that forced immigration officials to prioritise applications from foreign students with offers from institutions considered low-risk, which has been criticised by regional universities, ABC News said.
According to ABC News, about 60,000 fewer higher education visas were granted in the 2023 to 2024 financial year compared to the preceding financial year.