Clarity required over proposed cap on international student numbers, webinar hears

The Commonwealth Government’s proposed international university student cap risks reputational damage for Australia’s university sector, an Education Dialogue webinar hosted by the Australia-Indonesia Centre has heard.

The webinar sought to provide clarity regarding the impact of the proposed cap on Australia’s relations with Southeast Asia.

The government had hoped to pass a bill this year with the aim of limiting population growth and easing pressure on overstretched housing stocks, while also continuing to provide sufficient numbers for a viable international education sector.

Without the support of the Coalition and the Greens, however, it appears unlikely any legislation will pass the Senate this year, meaning the cap is likely to be a focus of political negotiation into 2025.

Speakers at the webinar included University of Queensland Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global Engagement Rongyu Li and International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood.

Observers were also present from the Department of Education and the University of Melbourne with AIC communications lead Helen Brown acting as moderator.

A spokesperson for the education department said students from Southeast Asia made up the nation’s third largest regional cohort and the government was seeking to increase the numbers of international students from Southeast Asia. The written responses to questions at the webinar the spokesperson said Australia would “continue to welcome international students in a way that is sustainable and reinforces a quality experience”.

“We are committed to ensuring that students who choose to study with Australian providers receive the highest quality education experience possible,” the spokesperson said.

Phil Honeywood talked about the cap in the context of the existing issue of delays in processing visa applications, drawing the comparison with Canada where universities were unable to even reach their student caps.

He also drew attention to a number of exemptions including for higher degree research students and for those on government scholarships, especially for countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines with which Australia has close relations.

He said they were “hoping the government will make good on that commitment” for a higher cap for providers delivering skills in demand such as nursing or aged care”, benefitting Southeast Asian countries.

Rongyu Li from University of Queensland and an AIC advisory board member, criticised the cap policy, describing it as “very disruptive”, “neither well considered nor thought out” and saying it risked diminishing institutional autonomy.

He also said there would be a “short implementation timeline” assuming the laws passed this year.

“It is very difficult for universities to plan ahead, both from a student planning point of view and a budgeting point of view,” said Mr Li.

“What we are struggling with actually is the uncertainty it has caused, not just for us but for students and their parents. Investing in higher education in Australia is a big deal and involves a lot of commitment.”

He said there was confusion among universities on whether or not to continue making study placement offers, agreeing with Mr Honeywood about the separate problem of visa approval delays.

“We can’t understand why we are doing so much reputational damage to the Australian international education sector when the sector has actually been very resilient and entrepreneurial by solving problems that governments found difficult to solve which is actually funding the sector adequately,” said Mr Li.

He talked of a need to “decouple” the immigration debate from education, noting that a lot of students returned home to take advantage of larger economies in the region.

“Just look at the population size in China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, you name it. They are all bigger economies and populations and more opportunities,” said Mr Li, noting students wanted not only Western qualifications but better understanding of Western culture and ways of doing business.

“In fact, you can’t find better ambassadors than these people who actually come and study and take home that friendship.”

The spokesperson for the Department of Education said they work closely “with colleagues across government to ensure clear messaging to our education partners in the [Southeast Asia] region on the reforms”.

The new system was aimed at providing confidence to education partners, students and their families, the spokesperson said, arguing that the previous “unmanaged system” presented an unacceptable risk to the quality of education received.

“The introduction of a managed system has been made to support Australia’s high quality, high integrity providers of education, to deliver students the best possible study experience.”

Click the link to view the full webinar video.

Feature image by Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra and Unplash