Albanese government aims to halve migrant intake with new strategy
Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Australia hopes to welcome more students from South East Asia. 'This government remains committed to sensibly managing the size and shape of the on-shore student market and supporting sustainable growth, especially to welcome more students from South East Asia and where accompanied by new housing. We want students to see Australia as a premium destination where they can access high-quality education and a great student experience.'
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government is working with universities to expand student accommodation, amid concerns that the arrivals of huge numbers of foreign students into the general rental market was pushing up prices to exorbitant levels. 'We are making sure student visa processing supports genuine education outcomes and our strategic priorities - including increasing provision of student accommodation.' Despite the government's assurances, critics argue that many international students are not coming solely for education, but are instead using student visas as a stepping stone to permanent residency.
Labor a year ago proposed capping new international student enrolments for 2025 at 270,000, only to face Senate opposition, but it is now proposing a 295,000 cap. Parliament is more likely to rubber-stampe this hike, given the government's super majority in the House of Representatives and pro-migration Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate. In the year to May, 794,113 international students were enrolled in education across the country, with education now Australia's biggest services export and the fourth biggest export after iron ore, coal and natural gas.
While China still leads in international student numbers at 167,147, India and Nepal have seen significant increases, moving into second and third spots with 123,456 and 57,048 students, respectively. A new Reserve Bank report found that the soaring number of international students was putting pressure on the housing market during a time of high construction costs. 'The number of international students onshore is still near record highs, and student visa arrivals have exceeded departures in recent months, suggesting the number of students onshore is growing,' it said. 'In the face of a relatively fixed supply of housing in the short term, we would expect an increase in international students to put upward pressure on rental demand and rents (all else equal),' the report said. 'Capacity constraints, high costs in the construction sector and low levels of building approvals relative to the population may mean the housing supply response could be slower to materialise compared with in the past.'
Leith Van Onselen (pictured), a former Treasury economist, highlighted a survey by Allianz Partners Australia found that 68.4 per cent of international students plan to stay in Australia long-term. 'Students from South Asia and Africa choose a study destination based on their capacity to gain job rights, a low-cost course, and permanent residency,' Mr Van Onselen said. 'With the exception of students from China and Europe, all source nations placed a high value on the potential to work while studying and post-study employment opportunities. 'It should be no surprise, then, that Australia has witnessed the greatest increase in student numbers from nations that rely on paid employment. Indian students and migration agents celebrated Labor's federal election victory because they know that it means easier entry into Australia. Australia's policymakers and media should drop the charade and acknowledge that international education is an immigration racket.'
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show in the year to May, 1.1million permanent and long-term arrivals hit Australian shores, including international students and skilled workers. In cities soaking up the bulk of the arrivals like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and increasingly Brisbane, the competition for rentals is fierce, sending rents and house prices soaring. Australian Population Research Institute president Bob Birrell blamed the housing crisis on record overseas migration, which meant working Australians were being pushed out of the market, unable to buy or rent. 'The Albanese government is completely irresponsible on this issue,' he said. 'They have neglected it ever since they got back into power in 2022, they've just let immigration rip. We've had enormous levels of migrants, which is just unprecedented, and irresponsible in the context of the housing crisis.'
Dr Birrell said part of the problem is the skilled migration program recruits hardly any tradespeople, especially for the beleaguered building industry. 'Migration is not adding to the supply of those important trades at all,' he said. 'Although a lot of temporary migrants who are adrift in Melbourne and Sydney would probably like to take up an apprenticeship in these areas, they can't, because they're temporaries.' Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie said the Albanese government had created a system so perverse doctors were living in share houses and nurses were sleeping in their cars. 'The Great Australian Dream is now mathematically impossible for the average Australian,' he said. 'In Sydney it now takes 46 years just to save a house deposit. Think about that, for a child born in Sydney today, their retirement party will come before they've saved enough for a house deposit.'
Mr Barrie said the housing crisis had been 'engineered' by the government which has flooded the country with the largest immigration wave in history. 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow nearly one million international student enrolments? 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow 2.46million people on temporary visas into a country of 27million when there's only 36,000 rental vacancies?'
One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said Australian cities were full, housing is unaffordable, and services are stretched to breaking point. She said One Nation will cut permanent and temporary migration and restore the population to a level the country can support. 'This isn't extreme. It's common sense,' she said. 'Mass migration must stop. The system is broken. Let's fix it and give our people the chance to thrive.'
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