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The Advertiser
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
As international student numbers fall, we must ask ourselves an important question
The latest international student data from Australia's Department of Education paints an increasingly grim scenario for the international education sector due to a steep decline in the number of new students. The Department's data compares the number of new students from April 2024 to April 2025, with many sectors recording massive falls in numbers including, English language (ELICOS) (down 49 per cent) VET (down 67 per cent) and school (down 23 per cent), while the higher education sector is only down 2 per cent. The Department's data also shows that the desire for diversity, cited in the 2021 to 2030 Australian Strategy for International Education, is not being fulfilled, with 57 per cent of all international students coming from just five source countries - China (23 per cent), India (17 per cent), Nepal (8 per cent), Vietnam (5 per cent) and Philippines (4 per cent). Indeed, many cohorts have had their numbers slashed, including those from Latin America. The number of visa grants for English studies has halved from 35,596 to 17,999 between August and December 2024, with Colombia hardest hit, numbers falling from 24.9 per cent to 8.5 per cent of visas granted. Another concerning trend revealed in the Education Department's latest data release is that in both higher education and VET, the most popular courses are in management and commerce. While this area of study is likely very useful for students who are returning to their home country, it's hardly an area where Australia is facing pressing skills shortages. With visa refusals continuing en masse both offshore and onshore, the Administrative Review Tribunal, already at capacity, now has about 100,000 pending cases, 34,000 of these being student visa refusals. This begs a fundamental question for the international education sector now, which is: What constitutes a genuine student? This is where the issue lies and what many in the sector are waiting to have fully clarified by the government, since it is upon this definition that refusals are based, many quite subjectively. Should we be permitting only those who have the obvious skill sets to fill skills shortages in Australia to enter, or to study in these areas, only if they have previous experience and studies that are relevant? Or should we also be encouraging those who wish to study business or marketing at VET level just to have an experience of studying outside of their countries, to then go back home and spread the message of what a great country Australia is, otherwise known as "soft diplomacy"? The reality is that Home Affairs visa processing officers don't seem to clearly know what the government's objective is currently. We are seeing decisions made that leave qualified engineers, architects and would-be tradies, who could help solve the country's housing crisis, either appealing their visa rejection or simply giving up and going home or to an alternate study destination. Recently, I spoke with some students from Colombia, many of whom had their visas refused. Some were well-qualified engineers who could have ably assisted in addressing the urgent and growing shortage of engineers in the country. They simply can't understand why their visas were refused, and believe a marked increase in the number of people applying for protection visas from Colombia and other Latin American countries could be unfairly impacting their chances, as legitimate and qualified students, of having their study visas approved. In the meantime, we keep hearing of good quality education providers in both the English and VET sectors, collapsing, one after another, while poor quality operators continue to thrive under the radar. When you go nuclear, you get left with the cockroaches. Yes, a clean-up of the sector is necessary, but at this point we are risking severe economic consequences - job losses amongst Australians, 240,000 of whom have been employed in the sector, and reputational challenges where Australia is not seen as the once friendly country it was. The government may well be pleased with the dramatic reduction in student numbers, but there will be significant unintended consequences of this policy in the coming years. Decisive action needs to be taken, and now, before it's too late and we are left as we were after two years of border closures, with the country crying out for skilled workers and both businesses and the economy reeling from the impact. The latest international student data from Australia's Department of Education paints an increasingly grim scenario for the international education sector due to a steep decline in the number of new students. The Department's data compares the number of new students from April 2024 to April 2025, with many sectors recording massive falls in numbers including, English language (ELICOS) (down 49 per cent) VET (down 67 per cent) and school (down 23 per cent), while the higher education sector is only down 2 per cent. The Department's data also shows that the desire for diversity, cited in the 2021 to 2030 Australian Strategy for International Education, is not being fulfilled, with 57 per cent of all international students coming from just five source countries - China (23 per cent), India (17 per cent), Nepal (8 per cent), Vietnam (5 per cent) and Philippines (4 per cent). Indeed, many cohorts have had their numbers slashed, including those from Latin America. The number of visa grants for English studies has halved from 35,596 to 17,999 between August and December 2024, with Colombia hardest hit, numbers falling from 24.9 per cent to 8.5 per cent of visas granted. Another concerning trend revealed in the Education Department's latest data release is that in both higher education and VET, the most popular courses are in management and commerce. While this area of study is likely very useful for students who are returning to their home country, it's hardly an area where Australia is facing pressing skills shortages. With visa refusals continuing en masse both offshore and onshore, the Administrative Review Tribunal, already at capacity, now has about 100,000 pending cases, 34,000 of these being student visa refusals. This begs a fundamental question for the international education sector now, which is: What constitutes a genuine student? This is where the issue lies and what many in the sector are waiting to have fully clarified by the government, since it is upon this definition that refusals are based, many quite subjectively. Should we be permitting only those who have the obvious skill sets to fill skills shortages in Australia to enter, or to study in these areas, only if they have previous experience and studies that are relevant? Or should we also be encouraging those who wish to study business or marketing at VET level just to have an experience of studying outside of their countries, to then go back home and spread the message of what a great country Australia is, otherwise known as "soft diplomacy"? The reality is that Home Affairs visa processing officers don't seem to clearly know what the government's objective is currently. We are seeing decisions made that leave qualified engineers, architects and would-be tradies, who could help solve the country's housing crisis, either appealing their visa rejection or simply giving up and going home or to an alternate study destination. Recently, I spoke with some students from Colombia, many of whom had their visas refused. Some were well-qualified engineers who could have ably assisted in addressing the urgent and growing shortage of engineers in the country. They simply can't understand why their visas were refused, and believe a marked increase in the number of people applying for protection visas from Colombia and other Latin American countries could be unfairly impacting their chances, as legitimate and qualified students, of having their study visas approved. In the meantime, we keep hearing of good quality education providers in both the English and VET sectors, collapsing, one after another, while poor quality operators continue to thrive under the radar. When you go nuclear, you get left with the cockroaches. Yes, a clean-up of the sector is necessary, but at this point we are risking severe economic consequences - job losses amongst Australians, 240,000 of whom have been employed in the sector, and reputational challenges where Australia is not seen as the once friendly country it was. The government may well be pleased with the dramatic reduction in student numbers, but there will be significant unintended consequences of this policy in the coming years. Decisive action needs to be taken, and now, before it's too late and we are left as we were after two years of border closures, with the country crying out for skilled workers and both businesses and the economy reeling from the impact. The latest international student data from Australia's Department of Education paints an increasingly grim scenario for the international education sector due to a steep decline in the number of new students. The Department's data compares the number of new students from April 2024 to April 2025, with many sectors recording massive falls in numbers including, English language (ELICOS) (down 49 per cent) VET (down 67 per cent) and school (down 23 per cent), while the higher education sector is only down 2 per cent. The Department's data also shows that the desire for diversity, cited in the 2021 to 2030 Australian Strategy for International Education, is not being fulfilled, with 57 per cent of all international students coming from just five source countries - China (23 per cent), India (17 per cent), Nepal (8 per cent), Vietnam (5 per cent) and Philippines (4 per cent). Indeed, many cohorts have had their numbers slashed, including those from Latin America. The number of visa grants for English studies has halved from 35,596 to 17,999 between August and December 2024, with Colombia hardest hit, numbers falling from 24.9 per cent to 8.5 per cent of visas granted. Another concerning trend revealed in the Education Department's latest data release is that in both higher education and VET, the most popular courses are in management and commerce. While this area of study is likely very useful for students who are returning to their home country, it's hardly an area where Australia is facing pressing skills shortages. With visa refusals continuing en masse both offshore and onshore, the Administrative Review Tribunal, already at capacity, now has about 100,000 pending cases, 34,000 of these being student visa refusals. This begs a fundamental question for the international education sector now, which is: What constitutes a genuine student? This is where the issue lies and what many in the sector are waiting to have fully clarified by the government, since it is upon this definition that refusals are based, many quite subjectively. Should we be permitting only those who have the obvious skill sets to fill skills shortages in Australia to enter, or to study in these areas, only if they have previous experience and studies that are relevant? Or should we also be encouraging those who wish to study business or marketing at VET level just to have an experience of studying outside of their countries, to then go back home and spread the message of what a great country Australia is, otherwise known as "soft diplomacy"? The reality is that Home Affairs visa processing officers don't seem to clearly know what the government's objective is currently. We are seeing decisions made that leave qualified engineers, architects and would-be tradies, who could help solve the country's housing crisis, either appealing their visa rejection or simply giving up and going home or to an alternate study destination. Recently, I spoke with some students from Colombia, many of whom had their visas refused. Some were well-qualified engineers who could have ably assisted in addressing the urgent and growing shortage of engineers in the country. They simply can't understand why their visas were refused, and believe a marked increase in the number of people applying for protection visas from Colombia and other Latin American countries could be unfairly impacting their chances, as legitimate and qualified students, of having their study visas approved. In the meantime, we keep hearing of good quality education providers in both the English and VET sectors, collapsing, one after another, while poor quality operators continue to thrive under the radar. When you go nuclear, you get left with the cockroaches. Yes, a clean-up of the sector is necessary, but at this point we are risking severe economic consequences - job losses amongst Australians, 240,000 of whom have been employed in the sector, and reputational challenges where Australia is not seen as the once friendly country it was. The government may well be pleased with the dramatic reduction in student numbers, but there will be significant unintended consequences of this policy in the coming years. Decisive action needs to be taken, and now, before it's too late and we are left as we were after two years of border closures, with the country crying out for skilled workers and both businesses and the economy reeling from the impact. The latest international student data from Australia's Department of Education paints an increasingly grim scenario for the international education sector due to a steep decline in the number of new students. The Department's data compares the number of new students from April 2024 to April 2025, with many sectors recording massive falls in numbers including, English language (ELICOS) (down 49 per cent) VET (down 67 per cent) and school (down 23 per cent), while the higher education sector is only down 2 per cent. The Department's data also shows that the desire for diversity, cited in the 2021 to 2030 Australian Strategy for International Education, is not being fulfilled, with 57 per cent of all international students coming from just five source countries - China (23 per cent), India (17 per cent), Nepal (8 per cent), Vietnam (5 per cent) and Philippines (4 per cent). Indeed, many cohorts have had their numbers slashed, including those from Latin America. The number of visa grants for English studies has halved from 35,596 to 17,999 between August and December 2024, with Colombia hardest hit, numbers falling from 24.9 per cent to 8.5 per cent of visas granted. Another concerning trend revealed in the Education Department's latest data release is that in both higher education and VET, the most popular courses are in management and commerce. While this area of study is likely very useful for students who are returning to their home country, it's hardly an area where Australia is facing pressing skills shortages. With visa refusals continuing en masse both offshore and onshore, the Administrative Review Tribunal, already at capacity, now has about 100,000 pending cases, 34,000 of these being student visa refusals. This begs a fundamental question for the international education sector now, which is: What constitutes a genuine student? This is where the issue lies and what many in the sector are waiting to have fully clarified by the government, since it is upon this definition that refusals are based, many quite subjectively. Should we be permitting only those who have the obvious skill sets to fill skills shortages in Australia to enter, or to study in these areas, only if they have previous experience and studies that are relevant? Or should we also be encouraging those who wish to study business or marketing at VET level just to have an experience of studying outside of their countries, to then go back home and spread the message of what a great country Australia is, otherwise known as "soft diplomacy"? The reality is that Home Affairs visa processing officers don't seem to clearly know what the government's objective is currently. We are seeing decisions made that leave qualified engineers, architects and would-be tradies, who could help solve the country's housing crisis, either appealing their visa rejection or simply giving up and going home or to an alternate study destination. Recently, I spoke with some students from Colombia, many of whom had their visas refused. Some were well-qualified engineers who could have ably assisted in addressing the urgent and growing shortage of engineers in the country. They simply can't understand why their visas were refused, and believe a marked increase in the number of people applying for protection visas from Colombia and other Latin American countries could be unfairly impacting their chances, as legitimate and qualified students, of having their study visas approved. In the meantime, we keep hearing of good quality education providers in both the English and VET sectors, collapsing, one after another, while poor quality operators continue to thrive under the radar. When you go nuclear, you get left with the cockroaches. Yes, a clean-up of the sector is necessary, but at this point we are risking severe economic consequences - job losses amongst Australians, 240,000 of whom have been employed in the sector, and reputational challenges where Australia is not seen as the once friendly country it was. The government may well be pleased with the dramatic reduction in student numbers, but there will be significant unintended consequences of this policy in the coming years. Decisive action needs to be taken, and now, before it's too late and we are left as we were after two years of border closures, with the country crying out for skilled workers and both businesses and the economy reeling from the impact.
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Business Standard
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Australia hikes student visa fee to ₹1 lakh, costliest in English world
From July 1, 2025, international students applying to Australia now pay AUD 2,000 (about ₹1.12 lakh) for a student visa, up from the earlier AUD 1,600. The decision makes Australia the most expensive destination for student visa applications among major English-speaking countries. Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed the increase, who also said that the change is expected to generate AUD 760 million over four years. 'For those applying from July 1, the Visa Application Charge (VAC) for primary student visa applicants has increased from $1,600 to $2,000,' the Australian government portal says. UK student visa: GBP 490 (₹57,133) Australia student visa (from July 2025): AUD 2,000 (₹1.12 lakh) In Indian rupees, Australia now tops the chart, with the new fee translating to approximately ₹1.12 lakh, depending on exchange rates. The visa fee exemption for primary applicants from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste will remain unchanged. More restrictions and a cap on student numbers The visa fee hike is one of several steps Australia has taken recently to rein in international student numbers. Other changes include: • A national cap of 2,70,000 international student commencements in 2025 • Stricter English language requirements • Powers to suspend non-compliant education providers The federal opposition has proposed an even tighter cap of 2,40,000. In February 2025 alone, 200,000 international students arrived in the country, up 12.1 per cent from the same month in 2024. Impact on Indian students and ELICOS providers Indian students continue to lead in visa numbers, overtaking China in early 2025. February 2025: 2,734 visas granted Over 5,000 approvals in just two months But higher fees are raising concerns. 'These changes will prompt international students to explore unconventional study destinations beyond the traditional four—US, UK, Canada and Australia,' said Saurabh Arora, founder and CEO of University Living, speaking to Business Standard. English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) have already taken a hit. In 2024, a previous fee hike was followed by a 50 per cent drop in English language course admissions. Several providers, including Perth International College of English, IH Sydney, and The Language Academy, have since shut down. Graduate visa and tuition fees also increase In February 2025, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) also became costlier: Base fee: from AUD 1,945 to AUD 2,235 Additional applicant over 18: AUD 1,115 Additional applicant under 18: AUD 560 Second Post-Higher Education Work stream: AUD 880 for primary applicant; AUD 440 or AUD 225 for dependants Major universities have raised tuition fees too: University of Melbourne: Engineering: AUD 56,480 per year Clinical medicine: AUD 112,832 per year University of New South Wales: Up to 7 per cent increase What Indian students can expect to spend Saurabh Goel, CEO and Co-Founder of Amber, said: 'Undergraduate degrees cost between AUD 20,000 and AUD 45,000 per year. Postgraduate courses are priced between AUD 22,000 and AUD 50,000 annually. Doctoral programmes range from AUD 20,000 to AUD 42,000.' At the Australian National University (ANU), international undergraduates pay between AUD 42,560 and AUD 47,940 per year depending on the course. Saurabh Arora estimates that annual living costs, including tuition and accommodation, average around ₹11.63 lakh. Additional living expenses, he said, are also considerable: Food: AUD 80 to 150 per week Transport: AUD 30 to 70 per week Books and supplies: AUD 500 to 1,000 per year Personal expenses: AUD 50 to 150 per week Minister for Education Jason Clare said the revenue raised through higher visa fees would support initiatives like lowering graduate debt and boosting apprenticeship programmes. 'International education is an incredibly important national asset and we need to ensure its integrity and quality,' he said.
West Australian
20-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Perth International College of English closes after 20 years, blaming government policy changes
A highly-regarded Perth English language school has been forced to close its doors, with its owner blaming Federal Labor Government policy changes for plunging his business into liquidation. Perth International College of English director John Paxton sent out a letter to international students this week to notify them of the closure, after more than 20 years in business. 'It is with deepest regret that I have to inform you all that PICE was forced into liquidation today,' he wrote. 'It will come as little surprise to many in the industry as we follow the path of other colleges in Australia. 'It is a sad reflection that we have survived so many tough times over the last 23 years, including major recent catastrophes like COVID border closures, but we are unable to survive the political behaviour of our own government.' The college, in Murray Street, is one of several education providers — particularly English language and vocational colleges — that have scaled back operations or gone out of business as a result of negative impacts from the Federal Government's migration reforms. Mr Paxton said the visa settings and visa refusal regime the Australian Government initiated in December, 2023, had started the decline of colleges offering English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS). But raising the visa fee in July last year by 125 per cent to make it the most expensive globally was the 'finishing touch', with applications halving from that date. 'The ELICOS sector has been called collateral damage from their political agenda, and that unfortunately has been PICE's fate,' he said. 'I made a calculated decision to keep the business afloat and ride out the storm with my personal money. And that has come to an end. I have none left.' Mr Paxton, the WA State delegate and former board member of peak ELICOS body English Australia, said he had been unable to find a buyer or investor, despite his efforts to find a solution that would allow the college to remain open. Students would be protected by the government's Tuition Protection Scheme, giving them the option to transfer to another college of their choice, or they could request a refund of unused fees. 'We will do everything possible to ensure all students — current and future — will be taken care of,' he said. English Australia chief executive Ian Aird said the board was 'deeply saddened' by the news. He said despite PICE's 'exemplary reputation for quality', the increase in student visa fees, record high visa refusal rates and processing delays meant the college was 'unable to attract enough enrolments to be financially sustainable'. StudyPerth chief executive Derryn Belford said many English colleges were finding it harder to attract students because of the visa fee increases. 'My understanding is the Federal Government is aware that they've caused a problem with this in the English language space, but it's how fast can they fix it,' she said. 'Often, you'll see that it is the good institutions that fall over when big policy changes happen because they keep to the rules.' Educators have previously raised concerns the changes would have a flow-on effect at universities, dramatically impacting the viability of the international education sector which contributes around $3.6 billion a year to WA's economy. Premier Roger Cook last month wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to highlight his concerns about the plight of the international education sector.
