Top universities seek clarity on international student caps

The latest indicative figures suggest Australia’s top ranking universities are set to lose a significant share of international students under the government’s proposed scheme to introduce caps for individual universities in a bid to overhaul the national higher education system.

Leading institutions such as the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, for example, will each have their enrolment limits for international students in 2025 reduced by 7% – to 11,900 and 9,300 international students respectively.

The government figures suggest that some 15 institutions are set to lose a significant chunk of international enrolments while 23 others would have a higher share of international students under the proposed scheme.

The indicative figures, revealed on Friday 13 September, suggest the Federation University Australia has been the hardest hit by the cap and will only be permitted to take 1,100 overseas students from 2025, compared with 2023’s intake of 2,306.

Days after the indicative figures got out, there was still uncertainty and confusion among top tertiary education providers.

Rachel Fergus, a University of Sydney spokesperson, told University World News there was still significant uncertainty about the actual number of international students universities will be able to enrol in 2025 if the proposed legislation is passed.

“We met with the Department of Education recently to seek clarity on the indicative number we’ve been provided, the exemptions that are listed and how they will be defined.

“These are complex matters and we’ll continue working through the details to determine how this will impact our community, and collaborate with government and the sector on managing the growth of international higher education, one of Australia’s most valuable exports,” said Fergus.

Accommodation shortages

One of the key reasons for the cuts proposed for the bigger universities in major Australian cities has been a lack of accommodation. Education providers have been accused by the government of not doing enough on the housing front in the wake of an evident surge in the number of arrivals after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Altogether, public universities will have a combined cap of around 145,000 new international students.

During a press conference last week Minister for Education Jason Clare was asked to respond to a question about the possibility the government’s move to allocate more international students to regional universities might not yield any benefits as those universities enrol their students in city campuses.

Clare said: “What it [imposition of caps] does, in the first instance, is help us to meet that net overseas migration number. The legislation also allows us to set caps for individual locations, and we foreshadowed that we intend to do that when we set levels for the year 2026.”

Commenting on that response, the University of Sydney spokesperson said universities are ready to engage with the government.

“We’re also very keen to engage with state and federal governments about accommodation options for our students,” said Fergus.

“A recent Student Accommodation Council report shows there are several significant factors driving demand and it is misleading to suggest they [universities] are the main cause of the current housing crisis – but we also need our students to be able to access safe and affordable accommodation while they’re studying with us,” Fergus explained.

Revenue losses

Amelia Swinburne, University of Melbourne spokesperson, told University World News in financial terms the indicative cap represents a revenue loss for the University of Melbourne of approximately AU$85 million (US$57 million) in 2025, with flow-on impacts into future years.

Earlier, the University of Melbourne’s Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Nicola Phillips said in a statement the proposed reduction in reality represents an 18% reduction in enrolments.

According to Phillips, while the government had proposed an indicative international student cap of 9,300, in 2024, the university had enrolled more than 10,400 new international students and was anticipating this to grow to over 11,000 in the next year.

“As such, the proposed cap represents a 18% reduction in the number of new international student enrolments [compared with what] we expected in 2025,” she said, adding that the proposal to arbitrarily cap international students at universities would harm all students, domestic and international, and jeopardise the sector’s reputation and long-term sustainability.

“Our priority now is to get the answers we need from the Australian Government to assess the full implications and share this information with our people and students,” she said.

Doubts about methodology

On the political front, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley, and Shadow Minister for Education Senator Sarah Henderson, have also voiced concerns. In a joint statement, they cast doubts over the government’s methodology used to allocate foreign student caps across the higher education and vocational sector.

“The Coalition supports capping international students, but we will continue to scrutinise this process and will do so until we get the answers we are seeking,” the joint statement said.

Various peak bodies in the Australian higher education sector have warned these moves could lead to thousands of job losses at these universities.

Universities Australia has come out in full opposition to the proposed cuts in their current form. Its chair, Professor David Lloyd, said at the National Press Club that wilfully having fewer students will only worsen an already widening funding gap at a time universities need greater support to conduct their operations.

Up to 14,000 workers could lose their jobs if the number of international students arriving in Australia continues to fall, he warned, adding: “Let’s be honest here: supply-side issues, not international students, are the real cause of the housing crisis … the long-term damage in Anthony Albanese now telling Australia’s international students to 'stay home' remains to be seen ... Chances are, it won't be pretty.”

As per the government's overhaul of the higher education sector, no more than 270,000 international students would be able to start their studies at Australian higher education institutions and vocational providers next year. This would mean commencements would be about 7,000 below pre-pandemic levels and about 53,000 below last year, according to government figures.