Improving international student management after Liberals block international student caps

The Albanese Labor Government is committed to ensuring the quality, integrity and sustainability of Australia’s international education sector.

Peter Dutton and the Liberals’ efforts to increase migration and help dodgy education agents and dodgy providers will not succeed.

Following the Liberal Party’s decision to oppose international student caps, the Government will ensure international student numbers can be properly managed while making the system fairer through changes to visa processing prioritisation.

The Government will do this by replacing Ministerial Direction 107 with a new Ministerial Direction. 

The new Ministerial Direction will prioritise student visa applications to manage international student numbers in a fairer way, giving a fairer go to regional and outer metropolitan universities and to TAFEs, who have been abandoned by the Liberal Party. 

This will prioritise the processing of visa applications for international education providers that are operating sustainably, supporting fair and reasonable access for providers looking to deliver to genuine international students.

The new Ministerial Direction has been informed by consultation with the international education sector undertaken by the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations throughout 2024.

It is also informed by work within government to develop an approach that guides the sector towards greater quality and sustainability.

The new Ministerial Direction will come into effect from today.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke:

“Peter Dutton wants to talk tough on migration but has voted to let it rip when it comes to international students – this is a counterbalance to his recklessness. 

“The best option would have been the cap that was voted down by Peter Dutton, but this option will still allow us to use one of the biggest levers in our migration system.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“Peter Dutton’s reckless arrogance killed the student cap and in the process he killed his credibility.

“Improving the current approach will strengthen our ability to manage the flow of international students, and better support regional education providers.

“It shouldn’t just be the big inner-city unis that benefit from international education. TAFEs, regional and suburban unis should benefit too, and this new approach will help us do that.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles:

“It is astounding that Peter Dutton and the Liberals would oppose international student caps.

“We have been making the hard decisions to deliver integrity and certainty to our international education sector.

“It’s critical that we strike the right balance between the benefits provided by our international education sector, and ensuring that our VET system is sustainable in the long term.”