Schools slam "chaotic" cap plan
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Australia’s universities are in limbo, caught between policy confusion and political grandstanding.
The Australian university sector is grappling with significant uncertainty following the Albanese Government’s proposal to limit the intake of international students to 270,000 starting next year.
The policy, aimed at addressing issues such as housing shortages and dodgy education providers, has been met with strong opposition from education peak bodies and political groups.
The Coalition, Greens, and Independents have signalled their intention to oppose the legislation, casting doubt on its future as parliament debates the matter this week.
The proposal has sparked concerns over its potential economic and academic impact.
The government’s plan includes a formula that sets enrolment caps for each education provider based on historical data and the composition of their student bodies.
While the policy intends to weed out non-compliant education providers, critics argue that it risks harming Australia’s $51 billion international education sector.
Group of Eight (Go8) Chief Executive Vicki Thomson has described the plan as “chaotic, short-sighted and not in the long-term national interest.”
“International students were blamed for everything from the housing crisis to rising cost of living, yet responsible for neither,” she said this week.
Universities Australia, representing higher education institutions nationwide, expressed alarm over the financial impact of Ministerial Direction 107, a regulation viewed as a “de facto cap” on international enrolments.
“MD107 has already stripped an estimated $4 billion from the economy and our universities and is putting thousands of jobs at risk,” chief executive Luke Sheehy said.
Sheehy also highlighted the disproportionate impact on universities in regional and outer suburban areas, where financial pressures are acute.
“We cannot have a bright and vibrant higher education sector that delivers for all Australians without the revenue international education brings to our universities,” he said.
Both the Go8 and Universities Australia have called for a comprehensive discussion on managing growth in the international education sector.
Thomson emphasised the need to address structural funding issues that have left universities heavily reliant on international student fees to fund research and domestic teaching.
“We need a sensible discussion about how to achieve managed growth founded on integrity and quality,” she said.
“It’s clearer than ever that now is the time to take a genuine look at how Australia’s university sector is funded.”
The Coalition’s decision to oppose the legislation has been welcomed by university advocates, with Thomson saying the outcome “puts Australia’s national interest ahead of short-term political posturing and restores certainty”.
The lack of bipartisan consensus has also raised questions about the government’s ability to implement the proposed changes effectively.
