Government's blunt instrument approach to student numbers is risky

The Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O'Neil, says the recent steep fall in the number of international student visas granted, which on an annual basis would see around 90,000 fewer students come to Australia in 2023-24, is evidence the government's migration policy is working, and is aimed at reducing exploitation and rorting.

But what's frustrating for the international education sector is the government's lack of transparency about the change, (which appears to be the result of a ministerial direction issued to Department of Home Affairs last year) which has seen a massive spike in the number of visa refusals, without the guidelines for the new "genuine student" regulations having yet been released.

Education providers, including some universities, are writing off student applications from entire countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria and are even going as far as cancelling confirmation of enrolment letters because they are concerned their risk rating will fall and government will no longer allow them access to international student applications.

It appears that government is using a very blunt instrument to cut numbers rapidly without fully contemplating the long-term effects of such radical change.

Have they calculated the effects of this strategy and what it will really mean for Australia and its economy, given international education is the country's fourth-largest export industry worth more than $40 billion per year?

Certainly, international students are being targeted to bring down the net overseas migration figures.

This includes students from countries such as Colombia, one of the top source countries for students of English studies, which has seen a remarkable increase in visa refusals of 70 per cent over the last few months. As a result, our offices in Latin America, from which I recently returned, have not sold a single course to Australia this year, and are now sending students to other global destinations, like Dubai and Malta.

What seems to be forgotten is that international students account for 25 per cent of skilled migration figures. Their importance for the country has been emphasised by government and indeed the plan in the future is to open more pathways for students who are skilled in their field to remain here.

From the government's point of view, it would appear our current economic and political climate requires drastic measures, but we would urge them to take a leaf from Canada's book. It recently announced an immediate 35 per cent cut to overseas student visa numbers, to counter prevailing economic conditions and their housing crisis. Admittedly, this is a drastic measure, but it was transparent and provided all stakeholders with surety and clarity.

To attract the brightest and best to Australia, of whom many are clearly international students, we need much greater transparency around the implementation of migration policies. We can't have broad-brush ministerial directions issued to public servants, aimed at slashing numbers quickly and arbitrarily, without careful consultation with the sector.

And while government is taking credit for reducing exploitation and rorting, it must be careful that the language used doesn't give the Australian public, and potential international students, the opposite impression of what the government's own migration strategy said, which is that migrants are of exceptional importance for the country.

If we continue our current migration policy pathway, we'll not only risk Australian jobs and the impact of shutdowns within the international education sector, but we'll also tarnish the image of the country as a destination of choice and risk becoming known as a country that no longer truly values migrants or welcomes them to our vast sunburnt country.