Australia is introducing a cap for international students

Australia will introduce a number of new international students it accepts, as it tries to reduce immigration to pre-pandemic levels.

The nation has one of the largest international student markets in the world, but the number of new students will be limited to 270,000 by 2025.

Each higher education institution will be given individual quotas, the government announced on Tuesday, with major cuts to be borne by providers of vocational education and training.

This change has angered the higher education industry as some universities call it “destroying the economy” but Canberra says it will improve the quality and longevity of the sector.

Australia hosts about 717,500 international students, according to the latest government figures from early 2024.

The Education Minister, Jason Clare, admitted that higher education had been hit hard during the violence, when Australia sent foreign students home and introduced stricter border rules.

He also noted that the number of international students at universities is now 10% higher than before Covid-19, while the number of independent vocational and training providers has increased by 50%.

“Students are back but they’re also back – people want to exploit the industry to make a quick buck,” Mr Clare said.

The government has previously accused some providers of “unlawful” behavior – including accepting students who lack the language skills to succeed, offering low-quality education or training, and enrolling people who intend to work instead of study.

“These changes are designed to make it better and fairer, and put it on a more sustainable footing going forward,” Mr Clare said.

The restrictions will also help address Australia’s record migration rate, he said, which has added pressure to existing housing and infrastructure constraints.

The government has already announced stricter English language requirements for international students and more scrutiny for those applying for a second study visa, while penalizing hundreds of “unscrupulous” providers.

Enrollment at public universities will drop to 145,000 in 2025, their 2023 levels, Mr Clare said.

Private universities and non-university higher education providers will be able to enroll 30,000 new international students, while vocational education and training institutions will be limited to 95,000.

The policy will also include incentives for universities to build more housing for international students, Mr Clare added.

But higher education providers say the industry is being made a “boyfriend” by housing and immigration issues, and that the cap will kill the industry.

International education was worth A$36.4bn (£18.7bn, $24.7) to the Australian economy in 2022-23, making it the country’s fourth largest export this year.

According to economic modeling commissioned earlier this year by the University of Sydney – where international students make up almost half of the student body – the proposed cuts could cost the Australian economy $4.1bn and result in the loss of around 22,000 jobs by 2025.

Vicki Thomson, the chief executive of an association representing some of Australia’s most prestigious universities, described the proposed rules as “outrageous” and “intrusive”, saying they amounted to “destroying the economy” in comments made earlier this year.

Mr Clare accepted that some service providers may have to make tough budget decisions, but denied that would cripple the industry.

“Creating the idea that this is destroying international education is completely wrong,” he said.