Australia to Limit International Students to 270,000 by 2025 Amid Housing Market Pressures

Australia stated on Tuesday that it will limit the number of overseas students enrolled to 270,000 by 2025 in order to manage the rise in house rental prices caused by record migration.

According to Reuters, this decision is part of a series of actions taken since last year to withdraw COVID-19-era incentives for international students and workers in the country, allowing firms to hire locally due to rigorous border controls restricting abroad labour.

During a news conference, Education Minister Jason Clare stated: “There are around 10% more overseas students in our universities today than before the epidemic, and about 50% more in our private vocational and training providers.

“The reforms are designed to make the international student sector better and fairer, and this will set it up on a more sustainable footing going forward.”

Australia’s International Education Sector Worth A$36.4 Billion

International education is one of Australia’s top export industries, contributing A$36.4 billion to the economy during the fiscal year 2022-2023.

However, polls show that voters are concerned about massive influxes of foreign students and workers placing too much pressure on the property market, making immigration a possible significant battlefield in an election less than a year away.

Net immigration reached a record high of 548,800 in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, up 60% from 518,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

Australia increased its yearly migration numbers in 2022 to assist businesses in filling personnel shortages caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which imposed severe border restrictions and barred foreign students and workers from entering the country for almost two years.

The unprecedented migration, led by students from India, China, and the Philippines, has increased labour supply while reducing wage pressures, but it has worsened an already tight housing market.

In an effort to stem the tide of migration, the government last month more than quadrupled the visa price for international students and promised to tighten loopholes in laws that allowed them to prolong their stay indefinitely.