Student visas will be linked to their enrolling institution under further details released by the Coalition following yesterday’s announcement of its migration strategy.
The Coalition announced yesterday that Temporary Graduate visas will also be abolished (TKN 061026) as part of a plan to cut net overseas migration to 100,000 a year for the first two years of a Coalition government, before increasing to 130,000 in the third year and levelling out to 160,000 in the fourth. The number of temporary visa holders would be reduced by around 650,000 over four years.
Some exemptions will apply through “post-study transitional visas” for students completing PhDs, studying health or education, or studying at regional universities. The Coalition projects that Temporary Graduate visa holders would fall from 271,200 in 2025/26 to only 10,000 in 2031/32, a decline of 261,200.
Most secondary applicants attached to international student visas will also be restricted.
The Coalition says the changes are expected to “reduce the share of foreign students in higher education to below 25 per cent”. It projects that student visa holders will drop from 528,800 in 2025/26 to 456,200 in 2031/32, a fall of 72,600.
New Overseas Student Commencements will be cut to 240,000, compared with the Albanese Government’s current National Planning Level of 295,000.
“Australia welcomes students from overseas to study for a period of time, not to stay permanently. But around half of international students are still living in Australia ten years after starting their studies. This will end under a Liberal and Nationals government.”
The Coalition has also announced that it will task the Department of Home Affairs with identifying and curtailing international students who are violating restrictions on permitted work hours, including through work in the gig economy or the use of ABNs to disguise additional work hours.
In other measures, second and subsequent temporary visa applications would generally need to be made offshore, in a move designed to reduce visa hopping, while the temporary skilled priority list would also be revised.
The Coalition has provided no further detail on how linking a student visa to the enrolling institution would operate, including what would happen if a student sought to change providers.
The migration package will be budget neutral, according to the Coalition, which estimates it will deliver a positive budget impact of around $260 million over four years.
It says Temporary Graduate Visa holders pay, on average, less than one-third of the tax paid by a skilled visa holder, arguing that a shift towards higher-skilled migration will offset the budget impact of reducing overall migration numbers.
