Minister for Education, Jason Clare has doubled down on his commitment to introducing enrolment caps on international students, telling the AFR Higher Education Summit 2024 in Sydney this morning that the government’s proposal for managing international student enrolments in Australia will be “fairer and provide a better foundation for it to grow sustainably into the future”.
Despite widespread opposition to caps from within the sector, business groups and unions, Clare told the Summit that significant growth in international student enrolments in Australia post-COVID has “brought back the shonks looking to make a quick buck…[luring] people who are really here to work, not study”. He said that this is putting the “reputation of this industry under pressure” and that “there is a better way to manage international education”.
Although Clare didn’t use the words ‘enrolment caps’ at all in his speech, this was at the centre of his message, telling universities that detail will be provided in the coming week – ‘detail’ being code for ‘enrolment cap number’.
Clare also acknowledged that some parts of the sector had been hit hard by Ministerial Direction 107, which orders the consideration of offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications by provider risk rating. He said that he had been asked by the sector for more sustainable arrangements, leaving TKN to wonder if Ministerial Direction 107 will be walked back if the ESOS Amendment Bill passes through parliament.
“I know change can be difficult”, the Minister said, before moving to his concluding remarks, which may win him the award for understatement of the year.
The Senate Committee inquiry into the ESOS Amendment Bill will hold a second day of hearings next Monday, 26 August, in Sydney, with the Committee now set to report on 6 September.
The government is rapidly running out of sitting weeks for the legislation to pass through the Senate, with whatever amendments are supported, in time for implementation on 1 January 2025.
