Yesterday was a wild ride. It started with the Government leaking crucial information to the media evening before, with Julie Hare posting in the AFR that the proposed caps would limit providers to 2019 levels, and providers would be required to have no more than 40% international students.
The release of this information in the AFR the night before the hearing was strategic, and clearly designed to send industry into a panic before the senate hearing – it also is a subtle signal that maybe the hearing is redundant and that the policy change has already been determined with an announcement imminent. Then arrives the big show! On Monday, over 8 grueling hours, the hearing showcased a series of heavy hitting interviews from the senate committee to industry bodies exposing how detrimental for the Australian economy, and the entire education sector.
There was a lot covered, and a speaker by speaker breakdown was summarized yesterday by the Koala News here. I commend the committee members for the hard-hitting questions scrutiny of current government practice.
And if you want to brighten your day, watch the video of Shadow Minister Sarah Henderson tearing shreds through the Department of Home Affairs for deceptive practices, and a blatant abuse of power through the rise in unjustified visa rejections, as well as total absence of cross-departmental planning on how these caps will actually work. Video here – watch at 7hr 21m
However, I thought it might be interesting to run the transcript of the hearing through AI and pull the 50 most controversial and impactful statements to come out of the 8 hour sessions.
The theme of these quotes is quite clear. The current and proposed international strategy is an absolute disaster. Note these are AI’s top 50 quotes, not mine, however I agree with most of them.
Top 50 Quotes from the Senate Hearing
- “Proposed reforms could exacerbate existing challenges rather than promote progress and further hinder the ability of the independent providers to effectively support international students.” – Felix Pirie
- “Recent public rhetoric has demonised international students and the sector that supports them.” – Felix Pirie
- “While perhaps well-intentioned, the bill includes provisions that are, to be frank, a job-killer.” – Felix Pirie
- “Our main issue lies with the amendments that seek to control the number of international students our universities can enrol.” – Vicki Thomson
- “The Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill, for the most part, is rushed policy.” – Luke Sheehy
- “Using students as cannon fodder in a poll-driven battle over migration and housing simply doesn’t add up.” – Luke Sheehy
- “This bill is more a political smokescreen than an instrument for good policy as the government seeks to gain an upper hand in the battle of migration ahead of the next election.” – Luke Sheehy
- “We are concerned the bill will further damage the international education sector and should be opposed.” – Peter Hendy
- “There is very real likelihood of overregulation of a sector that is on the back foot from recent visa refusal decisions of the government.” – Peter Hendy
- “The government actions already have had a significant and adverse impact on independent higher education providers.” – Peter Hendy
- “International students are not the reason for the housing crisis.” – Vicki Thomson
- “International students are often ineligible to receive student concession rates for travel and don’t have access to Medicare.” – Vicki Thomson
- “The Morrison government left international students completely out of the pandemic support payments.” – Vicki Thomson
- “The rhetoric surrounding this bill implies a natural association between being privately owned and being shonky and unscrupulous.” – James Hart
- “This bill risks penalizing legitimate providers and driving non-genuine providers further underground and away from the scrutiny of regulators.” – James Hart
- “Caps should not be applied to courses nor aligned with Australia’s skill needs nor based on location.” – Peter Hendy
- “The definition of an education agent in the bill should be narrowed so it does not inadvertently capture a range of unintended bodies.” – Peter Hendy
- “This exploitation can range from providing poor quality education products to high student fees and false promises of pathways to permanent migration.” – Ngaire Bogemann
- “I just want to talk about the implementation, because there are some regional universities that have had 90 percent of their student visas rejected, and yet, at the large, prestigious universities, their approvals have gone up. There’s a huge discrepancy between smaller and regional unis and the private providers and the G8 universities. That’s not a coincidence, I’d put to you.” – Sarah Henderson
- “The government’s recent changes to the student visa system have resulted in higher than usual refusal rates and a shift in international students choosing to study elsewhere.” – James Hart
- “Thousands of international students have been denied or have had their visas delayed because of ministerial directive 107.” – James Hart
- “This sends a strong message to the world that international students are not welcome here.” – James Hart
- Seeing this ricochet throughout so many high education providers, the chaotic way in which visas have been either approved or refused is rapidly plummeting confidence in smaller and regional universities and private providers.” – Sarah Henderson
- “There is significant concern that the proposed caps on international student numbers will harm legitimate providers’ economic activities.” – Peter Hendy
- “This bill requires more thought; the many stakeholders, international students, and providers implicated in the outcomes of this bill need more than a rushed response.” – Peter Hendy
- “The chaotic way in which visas have been either approved or refused is rapidly plummeting confidence in smaller and regional universities and private providers.” – James Hart
- “The definition of education agents should be narrowed to avoid capturing unintended bodies such as government agencies and even peak bodies.” – Peter Hendy
- “A blunt cap on international student numbers will place these activities at risk, operating costs have increased by around 25% over the past decade.” – Felix Pirie
- “International student revenue is essential for the overall operation and opportunities for domestic students.” – Vicki Thomson
- “There is a fair chance that the university could either not give me an offer to study or my Visa will be rejected based on when, where, and what I study.” – Felix Pirie
- “Thousands of international students have been denied or have had their visas delayed because of ministerial directive 107.” – James Hart
- “This sends a strong message to the world that international students are not welcome here.” – James Hart
- “The rhetoric conflating international students with the housing crisis has been pretty terrible.” – Felix Pirie
- “For years, international students have been used as cash cows; they have been exploited at work and now they’re being used as scapegoats.” – Felix Pirie
- “The chaotic way in which visas have been either approved or refused is rapidly plummeting confidence in smaller and regional universities and private providers.” – James Hart
- “Proposed reforms could exacerbate existing challenges rather than promote progress.” – Felix Pirie
- “The rhetoric surrounding this bill implies a natural association between being privately owned and being shonky and unscrupulous.” – James Hart
- “This bill risks penalizing legitimate providers and driving non-genuine providers further underground and away from the scrutiny of regulators.” – James Hart
- “Caps should not be applied to courses nor aligned with Australia’s skill needs nor based on location.” – Peter Hendy
- “The definition of an education agent in the bill should be narrowed so it does not inadvertently capture a range of unintended bodies.” – Peter Hendy
- “This exploitation can range from providing poor quality education products to high student fees and false promises of pathways to permanent migration.” – Ngaire Bogemann
- “The problem extends to grave instances of sex trafficking, bonded labor, and slavery-like conditions for people entering the country on a student visa.” – Ngaire Bogemann
- “The government’s recent changes to the student visa system have resulted in higher than usual refusal rates and a shift in international students choosing to study elsewhere.” – James Hart
- “Thousands of international students have been denied or have had their visas delayed because of ministerial directive 107.” – James Hart
- “This sends a strong message to the world that international students are not welcome here.” – James Hart
- “There is significant concern that the proposed caps on international student numbers will harm legitimate providers’ economic activities.” – Peter Hendy
- “This bill requires more thought; the many stakeholders, international students, and providers implicated in the outcomes of this bill need more than a rushed response.” – Peter Hendy
- “The chaotic way in which visas have been either approved or refused is rapidly plummeting confidence in smaller and regional universities and private providers.” – James Hart
- “The definition of education agents should be narrowed to avoid capturing unintended bodies such as government agencies and even peak bodies.” – Peter Hendy
- “A blunt cap on international student numbers will place these activities at risk, operating costs have increased by around 25% over the past decade.” – Felix Pirie
Speakers
Group of Eight Ms Vicki Thomson, Chief Executive and Director
Regional Universities Network Mr Alec Webb, Chief Executive Officer
Universities Australia Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer
Independent Higher Education Australia Hon Dr Peter Hendy, Chief Executive Officer, Dr James Hart, Policy and Research Manager
Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia Mr Felix Pirie, Deputy Chief Executive, Policy and Research
National Tertiary Education Union Dr Terri MacDonald, Director, Public Policy and Strategic Research
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry , Dr Jodie Trembath, Director of Skills, Employment and Small Business
Business Council of Australia (via videoconference) Ms Wendy Black, Executive Director, Policy
National Union of Students, Ms Ngaire Bogemann, National President, Mr Janageeth Logeswaran, Student President, Flinders University Student Association
Australian National University Professor Genevieve Bell AO, Vice-Chancellor and President
Monash University Professor Sharon Pickering, Vice-Chancellor and President
University of Melbourne Professor Duncan Maskell, Vice-Chancellor
University of Tasmania, Professor Rufus Black, Vice-Chancellor and PresidentDarwin University (via videoconference) Professor Scott Bowman AO, Vice-Chancellor and President
University of Adelaide and University of South Australia , Professor Jennie Shaw, Deputy-Vice Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic), University of Adelaide, Professor Jessica Gallagher, Deputy-Vice Chancellor (External Engagement), University of Adelaide), Ms Gabrielle Rolan, Pro Vice Chancellor: International, University of South Australia
University of Queensland , Professor Deborah Terry AC, Vice-Chancellor and President, Dr Clare Hourigan, Director of Planning and Business Intelligence
Department of Home Affairs Ms Tara Cavanagh, Group Manager, Immigration Policy, Immigration Group, Mr Damien Kilner, First Assistant Secretary, Immigration Programs Division, Immigration Group
The Koala thanks Simon Costain for permission to republish this piece. It was originally published via Linkedin here.
