Top Australian universities are pushing back on a government cap on international students

On August 27, 2024, the Australian Government announced a cap called the National Planning Level (NPL) to put limits on the growth of international student programs. The NPL will be implemented from January 1, 2025, and will be reviewed each year.

The announcement has caused major backlash from some of the country’s biggest universities, claiming that it will weaken the economy and lead to thousands of job losses, as well as the closure of some institutions. 

National Planning Level 

The Senate still needs to pass legislation to allow for the government to set enforceable caps, but once approved, the number of international students starting an Australian higher education or vocational education course in 2025 will be set to 270,000, around 7000 below pre-pandemic levels and 53,000 below last year.

Some international students, including postgraduate research students, non-award course students, students in twinning arrangements, and students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste will not be counted towards the cap. 

In the August 27 press conference where the 270,000-student cap was announced, Minister for Education Jason Clare said the planned caps will set the sector on a “more sustainable footing going forward”. 

“We need to protect international education from the crook who try to exploit it,” he said, referencing dormant and ghost colleges – registered training providers that have failed to show proof of delivering training for 12 months or more.

Mr Clare also added that Ministerial Direction 107 – the framework introduced to process student visas based on the risk level of institutions – has had an impact on international student numbers and has meant that some universities have enrolled a lot more international students, while others have enrolled significantly less.

“It’s why a number of universities over the last few months have come to me and asked me to put in place a different system, a better system, a fairer system,” Mr Clare said, before announcing that Ministerial Direction 107 will no longer operate under the new system.

The 270,000 available enrolments will be split into 145,000 at public universities, 95,000 in vocational education and training, and 30,000 at other universities and providers. Universities will be subjected to individual caps, with the Group of Eight (Go8) universities facing cuts of 27 per cent. 

While some universities will be hit hard by the caps, others, particularly regional universities, will be able to enrol more international students next year than they did last year. 

Backlash from major universities

The Go8, which comprises Australia’s leading research universities: the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, the University of Western Australia, the University of Adelaide, Monash University and UNSW Sydney, will be hit the hardest by the new caps, and some are pushing back on the government as a result. 

Go8 chief executive Vicki Thomson said the group “remains implacably opposed to international student caps for the damage they will do to the sector and the nation”. 

“The government has essentially responded to one reckless policy folly, Ministerial Direction 107, with another – punishing the universities that have proven to be the most popular for the very best global students,” Ms Thomson said. 

“The Go8 encourages the Senate in the strongest possible terms to not allow the government to bully it into passing legislation through the public announcement of caps and to amend the ESOS Amendment Bill to exclude public providers, universities and TAFE from Parts 7 and 8 of the Bill.” 

In a statement published on September 9, University of Melbourne Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Nicola Phillips said, “there is no doubt that [the cap] will be significant and damaging for the University”. 

This year, the University enrolled more than 10,400 new international students and predicted that this would grow to more than 11,000 next year, but the proposed cap now only allows for 9300 new international students. 

Similarly, under their individually proposed caps, the Australian National University will be able to enrol 14.5 per cent less international students than this year, and the University of Sydney will be able to enrol seven per cent less. 

It’s not just the G08 that are unhappy with the caps though, Australian Catholic University Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Julie Cogin said the University’s proposed cap is “lower than [its] current position, which is disappointing given [its] enrolment profile is aligned with areas of critical skill shortages for Australia.” 

“I trust that the government does not wish to constrain the education of healthcare professionals, teachers and youth workers,” Professor Cogin said.

International student enrolment 

There is no denying that international students contribute significantly to Australia’s tertiary education sector. According to the Department of Education, in the January to May 2024 period, there were 717,587 international students studying across the country. 

A change like the NPL requires significant planning, management, research, risk assessment and ongoing monitoring from experts qualified with a Graduate Certificate in Project Management online or similar – individuals who can appropriately oversee the process.

There are mixed consequences of the proposed cap for different education providers, but for some of Australia’s biggest universities, individual caps will mean significant decreases in enrolments, resulting in revenue loss and staff cuts. While the National Planning Level is yet to be passed into law, top universities continue to fight against it.