Photo credit: Photoholgic on Unsplash
Anthony Albanese, the current Australian prime minister, and his government have been noted to be hardening Australian immigration policies and their treatment of international students.
Starting July 1st of 2024, the fee for international student visas to study in Australia was raised from $710 AUD to $1,600 AUD. The purpose of this tremendous price hike was allegedly to deter some students from applying and look to other countries to immigrate to instead. The Australian Home Affairs minister Clare O’Neil clarified in her statement that the government plans to downsize the international student sector. This change to visa prices comes with the news that new student visa applicants will not be able to apply within the borders of Australia.
Australia is one of the most popular countries for international students, ranking in the top 5 between countries such as the US and the UK. In 2023, a reported 644,358 international students were studying in Australia, which was a big increase from 501,312 in 2022.
The recent change to the pricing of the visa application is not a sudden move, however. There has been a history of back-and-forth between the sentiment of allowing international students to stay for longer in Australia versus making their lives feel as guest-like as possible.
When Albanese’s government took power in 2022, things looked good for international students. Their initial moves included giving out visa rebates and they got rid of the limits of the number of working hours that international students could take on. They even announced that international students with desirable skills would be allowed to stay for longer and raised their cap on migration numbers by 35,000.
Photo credit: Brent Lewin on The Guardian
Things soon took a turn when the cap for working hours for international students was brought back in October 2022. On April 19th, 2024, Albanese appeared on 3AW radio and stated that by the end of the next fiscal year, they would cut immigration and that the system “was a mess.” He noted that there was a widespread problem of people who wanted to stay in Australia as long as possible and took “Mickey Mouse courses” to do so. The government has gone so far as to invest $37.8 million AUD to an “integrity unit” to weed out unlawful behavior in the vocational educational training (VET) sector.
The impending housing supply crisis also struck a nerve with the locals. The continued increase in the numbers of international students year after year, with a large number that wish to stay after graduation, makes the housing market much more competitive.
In 2023, the government vowed to apply more scrutiny to student visa applications as a part of their “Migration Strategy.” This included a revamp of English language testing requirements for international students, such as raising the required IELTs score to be at least 6.0 from the previous 5.5.
In May 2024, the financial requirement capacity was also increased for international students. Students must now give proof of savings of at least $29,710 AUD, a significant increase from the previous $21,041 AUD from October 2023.
It seems that the sentiment towards immigrants and international students are shifting negatively and the toughened regulations do not suggest they will change any time soon. International students wishing to pursue higher education in Australia will have to become more vigilant when it comes to their visa status and their futures.
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