OPINION: WA is worried about cuts in a sector that contributes billions of dollars to the state’s economy.
The Western Australian government has expressed concerns over Canberra’s plan to restrict international student enrolments.
These concerns were detailed in a two-page submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee’s Inquiry into the Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024, which includes provisions for ministerial powers to determine enrolment limits or caps on overseas students.
In its submission, WA argued “setting limits on international student enrolments would place the sector at significant risk”.
WA is home to more than 145 education and training providers, including schools, vocational colleges, pathway providers, English-language institutions and universities.
In 2023, the sector contributed more than $2.9 billion to the gross state product.
The state government noted “a significant rise in visa rejections and inconsistent approvals, which are already deterring potential students, causing agents to stop promoting Western Australia and affecting the risk ratings of international education providers”.
The government’s submission to the inquiry was one of two from WA – the other Perth-based global education provider Navitas.
Navitas used its submission to argue “the proposed ministerial powers to impose enrolment limits at the course or program level are not supported for the higher education sector, where students typically enrol in disciplines that meet broad educational and academic goals, often underpinning further high-level studies and research”.
The inquiry received 68 submissions.
Across the submissions, there was strong support for measures to enhance integrity in international education and widespread opposition to the proposed enrolment caps.
The Business Council of Australia submitted that the international student sector was the country’s fourth largest export industry, worth $48 billion in 2023, and “provides considerable income for businesses, delivers higher revenues to governments, supports universities to offer high-quality education for domestic students, is critical to maintaining our research capacity and is a major channel for soft diplomacy, especially in the Asia-Pacific region”.
The BCA argued while it supported the additional quality and integrity measures, it opposed “blunt caps on enrolments as set out in the bill”.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed with the BCA and said proposed enrolment limits “could harm providers’ economic activities and Australia’s reputation as a welcoming destination for international students”.
The Independent Tertiary Education Council of Australia, representing the country’s private education providers, aligned with the ACCI by claiming the bill was “likely to significantly damage Australia’s international reputation among our strategic partner countries, beyond the harm already inflicted directly on their businesses and potential students by other recent government initiatives”.
However, it was a personal submission from Andrew Norton, professor in practice in higher education at the Australian National University, which summed up the general sentiments of many.
Professor Norton explained that “the [federal] government had already introduced multiple demand-side measures to reduce international student numbers; it is not clear that supply-side constraints are also needed”.
His submission also highlighted a view that more generous quotas linked to Australian skills shortages were misguided.
Professor Norton argued “the [federal] government’s idea that international students should take courses relevant to Australia’s skills shortages does not reflect the reality that most international students return home”.
He said “international students should be able to take courses reflecting their own interests and their home country labour markets”.
If the bill is passed, Australia-wide limits on international enrolments would apply to the country’s 42 universities and more than 1,000 vocational colleges.
The proposal to impose international student caps follows 40 years of substantial investment by successive federal governments to expand the international education industry.
The sector supports about 250,000 jobs, funds university research activities and helps to underpin the development of educational infrastructure.
For many universities, tuition fees from international students are their primary source of revenue outside of government grants.
International education experts emphasise that the benefits delivered by the sector extend beyond economic gains.
They say the sector has significantly enriched cultural diversity in classrooms and the broader community while strengthening Australia’s global connections.
If the government takes the opinions expressed in the submissions seriously, it is hard to imagine caps on international student enrolments will become a reality any time soon.
• Professor Gary Martin is chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Management WA
