黑料老司机 Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said universities back a sustainable system, but warned the government was making Australia harder, more expensive and less certain for genuine students to choose.
鈥淪ustainability and integrity matter, and universities support both,鈥 Mr Sheehy said.
鈥淜eeping new overseas commencements steady gives the sector something to plan around, but it is a long way from the sustainable, managed growth the government .
鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement confirms there will be no growth next year.
鈥淲e recognise this may be appropriate in the current context, but the bigger problem is that the policy settings behind the number are making even this steady target harder to reach.
鈥淚f the government keeps making Australia more expensive and more difficult for genuine students to choose, we鈥檙e going to fall short 鈥 and we鈥檙e already seeing that risk emerge.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 bad for our sector and Australia. It means fewer skilled workers, weaker productivity and a $55 billion export sector supporting 250,000 jobs put at risk.
鈥淢any universities, particularly in regional and outer suburban Australia, are ready, willing and able to welcome more international students.
鈥淚nternational education is one of Australia鈥檚 great success stories, but it鈥檚 being steadily eroded by policies that do not serve our universities, our economy or our skills needs.
鈥淎 big number on paper means little if the policies behind it make it harder to deliver in practice.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the contradiction at the heart of the current approach. The government says it wants almost 300,000 new international students, while keeping in place policies that make that harder to achieve.
鈥淯nless the broader settings change, the 2027 allocation risks being just another number 鈥 not a plan that delivers the skills, jobs and growth Australia needs.鈥
