Universities Australia warns of adverse economic impacts of government's international student cap

CANBERRA: A move by the Australian government to cap international student numbers will be detrimental to the economy, the peak body for universities has warned.

In a speech delivered to the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) conference on Wednesday, Luke Sheehy, the chief executive of Universities Australia, stated that the government was openly targeting international students in its efforts to reduce immigration.

He argued that reductions in international student numbers were short-sighted and would have a detrimental effect on Australia's economy.

"Australia's international education sector supports 250,000 jobs nationally. These jobs are not only in education but also span across various sectors of the economy including retail, tourism, and accommodation," said Sheehy.

In May, the governing Labour Party announced plans to limit international student enrolments after the number of international students in Australia exceeded 700,000 for the first time in February.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the value of Australia's international education industry reached a record A$47.8 billion ($31.7 billion) in 2023, an increase of 79.6% from A$26.6 billion ($17.6 billion) in 2022.

An analysis published by economists from the National Australia Bank (NAB) — one of Australia's 'big four' banks — in March revealed that spending by international students accounted for over half of Australia's economic growth in 2023.

"The country would have come perilously close to a recession if it weren't for the swift return of international students," Sheehy stated on Wednesday.

Under the government's proposed legislation, the education minister will be given the authority to set limits on new international student enrolments for courses and education providers.

This proposed limit is part of the government's wider strategy to reduce net annual immigration to Australia from a record high of 528,000 in 2022-23 to 260,000 in 2024-25.

By RSS/Xinhua