Labor has pushed back controversial legislation that would impose caps on international student numbers, with universities and private colleges claiming they are being held to ransom by political incompetence and are unable to plan for how many people they can enrol next year.
The government now has only two weeks to pass the changes, which are due to start on January 1, before parliament ends for the year. The delay has meant education providers won’t know if the caps will be imposed until weeks before they are meant to begin.
Many universities have been making decisions on the assumption that the caps will be introduced, reducing enrolments that have cost them millions of dollars. The Australian Catholic University wrote to prospective students in September telling them they would no longer issue offers for next year given they had already reached their limit.
“Here we are – effectively being held to ransom by a political play around migration ahead of an election,” said Vicki Thomson, the chief executive of the Group of Eight, which represents the largest universities.
“The chaotic and frenetic nature of this misplaced policy simply reinforces our position that there is no feasible way for caps to be introduced with a start date of January 1.
“The only viable option now is to abandon what was always a command and control, flawed policy or, at the very least, delay it until 2026.”
She said no other major industry would be expected to set their budgets with no notice of the rules.
The proposed changes will include the ability of the government to cap the number of new students enrolling in courses at 270,000 in 2025. The government is introducing the caps as it attempts to bring down the number of overseas migrants to half following a post-pandemic surge, largely due to a big increase in international students.
Sarah Henderson, the Coalition’s education spokeswoman, said the Senate had not been given any reason by Labor why it had deferred the legislation that underpinned the student caps until late November.
“Whether it’s major universities or small colleges, how can education providers plan for 2025 under such circumstances,” Ms Henderson said.
On Wednesday evening, a Senate committee considering the legislation recommended it be passed – a significant step in progressing the plan through parliament. However, the legislation will not come before parliament until at least the third week in November.
The industry has already been critical of the government’s plans to allocate universities and college their own specific quotas.
Ikon Institute, a private college, was told that it would have to cut the number of enrolments in its early childhood education degree by 87 per cent next year. It had 1650 new students this year – and will be reduced to 200 enrolments next year if the legislation is passed in November.
Ikon chief executive Adam Davis said he believed there was no reason behind the quota, particularly since early childhood education was classified by the government as a priority and graduates tended to stay in the country.
“Capping the enrolments of Ikon and other long-standing early childhood education providers will only make critical early childhood workforce shortages worse,” Mr Davis said.
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**PAYWALL:**
Labor has pushed back controversial legislation that would impose caps on international student numbers, with universities and private colleges claiming they are being held to ransom by political incompetence and are unable to plan for how many people they can enrol next year.
The government now has only two weeks to pass the changes, which are due to start on January 1, before parliament ends for the year. The delay has meant education providers won’t know if the caps will be imposed until weeks before they are meant to begin.
Many universities have been making decisions on the assumption that the caps will be introduced, reducing enrolments that have cost them millions of dollars. The Australian Catholic University wrote to prospective students in September telling them they would no longer issue offers for next year given they had already reached their limit.
“Here we are – effectively being held to ransom by a political play around migration ahead of an election,” said Vicki Thomson, the chief executive of the Group of Eight, which represents the largest universities.
“The chaotic and frenetic nature of this misplaced policy simply reinforces our position that there is no feasible way for caps to be introduced with a start date of January 1.
“The only viable option now is to abandon what was always a command and control, flawed policy or, at the very least, delay it until 2026.”
She said no other major industry would be expected to set their budgets with no notice of the rules.
The proposed changes will include the ability of the government to cap the number of new students enrolling in courses at 270,000 in 2025. The government is introducing the caps as it attempts to bring down the number of overseas migrants to half following a post-pandemic surge, largely due to a big increase in international students.
Sarah Henderson, the Coalition’s education spokeswoman, said the Senate had not been given any reason by Labor why it had deferred the legislation that underpinned the student caps until late November.
“Whether it’s major universities or small colleges, how can education providers plan for 2025 under such circumstances,” Ms Henderson said.
On Wednesday evening, a Senate committee considering the legislation recommended it be passed – a significant step in progressing the plan through parliament. However, the legislation will not come before parliament until at least the third week in November.
The industry has already been critical of the government’s plans to allocate universities and college their own specific quotas.
Ikon Institute, a private college, was told that it would have to cut the number of enrolments in its early childhood education degree by 87 per cent next year. It had 1650 new students this year – and will be reduced to 200 enrolments next year if the legislation is passed in November.
Ikon chief executive Adam Davis said he believed there was no reason behind the quota, particularly since early childhood education was classified by the government as a priority and graduates tended to stay in the country.
“Capping the enrolments of Ikon and other long-standing early childhood education providers will only make critical early childhood workforce shortages worse,” Mr Davis said.