Labor softens tough student visa rules after rejecting genuine applicants
Student visa rejection rates hit more than 24.2 per cent. This cost universities about $2 billion. The government will ease the rules.
Labor made visa rules stricter. The plan backfired.
Rejection rates jumped to more than 24.2 per cent last financial year. More than 51 per cent of applicants from Nepal were rejected.
More than 40 per cent from India were rejected too. International student numbers are falling fast.
New enrollments dropped about 18 per cent this year. Universities are losing money.
Assistant Minister Julian Hill said the policy has unexpected side effects. Genuine students worry that a visa refusal will hurt their chances elsewhere.
Home Affairs and education officials are working on new financial standards for applicants. They focus especially on South Asia.
The government may raise financial thresholds. They may also start a New Zealand-style deposit system.
This lets students show they can pay their fees. Labor says it will change the rules.
But it will keep fighting against fake student migration.
- About $2 billion over three years
- Revenue loss
- About 18 percent this year
- Enrollment drop
Why it mattersAustralian universities depend on international student fees. Overly strict visa rules risk damaging the education sector and costing jobs. But they fail to stop genuine students.
AustraliaUniversities across Australia face revenue losses if student visa rules remain too strict, affecting research funding, staff jobs and the nation's fifth-largest export sector.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 3 h ago
