Australian Greens' dissenting report

1.1The Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality & Integrity) Bill (‘the Bill’) should not be passed unless Part 7 and Part 8 of the Bill are removed.

1.2Across four days of hearings and 196 written submissions, there is near unanimous opposition to the international student caps proposed in this Bill.

1.3The committee heard again and again that:

This Bill is a migration policy disguised as an education Bill.

It is a poorly thought through and chaotic plan to cap international student numbers.

There was little or no consultation with the sector on the methodology.

It scapegoats and harms international students for a housing crisis they did not create.

It allows for unprecedented ministerial overreach and intervention.

It damages Australia’s reputation as a destination for international students.

It will result in significant job and financial losses.

Capping international student numbers has little to do with quality and integrity.

1.4Of particular frustration throughout the inquiry process into this Bill has been the timing and lack of data provision, and the failure of the government to produce any modelling on the impact of capping international student numbers. The government did not communicate the provider-level caps for universities until the day after the second committee hearing into this Bill, and then proceeded to communicate the caps for VET providers while the third hearing was in progress. In doing this, the government made a mockery of the Inquiry process. Had the Inquiry not been extended on two occasions, there would have been no opportunity to interrogate the data relied on, the formulas created, and the numbers themselves.

1.5The Committee Report itself neglects and minimises the very serious concerns raised by the majority of witnesses in the hearings. Importantly, the report maintains that the Bill - including the caps - are quality and integrity measures. There is an absence of evidence to support this view.[1]

1.6A letter to universities written on 16 September 2024 from Minister Clare, not only attempted to strong arm universities into submission to agree with the caps, but pretty much confirmed that the international student caps are about reducing Net Overseas Migration and controlling the number of students entering the country.[2]

1.7Overall, the report fails to reflect the strong opposition to international student caps, the flaws in methodology and the way the caps have been formulated.

1.8In recommending that this Bill be passed, the government has completely ignored the overwhelming concerns highlighted by the sector that the Bill will cause major and long-lasting damage to Australia’s tertiary education sector.

1.9The Greens agree with higher education expert Claire Field who told the Committee on the last day of hearings, ‘it would be wrong to go ahead like this’.[3]

1.10Below is an account of the issues with this Bill. These were also raised by witnesses and submissions to the Inquiry.

Politically Motivated Migration Policy

1.11It has been clear from the beginning that these international student caps are migration policy, not education policy.

1.12Luke Sheehy, CEO of Universities Australia, described the Bill as a ‘political smokescreen’ that is being used by the government to ‘gain an upper hand in the battle of migration ahead of the next election’[4]. This view was reiterated by Group of Eight CEO, Vicki Thomson, who similarly reported that ‘migration is shaping up as a key battlefront in the lead-up to the federal election, and the university sector is shaping up to be the fall guy, unfairly and unjustifiably so’[5]. Phil Honeywood, CEO of International Education Association of Australia, stated that the caps ‘have been designed as a politically blunt instrument to address a spurious narrative—that the international students are the principal cause of the current rent increase in Australia’.[6]

1.13The government is crushing higher education in a bid to look tough on migration in the months before a federal election. International education, international students, and universities will become collateral damage as a result of this terrible policy.

Flawed Policy and Methodology & Chaotic Process

1.14The calls for the government to engage in proper consultation with the sector have been loud and unanimous. Ian Aird, CEO of English Australia, gave evidence that ‘this Bill has been drafted on the run, without meaningful consultation of those impacted, without consideration of its economic impact or the jobs it'll cost and without concern for students.’ He went on to say that the Bill ‘claims to be about quality and integrity, but it does nothing to require, encourage or incentivise quality’[7].

1.15The government has claimed these caps are about housing, skills shortages, and integrity and quality, but none of these policy aims are reflected or achieved in the formulas that have been developed to create indicative caps.[8] The absence of these purported policy outcomes shows how irrational and flawed this methodology is.

1.16Not only is the policy misguided and fundamentally flawed, the entire process has been rushed, opaque, chaotic, and confusing. Vicki Thomson, CEO of the Group of Eight, described the Bill as ‘rushed and poorly framed legislation’ that ‘is a classic example of retrofitting policy to suit dubious politics’.[9]

1.17In the higher education sector, Professor George Williams, Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University, stated that ‘the formula did not account for the most basic and important issues’[10] and noted that to impose an arbitrary formula on such a complex sector would result in ‘gross unfairness … randomness and arbitrariness’.[11] Professor Williams described the formula as a ‘shock’, while Mr Christopher Riley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the Australian Catholic University, said that ACU ‘were blindsided when the letter came out’.[12] In response to a question regarding the ability to plan for the future, Professor Andrew Parfitt, Vice-Chancellor and President of University of Technology Sydney, stated that: ‘In terms of a planning regime, it’s chaotic’.[13]

1.18In the private VET sector, Claire Field, an independent education expert, highlighted that there are 12 VET providers who are fighting a cancellation decision by ASQA in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal who have a collective indicative cap for 2025 of 1,429 places.[14] Troy Williams, CEO of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), following the publication of VET indicative caps, reiterated that ‘the legacy of this legislation, if passed, will not be to improve or enhance international education’ but will ‘tarnish Australia’s reputation’ and ‘exacerbate job losses’.[15]

1.19In relation to the allocation of caps across the sector, Claire Field gave evidence that, with the exception of TAFE institutes, across every other provider type - public universities, private universities, non-university higher education providers and private VET providers - there ‘is no consistency in how caps have been allocated even within those individual groups of providers’.[16] Ms Field’s analysis identified many errors, issues, and anomalies with the allocation of caps, predominantly in the VET sector[17], and she stated in her evidence that, if the caps proceed as proposed, she suspects ‘we will see quite a large number of private VET providers in particular close their doors’.[18]

1.20The view that this policy had been needlessly rushed was shared by many witnesses[19], who expressed alarm at the proposition of these caps being in place by January 2025.

Impact on the Sector

1.21Universities have become disproportionately reliant on international student revenue in the absence of appropriate government funding and funding cuts by successive Labor and Liberal governments.

1.22Funds from exorbitant international student fees are used in universities to cross subsidise research and to support domestic students. Professor Attila Brungs, Vice-Chancellor and President of University of New South Wales Sydney, gave evidence that ‘teaching activities for domestic students rely heavily on cross-subsidisation, which comes primarily from international student revenue’.[20]

1.23This is a problem in and of itself; however, in the absence of any additional government funding, the more immediate question is how universities will manage with such a significant drop in revenue. For next year alone, based on the average international student revenue, Sydney University is looking at around a $220 million reduction in funding, while the University of New South Wales will face a $323 million shortfall.[21] Many universities are in a similar position.

1.24Incredibly, while the report notes estimates from the Group of Eight, the National Tertiary Education Union, and the University of Melbourne that the job losses from this Bill will be significant and could number tens of thousands, the sole response from the government, quoted in Chapter 2 of the report, is that ‘from a ‘macroeconomic perspective’, Treasury does not expect any job losses as a result of this Bill’.[22] Incredibly, no modelling was provided for even these claims, and one can assume that no detailed modelling was undertaken to determine specific impacts on the sector or on the economy as a whole of these caps.

1.25The Australian National University (ANU) has been the first university to announce job cuts, announcing the closure of their College of Health and Medicine and the loss of at least 50 jobs, citing the international student cap as one of the contributing factors to this decision.[23] University of Sydney staff were contacted in August and warned of hiring freezes and other cutbacks in anticipation of the international student caps.[24]

1.26Many universities are facing even more dire circumstances, with the government already decimating international education for many providers through Ministerial Direction 107. Luke Sheehy, CEO of Universities Australia, stated that ‘even without [caps], the government has already taken a sledgehammer to the international student sector’.[25] The Direction, which purportedly was introduced to ‘prioritise’ student visa applications, has instead been used to severely restrict the number of students arriving in Australia, and has disproportionately impacted smaller, regional universities.

1.27Dr Ant Bagshaw, Executive Director of the Australian Technology Network of Universities, reported that the six universities he represents have lost over half a billion dollars in 2024, as a result of Ministerial Direction 107.[26] Mr Paul Harris, Executive Director of Innovative Research Universities, similarly reported the ‘disproportionate and unfair’ impact of the Direction on the universities he represents.[27]

1.28Evidence from private providers was that the imposition of the caps in their current form, with only three months’ notice, would be ‘catastrophic for the entire industry’.[28] Dr Kunnumpurath Bijo, CEO of the Institute of Health & Management Pty Ltd, stated that the ministerial power to impose caps was ‘not transparent and not based on evidence’ and would impact the workforce availability of nurses and aged-care workers.[29] Stephen Nagle, CEO of the Holmes Institute, described the caps as ‘illogicality at its best’ and noted that Holmes alone was looking at losing around 100 staff and potentially closing campuses.[30]

Ministerial Overreach & Student Choice

1.29This Bill is an attack on the fundamental principles of university independence and student choice.

1.30Although not reflected in the caps themselves or their formula, the government has suggested that the caps will be used to facilitate higher numbers of international students in areas of critical skill shortages.

1.31Firstly, students should, of course, be able to study what they want, but they also will simply not apply to study in Australia if they are not able to study the course they want to study. This view was backed up by many witnesses.[31] The government should learn from the Coalition’s job-ready graduates scheme which completely failed to achieve its objective of forcing students into certain courses.

1.32Secondly, universities whose international student numbers will be capped quite drastically teach the courses which address the skills shortages, hence undermining the government’s own argument. For example, Western Sydney University’s states in its submission that ‘most of the 1,350 international students who studied nursing and midwifery with us last year have gone on to work in Western Sydney’s overburdened hospitals’.[32] Yet, their international student numbers have been reduced by 18% from 2024 to 2025.[33] Similarly, the Australian Catholic University is the largest educator of teachers and nurses in the country,[34] and they are facing a 53% reduction in international students from 2024 to 2025.[35]

1.33The level of ministerial overreach in this Bill is alarming.The Minister has unfettered power to set provider-level caps. The penalties for breaching these caps involve automatic suspension of registration, and the Minister also has the power to automatically cancel courses deemed not in the public interest. Lukey Sheehy, Universities Australia CEO, described this as ‘ministerial overreach to an extent we have never seen before’.[36]

Reputational Damage

1.34Across the four days of hearings, twenty-two individual witnesses explicitly raised concerns about the serious damage this Bill will cause to Australia’s reputation as a welcoming reputation for international students.This damage has already started. Alec Webb, CEO of Regional Universities Network, ‘these measures are an act of economic and reputational self-sabotage’.[37] With high levels of visa delays and refusals, a $1600 visa application fee, and caps that mean even with an offer you may not be guaranteed a place, it is clear that many students will no longer even consider studying in Australia. Rod Jouning of Moorabbin Aviation Services highlighted that the proposed caps will result in ‘enormous long-term reputational damage’.[38]

1.35Canada implemented a cap on international students and the results have been disastrous. The President of Universities Canada, Gabriel Miller, has been recently quoted as saying ‘[w]hat’s happened in Canada should be a warning to everyone in the world because Canada is perilously close to squandering a reputation it’s built over years and years’.[39]

1.36The Labor government should heed this warning.

Scapegoating of International Students

1.37Capping international student numbers under the government’s plan is fundamentally flawed in that it relies on a false narrative that international students are the cause of Australia’s current housing crisis. This scapegoating of international students is further evidence of racist dog whistling from a government who is unwilling to take real action on the housing and cost of living crises.

1.38Of most concern, and too often lost in the debate, is the impact of these caps on students themselves. International students have long been exploited as cash cows to prop up university budgets in the absence of government funding, and now they are being scapegoated for the policy failures of both the Coalition and Labor governments. The harm this causes to international students and migrants cannot be overstated. It is this kind of dangerous political rhetoric and dog whistling that is responsible for so much of the racism and discrimination that people of colour experience.

1.39Many witnesses spoke to the damage caused by the language and rhetoric being used by the government around international students. Felix Pirie, Deputy CEO of ITECA, gave evidence that ‘public rhetoric has demonised international students and the sector that supports them, and this needs to come to an end’.[40]

1.40Ngaire Bogemann, President of the National Union of Students, stated that the proposed caps have ‘perpetuated the scapegoating of international students for a housing crisis they did not create and will do little to meaningfully improve quality and integrity in the sector’. She went on to say: ‘Every student who comes here to study deserves to have a safe, positive and enriching experience, and if this is the type of system that the federal government is looking to create, these caps do need to be rethought’.[41]

1.41Janageeth Logeswaran, President of the Flinders University Student Association, and the only international student who gave evidence at the hearings, reported that government policy has left international students feeling like ‘a mere commodity’, stating that the delays and refusals stemming from Ministerial Direction 107 have sent ‘a strong message to the world that international students are not welcome here’.[42]

1.42In addition to the harm caused to international students themselves, this rhetoric fails to account for the vibrancy, culture, and diversity that international students bring to our campuses and communities. Professor Scott Bowman, Vice-Chancellor of Charles Darwin University, gave evidence that ‘Darwin would not be Darwin without its international students’, and that the students ‘really enrich the Northern Territory and they enrich the university’.[43]

Concluding Remarks

1.43Universities and private providers alike have been clear that the government’s reckless international student caps will be disastrous for tertiary education. Providers already suffering from the government's secret Ministerial Direction 107 are looking at thousands of job losses and potential campus closures. For some providers, these caps spell the end of their business.

1.44It is clear that this Bill by the Labor government puts politics before policy. Despite all the evidence provided of the flaws, gaping holes, inconsistencies, the lack of consultation and the damage this policy will do, the government is pushing ahead with strangling the higher education sector in their disgraceful attempt to achieve a migration outcome which has absolutely nothing to do with international education. The higher education sector will be collateral damage in this race to the bottom on migration between Labor and the Liberals.

1.45In summary, and for all the reasons listed above, this Bill should not be passed.

1.46That this Bill not be passed unless Part 7 and 8 of the Bill are removed.

1.47That Ministerial Direction 107 be revoked immediately and not be contingent on the passage of the government’s legislation to cap international student numbers.

1.48That the government withdraw this Bill, go back to the drawing board and properly consult with the tertiary education sector to develop a plan which is sustainable rather than a rushed reckless migration policy.

1.49That university funding be increased to fully and properly funded learning, teaching and research.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi

Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens

Senator for New South Wales

Footnotes

[1]Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 [Provisions], October 2024, pp. 57–58.

[2]Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm, Orders of 17 and September 2024 (622 and 624) relating to Higher education - International students; Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 – correspondence to public universities, 19 September 2024, [p.21–59].

[3]Ms Claire Field, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 10.

[4]Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 1.

[5]Ms Vicki Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Group of Eight, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 2.

[6]The Hon Mr Phil Honeywood, Chief Executive Officer, International Education Association Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 12.

[7]Mr Ian Aird, Chief Executive Officer, English Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 12.

[8]Julie Hare, ‘Student caps not for migration reasons, Senate hearing told‘, Australian Financial Review, 2 October 2024, and Kim Martin, ‘Terrible, reckless’ ESOS Bill slammed during fourth hearing’, The Pie News, 2 October 2024.

[9]Ms Vicki Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Group of Eight, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 2.

[10]Distinguished Professor George Williams AO, Vice-Chancellor, Western Sydney University, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 11.

[11]Distinguished Professor George Williams AO, Vice-Chancellor, Western Sydney University, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 16.

[12]Mr Christopher Riley, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Australian Catholic University, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 16.

[13]Professor Andrew Parfitt, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Technology Sydney, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 14.

[14]Ms Claire Field, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 9.

[15]Mr Troy Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 8.

[16]Ms Claire Field, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 8.

[17]Ms Claire Field, Submission 130, p. 1–17.

[18]Ms Claire Field, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 14.

[19]Distinguished Professor George Williams AO, Vice-Chancellor and President, Western Sydney University, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 12, Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p.1, Ms Vicki Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Group of Eight, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 2, Professor Attila Brungs, Vice-Chancellor and President, UNSW Sydney, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 43.

[20]Professor Attila Brungs, Vice-Chancellor and President, UNSW Sydney, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 43.

[21]Daniella White, ‘Revealed: The number of students each university is set to lose under crackdown‘, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 September 2024.

[22]Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 [Provisions], October 2024, p. 31.

[23]Lottie Twyford and Jade Toomey, ‘Australian National University to cut jobs and spending as it faces $200 million deficit this year‘, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 3 October 2024.

[24]Daniella White, ‘Great uncertainty: Sydney Uni warns staff of cuts ahead of foreign student caps‘, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 August 2024.

[25]Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p.1.

[26]Dr Ant Bagshaw, Executive Director, Australian Technology Network of Universities, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 1.

[27]Mr Paul Harris, Executive Director, Innovative Research Universities, Proof Committee Hansard, 26 August 2024, p. 2.

[28]Mr John De Margheriti, Chief Executive Officer, Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 23.

[29]Dr Kunnumpurath Bijo, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Health and Management Pty Ltd, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 24.

[30]Mr Stephen Nagle, Chief Executive Officer, Holmes Institute, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, pp. 26–27.

[31]See for example, Dr Peter Hendy, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Higher Education Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 19.

[32]Western Syndey University, Submission 111, p. 3.

[33]Ms Claire Field, Submission 130, p. 5.

[34]Mr Christopher Riley, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Australian Catholic University, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 September 2024, p. 15.

[35]Ms Claire Field, Submission 130, p. 5.

[36]Mr Luke Sheehy, Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 1.

[37]Mr Alec Webb, Chief Executive Officer, Regional Universities Network, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 3.

[38]Mr Rod Jouning, Deputy Head of Operations - Deputy Director, Moorabbin Aviation Services Pty Ltd, Proof Committee Hansard, 2 October 2024, p. 37.

[39]Patrick Jack, ‘Canadian recruitment collapse ‘a warning’ to UK and Australia‘, Times Higher Education, 25 September 2024.

[40]Mr Felix Pirie, Deputy Chief Executive, Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 15.

[41]Ms Ngaire Bogemann, President, National Union of Students, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 38.

[42]Mr Janageeth Logeswaran, President, Flinders University Student Association, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 38.

[43]Professor Scott Bowman AO, Vice-Chancellor and President, Proof Committee Hansard, 6 August 2024, p. 60.