Australia has temporarily blocked private colleges and training organisations from applying to offer new courses to international students as part of a crackdown on abuse in the student visa system. Source: ABC News.
New applications to teach overseas students in vocational education and English-language courses will be suspended for 12 months, under the federal government regulation change.
The pause applies to applications lodged with the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the national regulator for vocational education providers from Monday.
The Albanese Government has argued the move will give the regulator more time to scrutinise existing applications and investigate concerns about poor quality providers and an oversupply of colleges seeking to enter the international student market.
A rapid review of the exploitation of Australia’s visa system and the 2023 migration review both identified significant integrity concerns in Australia’s international education sector.
Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Australia remained open to genuine students, but the government needed to protect the country’s reputation for high-quality education.
The suspension does not affect public education providers, including government schools, TAFE and Australia’s major public universities.
The 12-month pause on new registrations was enabled by legislation passed late last year and forms part of Labor’s broader effort to shut down unscrupulous operators and improve the experience of legitimate international students.
The government has vowed to ensure the migration system supports genuine students and education providers who are “doing the right thing”.
Labor’s decision to suspend new entrants to the private college market comes as major public universities brace for the Coalition to announce plans for significant cuts to foreign student numbers.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has said if elected in 2028 he would tie Australia’s net overseas migration rate to housing construction completion, likely setting an intake even lower than that cap to allow for some “catch up”.
Under Labor, the net overseas migration rate for 2025-26 is forecast to be 295,000, dropping to 245,000 next financial year and 225,000 annually beyond that.
But with dwelling completion rates at about 170,000 homes per year, Mr Taylor has indicated the Coalition would cut migration rates to significantly below 200,000.
FULL STORY
Government blocks private colleges from offering new courses as part of student visa crackdown (By Clare Armstrong, ABC News)
