University of Melbourne informs Senate hearing of threats posed by capping international student numbers

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell is all set to join other vice-chancellors while appearing before a Senate inquiry. He is all set to emphasise how international education is contributing to the country's social, economic and diplomatic success.

Study in Australia: The peak body for universities in Australia has warned that if the number of international students continues to decline in the country it will result in the loss of 14,000 jobs. University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell is also joining other vice-chancellors to appear before a Senate Inquiry into the Federal Government’s Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill.

As per the university, Professor Duncan Maskell will emphasise the significant contribution of international education to Australia's social, economic and diplomatic success.

Australia is the world's leading international education provider and it contributes over $47 billion to the Australian economy. The university said that the sector is still recovering from the pandemic impact and most universities running deficit budgets. International student spending contributed to over half of Australia’s economic growth in 2023, added the university.

While the country is facing weaker economic growth, the Australian government should focus on growing the sectors rather than adding more pressure, added the university.

Luke Sheehy, the Universities Australia Chief Executive told in a Senate inquiry today that the government is unfairly blaming the foreign students for Australia's housing crisis.

"The impact of having some 60,000 fewer international students arrive on our shores is significant. International students accounted for more than half of Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth last year, almost single-handedly saving the nation from recession," he said.

"The combination of the Federal Government’s policies is resonating in Australia’s offshore markets, causing students to reconsider their intention to choose Australia as their preferred study destination. We saw what happened to Canada after it adopted similar draconian measures - it slipped from 1st last year to 4th this year as a preferred study destination," reads the official statement of the University of Melbourne.

The Background

Of late, the Australian government has been implementing policies to curb the number of international students. It was also blamed that the housing crisis in Australia is due to the high rate of international students' immigration. However, the university sector is hugely dependent on international students and also Australian education is highly reputable worldwide.

The sector also fears that government efforts to curb international student numbers can affect the reputation of Australian education, hence they are trying to tell the government that putting a cap on the international students can significantly damage the sector.

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