The Australian government has announced a new policy to slow down the processing of international student visas, after its previous plan to cap enrollments failed in parliament. The move has drawn criticism from university leaders and immigration experts who say it is political maneuvering that will not improve the integrity or quality of the international education system.
Two-Tiered Visa Processing Replaces Enrollment Caps
Under the new Ministerial Direction 111 (MD111), which takes effect Thursday, student visa applications will be divided into two categories:
- “High priority” processing for the first 80% of an institution’s indicative enrollment cap
- “Standard priority” processing after an institution reaches 80% of its cap
The policy replaces the previous Ministerial Direction 107 (MD107), enacted last December, which set enrollment limits for each institution and prioritized visas for students from “low risk” countries attending prestigious universities. Critics said MD107 disproportionately impacted applicants from South Asia and smaller regional universities.
Government Says Policy Addresses “Reckless” Blocking of Caps
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke framed MD111 as a response to the opposition party blocking the government’s proposed enrollment cap legislation, calling it a “counterbalance to Peter Dutton’s ‘recklessness.'” He acknowledged the cap would have been “the best option” but said the new processing priorities will still allow the government to manage student visa numbers, which are a major lever in the migration system.
“The best option would have been the cap that was voted down by Peter Dutton, but this option will still allow us to use one of the biggest levers in our migration system.”
– Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs
Expert Says Policy Is “Political Point Scoring,” Won’t Change Much
However, Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of immigration, dismissed MD111 as “political point scoring” that is unlikely to significantly impact visa numbers. He noted that recent integrity measures have already reduced offshore student visa applications by 40% and largely eliminated processing backlogs.
“It certainly isn’t a cap on student visas and it would be illegal for the government to try to use it that way,” Rizvi said. “The order of processing doesn’t make much difference if there is no backlog. The primary factor is the refusal rate which is linked to the risk rating system and hits regional universities much harder.”
“This looks like political point scoring to me – they’re trying to show Dutton ‘we’ve got to do what we were going to do’.”
– Abul Rizvi, former deputy immigration secretary
Universities Relieved MD107 Revoked, But Say Approach Still Flawed
University groups expressed relief at the revocation of MD107, which they said had inflicted serious financial harm, especially on regional institutions. But they criticized the new policy as still fundamentally flawed.
“We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings,” said Vicki Thomson, CEO of the Group of Eight elite universities. “Having set targets for each Australian university’s international enrolments for 2025, it makes no sense that prompt government support processing visas will only apply to 80% of that target.”
“Replacing ‘one flawed process with another’ won’t improve integrity and quality of the international student visa system.”
– Vicki Thomson, CEO of Group of Eight universities
Regional Universities Say Faster Processing An Improvement, But Numbers Still An Issue
Regional universities, which have seen international student revenue plunge 61% and enrollments fall by half since 2019, welcomed the faster processing MD111 offers compared to the previous arbitrary cap. But they remain concerned about how visa allocation numbers will be set going forward.
“We had issues with caps that set some universities well below pre-pandemic student numbers, which could perpetually keep them trapped at a significantly lower number.”
– Alec Webb, CEO of Regional Universities Network
Latest Data Shows International Student Arrivals Already Well Below Proposed Cap
The most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were 207,000 international student arrivals in the 2023-24 financial year, down from 278,000 in 2022-23. This is substantially lower than the 270,000 cap the government had tried to legislate.
With student visa applications already constrained by tightened integrity measures and the global impacts of the pandemic, it remains to be seen how much practical effect the new ministerial direction will have. But the sector is clear that a proactive, consistent policy approach is needed to repair the damage of the past year and rebuild Australia’s reputation as a top international education destination.
