It was reported in The Australian that some private training colleges are threatening to sue the federal government for its plans to cap international student enrolments without legislative authority.
The caps, under the proposed ESOS Amendment Bill, were expected to be implemented by January 1, but this plan was thwarted when the Coalition announced it would not support the Bill.
The news follows the announcement that the well-established provider IH Sydney has been placed into voluntary administration. The provider, known for offering English language and VET courses, cited ongoing uncertainty around the ESOS Amendment Bill, the impact of Ministerial Direction 107, and rising visa fees as key contributing factors.
Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia chief executive Troy Williams explained the impact the government’s proposed caps is having on businesses and individuals, despite the legislation never being passed.
“The costs for providers will be significant and there has been a cavalier disregard by ministers for the stress that has been placed on employees across the system whose jobs are threatened,” Williams told the publication.
“There are some providers talking about taking legal action against the Australian government and although that’s understandable, it’s a complex set of issues, thus it’s something we’ve urged members to approach with caution.”
Meanwhile, public universities are working to mitigate the damage, both financial and reputational, from proposed provider-level caps, which, despite never being enacted, led several institutions to halt international recruitment for 2025 after reaching the government-imposed limits.
Australian Catholic University is among the public universities reopening admissions, following its September decision to stop recruitment.
“The decision to reopen international admissions was made in light of two factors,” Chris Riley, pro-vice chancellor for global education and pathways at ACU told The PIE News.
“Firstly the increased likelihood that the ESOS Amendment Bill would not pass the Senate in the current sitting period resulting in the Department of Education being unable to implement the proposed enrolment caps for 2025.
“Secondly, as a consequence of steps taken, working in collaboration with Department of Education officials to manage within the allocation, our modelling indicated that ACU’s international enrolments would be under the proposed cap of 1,700 in semester 1 2025,” he continued.
The Bill had reduced ACU’s commencing international student load for 2025 by 53% from 2024. ACU was identified by the Department as an institution “at risk” as its issued Confirmation of Enrolments (CoEs) significantly exceeded its allocated cap. The university was put on notice and advised to stop issuing CoEs immediately, Riley explained.
“For the last decade Australia has been a destination of choice for international students,” said Riley.
“ACU and other universities have done an excellent job preparing students for their chosen occupation and international students have been valuable contributors to the communities they live, work and study in. The majority of ACU’s international students study teaching, nursing, and allied health – all areas in which there are workforce shortages.
The Bill has damaged Australia’s reputation as a destination of choice for international students
Chris Riley, Australian Catholic University
“The Bill has damaged Australia’s reputation as a destination of choice for international students. The closure of CoEs in September has negatively impacted ACU’s reputation, and the loss of revenue in terms of foregone enrolments has been significant.”
The Department was given 48 hours notice of ACU’s intention to reopen international enrolments and had the opportunity to respond. On November 27, ACU reopened its international student recruitment for 2025, recommencing accepting and processing applications for admission and processing CoEs for international applicants.
The Australian reported that federal Education Department has “begun erasing” the allocations of international students it had assigned to Australia’s education and training providers through its provider registration and international student management system.
Despite the Bill failing to garner enough support to pass before the year-end, IEAA CEO Phil Honeywood recently told The PIE News it is important to note that “the government has not yet chosen to resile from its 270,000 target for new overseas students in 2025”.