The decision by the National Party to get into bed with the Liberal Party and the Greens political party to block reforms to international education will hurt the regional communities they claim to represent.
By blocking the legislation that sets a cap on international students and improves integrity in the international education sector they are standing in the way of regional universities getting more international students.
The legislation enables the Government of the day to set a limit on the number of international student commencements each year.
This includes new powers for the Minister of the day to set an individual international student commencement number per university, enabling a prioritisation of placements at regional institutions.
If passed into law, the Albanese Labor Government will boost international student numbers in the regions. This will mean all regional universities would receive more international students next year.
GROWTH IN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT COMMENCEMENTS AT REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES IF THE BILL PASSES
| Regional University | 2024 international student commencements indicative estimate (as at October) | Proposed 2025 international student commencements if the Bill passes | % change from 2024 indicative estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federation University Australia | 301 | 1,100 | 265% |
| Charles Sturt University | 307 | 1,000 | 226% |
| University of New England | 224 | 700 | 213% |
| University of Southern Queensland | 347 | 1,000 | 188% |
| James Cook University | 923 | 2,200 | 138% |
| Southern Cross University | 698 | 1,300 | 86% |
| Charles Darwin University | 1,212 | 2,200 | 82% |
| University of Tasmania | 1,274 | 2,200 | 73% |
| University of the Sunshine Coast | 765 | 1,200 | 57% |
| Central Queensland University | 2,424 | 3,000 | 24% |
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
""The National Party are supposed to fight for the regions, not cave into the big cities.
"By getting into bed with the Greens, the National Party are betraying their local communities.
"Our caps will increase the number of international students at regional universities and reduce them in the big cities. That's what the Nationals say they want.
"If they actually want it, vote for it.
"This bill gives the Government the power to set numbers at each university - it doesn't put those numbers in law.
"Any future Minister could set those numbers at different levels."
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Education and Regional Development Senator Anthony Chisholm:
"This is a really disappointing and reckless decision by Mr Dutton and Mr Littleproud to oppose our legislation that would provide certainty for tertiary institutions in our regions. They need to come out and explain why they have done that.
"This decision to oppose our legislation, without actually having a solution in place, shows you that they have a disregard for those institutions and the role they play in the regional economy.
"We stand with our regional universities. We understand how important those international student numbers are to them. We want to provide the certainty so they can move forward and ensure they can enrol international students from next year.
"I say to the Liberal and National MPs who represent regional Australia - we have a week to get this done. This is the last sitting period where we can pass this legislation to provide that certainty to regional universities, so that they can go and enrol international students, support them financially, but also provide that workforce that they need in that part of the world at the same time."
