At The PIE Live Asia Pacific 2026, Australian universities and policymakers were urged to rethink their engagement with Pakistan, with speakers warning the country is too often viewed through the lens of visa risk rather than its strategic value.
Their comments come amid Australia’s ongoing overhaul of its international education system, which has seen tighter integrity measures, higher visa charges and increased scrutiny of student applications.
During another session at PIE Live Asia Pacific, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) defended the reforms as a long-term “quality correction”. The Pakistan panel argued the resulting uncertainty was already being felt in one of Australia’s fastest-growing student markets.
Earlier this year, The PIE News reported that Pakistan recorded an offshore higher education visa refusal rate of 37% between January and March 2026 – lower than Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but higher than most East and Southeast Asian markets – adding to sector concerns over the consistency of visa decision-making.
For the panellists, however, the discussion extended well beyond visa statistics. With a population of 260 million, 59% under 30, a literacy rate of 63% and around 114,000 students studying abroad annually, Pakistan represents one of the world’s largest outbound student markets, they argued.
“We are a market that cannot be ignored. We will not be ignored,” said Ansab Mahmood, CEO of Adiuvo Consultants Global.
“And if Australia won’t come to us, then we’ll come to Australia and make them realise how important we are for the market.”
Similar views were echoed by fellow panellists Asad Malik, CEO of MA Consultants; Muhammad Azeem Qasim, founder and CEO of Edify Group of Companies; and Syed Danish Ali Zaidi, CEO of D’Educationist.
Azeem pointed to Pakistan’s position as one of the world’s largest Cambridge International markets, with around 80,000 exams taken annually, as evidence of its commitment to international education.
Australia has to stop seasonal recruitment (from Pakistan) and start building long-term relationships
Muhammad Azeem Qasim, Edify Group of Companies
While Australia continues to rank highly among Pakistani students, the panel argued that the way prospective students evaluate destinations has fundamentally changed.
“The students these days are looking at three major things – a smooth process, ranking of the institutions and career outcomes,” said Malik.
“The competition is so high. Australia can be much better than the destination it currently is because of the unforeseen hurdles that have been created, especially for the South Asian market.”
Zaidi said conversations with students and their families had also evolved significantly over recent years.
“They do not ask about the fees,” he said. “They ask about the prospects in future life. They ask about return on investment. They ask how welcoming the country is.”
Much of the discussion focused on the growing complexity of Australia’s current student visa process.
“I think no one knows what’s happening,” Mahmood said. “The universities all have different criteria. Even if the student goes through a lengthy Genuine Student (GS) process, taking three, four or even five months, it still doesn’t guarantee that they will get the visa.”
Mahmood said many students still waited months despite paying tuition deposits, health insurance and Australia’s AUD$2,500 visa application fee.
“There was a time when Australia was in the top three destinations,” he added. “Now we have to convince the student that they should apply for Australia, and even we are not convinced when we’re trying to say that.”
Zaidi argued confusion began before visa applications reached the DHA, with universities requesting different financial evidence under the same GS framework.
“If I’m applying to one university they ask for three months’ bank statements, another asks for one month,” he said. “Students apply to two or three universities and immediately become confused because every institution is asking for something different.”
The concerns are not unique to Australia. Pakistani students have also faced heightened scrutiny in the UK, where they recorded one of the highest student visa refusal rates over the past year and generated the largest share of visa fee income from rejected applications.
Azeem argued that visa policy should focus on problematic behaviour rather than entire nationalities.
“Policies should target the problems, the risk – not the nationalities,” he said.
He maintained Pakistan was not among the leading countries for asylum claims, had high completion rates, and that issues such as provider switching were not unique to Pakistani students.
“Visa hopping is not the problem of Pakistani students,” he said. “It is the problem of policy, not the students.”
Zaidi echoed those concerns, warning that broad labels risked damaging Australia’s reputation among future generations of students.
“Two hundred and sixty million people cannot be labelled as high risk,” he said. “We have to identify the problems and involve the stakeholders before making these decisions.”
Despite their criticisms, the panel repeatedly stressed that Australia remained one of the world’s leading education destinations and that rebuilding confidence was entirely achievable.
Mahmood pointed to Murdoch University as an example of an institution investing in local expertise rather than relying solely on compliance systems.
“They have identified the potential of the market,” he said. “You need people on the ground who understand the system and can identify genuine students.”
Zaidi urged Australian institutions to build deeper, long-term partnerships with trusted education agents and universities in Pakistan rather than treating recruitment as a transactional exercise.
“Until you build trusted relationships with institutions and qualified agents in Pakistan, you will continue facing these challenges,” he said.
Azeem similarly called on Australia to move beyond what he described as “seasonal recruitment” and instead invest in long-term engagement with the market.
“The UK took time to build a long-term relationship with Pakistan,” he said. “Australia has to stop seasonal recruitment and start building long-term relationships.”
Malik argued Australia’s academic reputation had never been the problem. Instead, rebuilding confidence depended on a more predictable and transparent system.
“Australia is definitely relevant today,” he said.
“But currently it is not competitive. If these obstacles are reduced, Australia will become competitive again. It won’t just benefit universities financially – it will benefit both countries through the brilliant minds that Pakistan has to offer.”
