The ELICOS sector has been left reeling by the notion of further increases to student visa fees, as Opposition leader Peter Dutton has unveiled a hardline vision for Australia’s international education sector, pledging sweeping reforms that would dramatically cap student numbers and significantly increase visa fees if the Coalition takes power.
The proposal features stricter caps on international student enrolments than those outlined in Labor’s scrapped ESOS Amendment Bill – capping new international student arrivals at 240,000 per year – alongside a steep hike in visa fees, rising to AUD $2,500, and up to AUD $5,000 for applicants targeting Group of Eight universities.
It follows the Labor government’s decision in July 2024 to hike the fees by 125%, from AUD $710 to AUD $1,600, making Australia the most expensive country in the world for study visa fees, having up to eight times the cost of some competitor countries.
Ian Pratt, managing director of Lexis English, said the impact of the 2024 increase on the ELICOS sector was “immediate and crushing” and resulted in an “across the board decline in English language enrolments of 50%”.
Describing an “insane race to the bottom” between Australia’s two main political parties, Pratt argues another increase would be a “major disincentive” for any student considering a four-year degree in Australia, but for those eyeing just a short English language course, it would effectively take Australia out of the conversation entirely.
The ridiculous visa fee is made even less palatable when you realise that it’s non-refundable in the event of a visa decline
Ian Pratt, Lexis Education
“The ridiculous visa fee is made even less palatable when you realise that it’s non-refundable in the event of a visa decline,” added Pratt.
“With refusal rates now over 50% in some key markets and with the visa assessment process nothing short of baffling, students are simply not prepared to gamble their money at the Department of Home Affairs Casino.”
Meanwhile, Pratt argues it’s those seeking a backdoor into the Australian workforce – rather than genuine students – who are most willing to shoulder the soaring costs and uncertainty.
English Australia, the national peak industry body for the English language teaching sector, has also hit out at the Coalition’s proposition. A further increase of 56% to $2,500 would be “fatal” for the English language teaching sector, it said in a statement.
With the average enrolment less than 20 weeks, this application charge would be “utterly disproportionate”, it continued.
“A $2,500 student visa fee represents a clear message that Australia does not welcome international students,” the statement read.
“It says Australia does not want them to come, study, travel and learn to love Australia. It says Australia does not want international students to come, train, and fill the ever-widening skills gaps that are suppressing productivity in Australia. It says Australia does not value the billions of dollars international students spend to subsidies the facilities and courses that Australian students enjoy or the billions they spend in local shops and businesses around the country.”
Others in the sector have written to Dutton, including Anna Bell, chief executive officer at Langports English Language College.
In a letter shared on LinkedIn, Bell urged Dutton to reconsider his policies and recommends key actions she would like to see from the next government, including a maximum visa fee of AUD $800 for students applying to courses of less than one year.
Meanwhile, Dutton’s proposal to cap international student numbers has landed poorly across the sector, and his claim that such measures would ease the housing crisis hasn’t sat well either.
“Student caps make for easily digestible headlines for political parties that have no plan to address housing prices in Australia,” Pratt told The PIE, who described the sight of the Opposition leader announcing the policy pledge from a construction site not far from the University of Melbourne – claiming it would ease housing pressures there – as “comedic”.
Industry stakeholders have quickly pointed out that international students account for just 4% of Australia’s rental market, according to research from the Property Council.
