Last week, 1,500 delegates gathered in Australia’s capital city for the 2025 Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) to tackle the theme of ‘navigating change’. Following a period of heavy policy turmoil, delegates heard from assistant minister for international education Julian Hill that Australia is “open for business” – albeit with a few caveats.
But it was a session on competitor market updates that helped put Australia’s own challenges and opportunities into perspective. As Australia settles into a second term under the Albanese government, the Canberra conference heard from the US on just how much elections can shape – and shake – the international education landscape.
Since January 2025, when Donald Trump took office following his re-election, the international education sector has witnessed an “onslaught of policy directives”, said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, who said the although some of this was to be expected, the “fast and furious” nature of Trump’s directives has been surprising.
Earlier this month, a White House memo sent to nine top-tier universities proposed a 15% cap on colleges’ international undergraduate enrolments, among other demands, in return for preferential access to federal funding.
Elsewhere, the sector has seen unprecedented political hostility towards international students from the Trump administration, not least thousands of student visa revocations and attempts to deport those involved in pro-Palestinian speech, alongside a travel ban on 19 nations, among other challenging policies.
Perhaps most significantly, the administration’s suspension of new visa interviews for nearly a month this summer caused widespread global delays, preventing some students from travelling to the US in time for the fall semester.
For Aw, one of the most fundamental concerns for the US sector as a result of policy shifts is the loss of innovation and research opportunities.
Unlike the US, where international students make up around 6% of total enrolments, Canada experienced exponential growth in international student numbers in recent years – growth that stretched capacity and ultimately prompted significant government intervention. For the first time in the country’s history, in January 2024, a cap was placed on study permits.
“We didn’t see much of a narrative accompanying that decision – it was sudden, abrupt, followed by 15 or 16 other policy changes,” said Larissa Bezo, president and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
In the two years leading up to that policy shift, international student numbers were growing by almost 30% year on year. During the same period, Canada also saw a sharp rise in other temporary resident cohorts, compounding the pressure.
“One can hardly describe last 1.5 years as a period of stability,” said Bezo. “Students around the world looked and drew a conclusion that Canada really closed its doors to students. That isn’t, in fact, accurate.”
Yet, the perception had a significant toll on ‘Brand Canada’ with a decline in student numbers and “lots of room between between the current number of students and the ceiling of the cap,” said Bezo.
“We’re still at an early stage looking at new student flows,” she added. The recruitment approach of Canada’s institutions are evolving, for some that means returning to traditional markets while for others its leaning into new markets.
“It’s varied, driven by the unique context of each institution,” explained Bezo.
One positive change that Bezo takes from this period of turmoil is that it “has opened door to some very good engagement” with government. Looking ahead, Bezo hopes to see greater policy stability, along with more “thoughtful and intentional discussion around global talent strategy”.
A new global campaign is also in development, bringing together a range of stakeholders, including business associations. One of its key goals is to communicate more clearly the opportunities that exist in Canada.
The campaign will also include a domestic component aimed at strengthening social licence – highlighting and sharing the value that international students bring to communities across the country.
Of all the updates, New Zealand’s was among the most upbeat, with social licence emerging as a central theme. Marie Clark, director of insights at Education New Zealand (ENZ), outlined a sector intent on recovery and renewal, with a strategy built around sustainable growth “grounded in public support and student success”.
In July 2025, the New Zealand government launched the International Education Going for Growth plan, as part of its broader Going for Growth strategy. Goals include increasing international student enrolments from 83,700 to 119,000 by 2034 and doubling the sector’s value from NZ$3.6 billion to NZ$7.2 billion.
“We’re cautious about policy shifts in New Zealand,” said Clark, but there have been a few policy changes such as an increase in the permitted work hours for eligible study visa holders from 20 to 25 hours per week, and the introduction of a a short-term post-study work visa for some vocational graduates.
“We see that as a clever compromise that supports student aspirations, but aligns with skills needs,” said Clark.
Through such changes, New Zealand is sending a “signal” to students that the government is offering “real opportunities and is serious about growing the sector” but in a way that benefits the communities that students are going to.
We’ll never be the biggest destination but we want to be the destination of choice
Marie Clark, Education New Zealand
“We’ll never be the biggest destination but we want to be the destination of choice,” said Clark.
In ENZ’s latest survey, 72% of New Zealanders said they believe that international education is beneficial to the country, and 77% would like to see at least the same number or more international students welcomed to the country. Clark said ENZ is keeping a close eye on social licence as it is aware that “rapid growth without public support can backfire”.
The atmosphere at this year’s AIEC conference was noticeably more positive than last year, with Australian providers seeming to have adapted to operating under the government’s international student enrolment limits.
Yet, according to Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), there is still work to be done in the policy space. At the top of Honeywood’s agenda is securing federal support to launch a national social licence campaign.
Elsewhere, the sector is still grappling with the fact that Australia has the world’s highest student visa application fee but Honeywood remains optimistic that lobbying efforts to significantly reduce the fee for certain short-term student cohorts will be successful.
A significant opportunity for Australian providers lies in the government’s current focus on engagement with South East Asia. Providers that demonstrate a shift away from traditional markets, such as China and India, toward Southeast Asian countries may become eligible for an increased allocation of international student places under the government’s National Planning Level (NPL).
Similarly, initiatives to expand housing through purpose-built student accommodation can also earn universities additional student places.
Honeywood also addressed Australia’s skills agenda, referencing Jobs and Skills Australia’s International Students Pathways and Outcomes Study, which tracks international students’ education and labour market outcomes. While the report highlights skills needed for Australia’s economy, Honeywood urged a broader perspective.
“When we internalise the skill needs of our economies, we do our neighbouring countries a disservice,” he told the Canberra audience.
“We also have, as advanced economies, a global responsibility to provide skills to countries – particularly in our region – that may be totally different skills needs than what our economy requires,” said Honeywood.
The 2026 AIEC conference will take place in Sydney from 27-30 October where colleagues will gather to tackle the theme ‘future thinking’.
