The ESOS amendment – which include proposals to cap the number of international students coming to Australia and new ministerial powers to set the number of students on each individual university course – were roundly criticised by sector leaders at a senate hearing in Sydney this morning (August 26).

The proposed cap on student numbers was given short shrift by Tracy Harris, principal of Tracy Harris Solutions, as she warned of the “perverse consequences” such measures could lead to in Australia – including providers feeling forced to “take action to maximise their allocations”.

“Successive governments have called for greater diversification of the international student population, but caps could work against this. Providers will play percentages focussing on countries with high visa grant rates, at the expense of diversification,” she cautioned.

But particular ire was reserved for ministerial direction 107, which was introduced late last year as a way to process international student visas based on the supposed risk level of individual institutions. Education minister Jason Clare last week clarified that an incoming cap on student numbers in Australia is set to replace the much-maligned directive.

Innovative Research Universities (IRU) executive director Paul Harris said the changes to visa processing had caused “disproportionate and unfair impacts on our students and universities”.

“While commencements by new international students thus year are up across the higher education sector, they are well down across the IRU. The number of new commencements this year by Indian students in our universities has been cut in half. And our universities are wearing a disproportionately high share of the total finanial impact reported by Universities Australia for 2024,” he warned.

Paul Harris stressed that the IRU’s “first priority” was to scrap ministerial direction 107, and said that the organisation agreed with Clare’s suggestion last week that a better way of managing international education was needed.

Meanwhile, Tracey Harris said there would still be issues even if the direction is removed. “Even if the government revokes ministerial direction 107, as flagged, there will still be a visa application process, and providers don’t know in advance which visas will be approved or refused,” she noted.

Paul Harris also blasted the proposal for the minister to be able to “control or cancel individual courses within universities” in Australia.

However, it was “not unreasonable for government to want to have a discussion with universities about the optimal balance of student numbers across the system and we are committed to working constructively with government for a more mananged and equitable system,” he said.

ATN Universities executive director Ant Bagshaw echoed this sentiment. “We cannot support course-level caps. Aside from the impracticality of implementing caps on tens of thousands of courses, they represent ministerial overreach,” he said.

“Students will – and should – study whatever makes sense for their aspirations and careers, noting minister Clare has said that only around 16% of international students stay on in Australia after their studies end,” he continued.

Aside from the ESOS Bill, minister Clare promised the sector last week that more detail on the proposed international student number caps was imminent.

“It’s why a lot of universities have asked me to act to put more sustainable arrangements in place. I know universities and other international education providers are craving detail. That detail will be provided to universities in the coming week,” he pledged.