It’s been a turbulent time for the sector in Australia, with Anthony Albanese’s government gradually hardening its immigration policies and – in turn – its rhetoric about international students.

In July 2024, the government announced it would more than double student visa costs – with prices rocketing overnight from AUS$710 to AUS$1,600.

Unsurprisingly, the sector has hit back against the hike, bashing the move as just “another nail in the coffin” as the Albanese government scrambles to “create a migration system which is fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia”.

But the situation has not always been quite so dire – far from it. Back in 2022, Australia announced visa rebates for international students and lifted limits on working hours as a “thank you to them for coming back and continuing to choose Australia” after the sector took a massive hit during the pandemic.

What exactly happened over the last few years to get to this point? Read on to find out.

Wait, isn’t Australia still one of the ‘big four’ study destinations?

Yes, Australia is one of the most popular places to study in the world, alongside the UK, Canada and the USA. According to the latest stats from the Australian government, some 780,104 international students currently study in Australia – marking a record high.

But – likely due the effects of the pandemic – numbers dropped sharply between 2020 and 2022. So, in an effort to save one of the country’s most valuable industries and attract more students, visa rebates were ushered in during the early months of 2022 and – in a controversial move – limits on the the number of working hours students could take on were scrapped.

This approach seemed to work, as international students flocked back to Australia in their droves, with numbers surging from 501,312 in 2022 to 644,358 the following year.

So how did we get here?

Get ready – it’s a long and complicated story.

For starters, Albanese’s government began on a strong footing with the Australian sector when it came into power in 2022. Early on in the administration, it announced that overseas students with particularly desirable skills would be able to stay in Australia for longer after graduation. Soon afterwards, the country’s cap on migration numbers was raised by 35,000 in a bid to attract more international students.

But things soon began to change. Firstly, the cap on the number of work hours international students were allowed to work was reinstated in October 2022. And a subsequent hardening on migration from the Australian public – perhaps in part due to tales universities being “inundated” with applications from overseas students – soon started to take its toll.

OK, but why is the government making it so difficult for international students now?

Despite the sector welcoming in Albanese’s new government in the summer of 2022, it’s fair to say its good relationship with his administration has stalled since then.

Albanese’s government began on a strong footing with the Australian sector when it came into power in 2022

In an early indicator that the intled community was falling out of favour with Australian politicians, in summer 2023 a ban on concurrent enrolments was announced – closing a loophole that had let international students switch to cheaper providers, or even ‘dodgy’ after they had already entered the country.

Faced with complaints that the surge in overseas students would only worsen crippling housing shortages, in early 2023 politicians started looking for “robust and resilient ways” to regulate international education in Australia. The resulting Migration Review, published at the tail-end of 2023, saw ministers vow to scrutinise student visa applications more thoroughly and overhaul the country’s migration system – the latter leading to fears from the intled community that student numbers would start to fall.

Meanwhile, Australia rose the financial requirement capacity for international students in May 2024 and mooted the prospect of halving its migration levels to £250,000.

Most recently, it announced new restrictions for visitors and temporary graduate visa holders, who will no longer be able to apply for a student visa while onshore, and more than doubled the cost of study visas.