Delivered by Mr Luke Sheehy, Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer
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Thank you for that warm welcome.
It’s a pleasure to be here in the great state of South Australia on the lands of the Kaurna people.
I pay my respects to elders past and present.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was in Adelaide and it’s great to be back.
South Australia has long been a leader in research, innovation and higher education.
From defence to renewables, this is a place where universities are driving real change.
Through AUKUS.
Ship building.
Space.
And clean energy.
This state has a big role to play in Australia’s future, just like our universities.
My thanks to Felix and the ITECA team for inviting me here today.
And congratulations to you, Felix, on your recent appointment as CEO.
Universities Australia and ITECA have long had a close working relationship.
I’m looking forward to that continuing under your leadership.
My thanks also to Troy Williams.
Troy, as you’d all know, recently called time on a great innings at the helm of ITECA.
He leaves the organisation in a better and stronger position than when he arrived.
Troy was a steady hand through the pandemic.
And he stood strong in the face of brutal policy changes to our international education sector.
He was always a fierce and fearless advocate for his members.
And he was a reliable and valued colleague.
Well played, Troy.
It’s hard to believe the chaos in international education has been playing out for over a year now.
I remember speaking at this same conference on the Gold Coast last June.
We had been grappling with policy changes since the end of 2023.
But the call that really shook us came in May, just days before the federal budget.
The Albanese government announced it was capping international students.
A step framed as protecting the integrity of our hugely successful international education sector.
But this was really geared toward neutralising a political battle over migration and housing.
The Coalition had been beating this drum for months.
Blaming international students for driving up prices and locking Australians out of the market.
We know from polling that migration and housing are hot-button issues.
Cue Labor’s knee-jerk response.
And in one fell swoop, international students became scapegoats for Australia’s housing crisis.
Human beings became collateral damage in an increasingly politicised debate.
Australia spent decades building a world-class international education sector.
With bipartisan support, ours grew to become the envy of the world.
A top three destination for international students from more than 140 countries.
This is testament to the strength of our universities.
And a nod to our country more generally.
But overnight, this Australian success story was plundered.
I know election year politics when I see it.
And this was it, clear as day.
The Coalition stoking anger in the electorate.
Labor caving to pressure to protect its vote.
Both sides deferring blame for their own domestic policy failures in office.
With no evidence to support the claim that international students have caused the housing crisis.
Let’s look at what the evidence really says.
It remains just as relevant today as it was last year.
International students account for only six per cent of the rental market.
That’s what the Australian Government has told us.
International students live in areas with higher vacancy rates than the metropolitan average.
That’s what the property data has told us.
International students have not pushed up rental prices.
That’s what independent research from the University of South Australia has told us.
International students have not caused the housing crisis.
That’s what the government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has told us.
Even the federal treasurer admitted that the student contribution to housing is “at the margins”.
And yet, a year on, both major political parties are still trying to tear down international education.
They remain on a unity ticket.
The only point they disagree on is how far to go.
It’s officially a race to bottom.
A race that risks doing irreparable damage to a national success story.
The legislation Labor introduced to cap international enrolments remains parked in the Senate.
It’s there because the Coalition decided the cuts didn’t go far enough and they voted against it.
Instead, Peter Dutton is pledging to set stricter caps on international students.
He’s been threatening this for almost a year now.
What is the Coalition planning?
We’re yet to see the detail.
We’ve heard talk of a thirty per cent cap on overseas enrolments.
This is just speculation, but we need to understand how it would work in practice.
Would it be a flat cap?
Would it apply to undergraduates only?
Would it be at the institution or course level?
These are questions we need answers to.
What we do know is that it would result in a significant reduction in overseas enrolments.
On 2023 levels, our universities would need to shed almost fifty-five thousand foreign students.
We know that these talented people, on average, contribute $73,000 each to our economy every year.
That’s $73,000 less going into the coffers with every single international student we turn away.
Fifty-five thousand fewer students studying here amounts to a four-billion-dollar economic hit.
Imagine torching four billion dollars in revenue at a time our economy and our sector can least afford it.
It could soon happen.
That is the reality of a 30 per cent institutional cap on international students.
What we stand to lose in future revenue is far greater.
This begs some questions.
Is this all worth a few votes at the ballot box?
Is this all worth the hit to our economy?
Is this all worth inflicting further financial pain on universities?
I wish these weren’t rhetorical questions.
Sadly, this is the price of short-term politics.
More thought needs to be given to what’s at stake under this bipartisan attack.
International education is our nation’s biggest export outside of mining.
It generates $52 billion each year.
It pays for essential services.
It supports 250,000 jobs.
It funds vital university research.
And critically, it subsidises the education of Australian students.
That’s why it’s crazy to even think about curtailing this vitally important sector, particularly now.
Let’s consider the current landscape.
Last week’s federal budget forecast a decade of deficits and over a trillion dollars in gross debt.
The reasons for this vary depending on who you talk to.
Unavoidable spending during the pandemic.
International factors.
Economic mismanagement.
Whatever the cause, our economy isn’t in great shape.
At the same time, our university sector isn’t in a healthy state either.
Most of Australia’s universities are in deficit.
I am more certain of the reasons for this.
COVID-19 and the departure of international students en masse.
Years of government underfunding.
And now changes to international education policy settings.
The great irony is that international education helps make our economy and our universities strong.
So why aren’t we growing a sector that boosts the bottom line?
That’s another rhetorical question.
Our fate, in a lot of ways, will be revealed in the coming weeks.
A federal election is underway, and the Coalition has promised to unveil its full migration policy.
Will it be a thirty per cent cap on international enrolments?
Which universities will bear the brunt of cuts?
How will the Coalition ensure prospective students don’t abandon Australia entirely?
These details are important.
We’re patiently waiting.
In anticipation, I have written to the Leader of the Opposition requesting to meet.
Our sector needs certainty to plan if this is the policy direction of an incoming federal government.
The certainty we weren’t afforded for much of last year as Labor glacially moved to legislate caps.
That legislation is now dead and buried.
My concern is that universities are heading for the same fate.
Until last year, our success in international education was driven by bipartisan political support.
Both the major parties encouraged growth in international students for over a decade.
And in the aftermath of the pandemic, both sides went to great lengths to encourage their return.
This support helped Australia to build a thriving international education sector.
Through this, our universities generate private revenue to support their own teaching and research.
This is important to understand.
As not-for-profit institutions, every dollar is reinvested back into Australian teaching and research.
This is not a nice to have.
It’s a need to have.
Universities have grown heavily reliant on this revenue to cover Commonwealth funding gaps.
Our sector has been asked to do more with less for some time.
A dedicated infrastructure fund worth almost four billion dollars was closed in 2019.
Changes to the funding system have stripped universities of almost a billion dollars annually.
And government investment in university research has plunged to a record low.
The boom in international education has papered over these cracks.
But the revenue this once-reliable source provided is no longer guaranteed.
Universities Australia has been calling for full and proper funding for our sector in light of this.
But our call for financial stability isn’t just about managing today’s pressures.
It’s about making sure Australia’s universities are match fit for the future.
Targets show our sector will need to educate a million more domestic students each year by 2050.
That’s 1.8 million students annually, more than double the number currently studying at university.
This is not an exercise in self-interest.
It’s a critical national imperative.
It’s what our economy demands.
And it’s what our future prosperity depends on.
Engineers to design infrastructure for a growing population.
IT specialists to protect us online.
Teachers to shape future generations.
Health professionals to care for sick and ageing Australians.
Technical experts to guide the energy transition and develop defence assets.
And scientists to generate original ideas and invent new products.
These skilled people are all educated at our universities.
And our country needs more of them in the future.
To tackle domestic and global challenges.
To seize new opportunities when they emerge.
To pivot as our circumstances change.
And to deliver the services all Australians need and deserve.
Remember, this is not a task we have set for ourselves.
It is what the government is asking us to do on behalf of the nation.
But we can’t do it without support.
Support to build our campuses in line with Australia’s growing skills needs.
Support to teach a million extra students each year to fuel our economy.
And support to undertake the R&D that underpins our standard of living and drives our progress.
Our call for full and proper support is to ensure we can deliver what is being asked of us.
By the government, no less.
I don’t think it is too much to ask.
The Albanese government has started the education reform process.
Cutting the cost of early education and care and building a universal system.
Increasing the wages of early childhood education workers.
Delivering full and fair funding for public schools.
Making TAFE free.
And slashing student debt and making the repayment system fairer.
These are all worthy initiatives.
Education is a powerful enabler.
It helps overcome disadvantage.
It opens the doors of opportunity.
And it helps people to realise their potential.
It’s also good for our economy.
Investing in the next generation is critical to building Australia’s future.
I want to acknowledge Education Minister Jason Clare for what he’s achieved in the portfolio.
He’s done a lot in this term of parliament to reform early childhood education, schools and TAFE.
The next step must be continuing to reform our higher education system.
And I want to urge the next federal government to make this a priority.
We have a blueprint in the Australian Universities Accord.
The Accord outlines multigenerational reforms to build our university system for the future.
Reforms that require commitment from successive governments.
Labor has made good steps to start this process, implementing some of the recommendations.
But the next and all future governments must stay the course.
The international student chaos of the last 12 months has amplified the need for this.
Both major parties are biting the hand that helps fund our sector.
Universities, on average, bank around thirty thousand dollars per international student enrolled.
That’s money that helps fund teaching for Aussie students and research.
Money that goes directly to supporting our country’s future.
All remaining revenue flows directly into the economy and creates the same outcome.
The money helps makes Australia stronger and more prosperous.
We built a world-class international education sector because we were encouraged to.
Universities shouldn’t now be victims of their own success.
If we can’t rely on international student revenue, we need a reliable partner in government.
And government needs a reliable partner in us.
It’s a two-way street.
Much of what has been, and will be, promised on the campaign trail relies on our sector.
We’ve so far seen billions of dollars promised for better roads and more homes.
We can’t build better roads and more homes without engineers.
The Coalition has pledged to put nuclear at the centre of its energy plan for Australia.
We can’t transition to a clean energy future without scientists and other specialists.
Both major parties have committed billions of dollars to further strengthen Medicare.
We can’t deliver healthcare and keep Australians healthy without trained health professionals.
Labor’s Future Made in Australia simply isn’t possible without research and innovation.
And the Coalition’s guarantee of more defence spending means nothing without technical experts to deliver capabilities.
These are all nation-building endeavours, critical to our future.
They start with universities and the skilled people we educate and the research we undertake.
The government of the day needs a strong university sector to deliver its plan for the nation.
Australia needs a strong university sector.
What are we waiting for?
This last year has reminded us that we had a long run of making our own luck.
That run is coming to an end.
We need some help going forward.
Let’s get on with the job of completing the education reform agenda for Australia’s benefit.
It is higher education’s turn.
Thank you.
