Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said Australia’s international education sector had been built over decades with bipartisan support, only to be gradually weakened by a series of policy decisions driven more by short-term politics than Australia’s long-term national interest.

“Australia built one of the world’s most successful international education sectors because governments of all persuasions understood its value,” Mr Sheehy said.

“For years, governments encouraged universities to build this sector because they recognised it as a national asset.

“The same governments that encouraged universities to build this success are now dismantling it, one decision at a time.

“Today’s fee hike doesn’t stand alone. It comes on top of higher visa refusal rates, policy uncertainty and a series of decisions that have made Australia a less attractive destination.

“The cumulative effect is clear. Australia is becoming a harder sell, and the sector’s slow nosedive continues.

“Most countries would give anything to have a $55 billion export industry supporting 250,000 jobs. Australia has one, and we’re making it harder to succeed.

“Beyond the economy, this sector helps fund the world-class teaching and research Australians expect from their universities at a time when government funding has failed to keep pace with the cost of delivering it.

“International students also return home as friends of Australia, strengthening our relationships, our influence and our standing in the world. That’s one of our greatest strategic advantages.

“We should be competing with the world’s leading education destinations, not making ourselves more expensive and less certain.

“Every additional cost and every new barrier makes it easier for them to choose somewhere else. That’s Australia’s loss.

“We acknowledge the government has taken some positive steps, including concessions for students from Southeast Asia and a carve-out for genuine mobility students, consistent with Universities Australia’s advocacy.

“These are welcome and sensible measures, and they point to the kind of long-term policy approach Australia needs.

“But they don’t offset the broader damage being done by repeated fee increases, higher refusal rates and ongoing policy uncertainty.

“Australia needs a stable, competitive international education policy that recognises this sector for what it is – one of our greatest national assets.”