Attributable to Universities Australia Chair Professor David Lloyd:

We acknowledge the Government’s right to control migration numbers, but this should not be done at the expense of any one sector, particularly one as economically important as education.

Curtailing growth in the $48 billion international education sector risks our nation’s ambition and the university sector’s ability to support the delivery of national priorities.

International student fees help drive Australia’s economy and support universities to operate, making up a shortfall in government funding for research, teaching and campus infrastructure.

Every dollar from overseas students is reinvested back into Australia’s universities. Having fewer students here will only widen the funding gap at a time universities need greater support.

There will also be significant flow-on effects for other sectors of the economy that rely heavily on international students.

International students accounted for more than half of Australia’s GDP growth last year, almost singlehandedly saving the nation from recession. The sector is our second biggest export behind mining, worth almost $50 billion to our economy and supporting around 250,000 jobs.

Even without legislated powers to limit international student numbers, the Government has already taken a sledgehammer to the international education sector.

Ministerial Direction 107 has slowed visa processing to a trickle and driven up visa cancellations, inflicting serious financial harm on universities, particularly those in regional Australia and outer suburban areas.

Under Ministerial Direction 107, visa grants in higher education are down 23 per cent on last year, causing a $4.3 billion hit to the economy and putting 14,000 jobs in our sector at risk.

We note the Government’s acknowledgement of the harm done by this destructive instrument and again call for its immediate removal to deliver growth in the sector, as the Minister has promised.

We’ll be working closely with our members on the details of what’s been announced today and the impact on their individual institutions as we push for the certainty, stability and growth our sector and the nation needs to secure a productive and prosperous future.