Dodgy course providers could be shut down by the federal government as part of a sweeping crackdown on rorts in the embattled international education sector.
A package of reforms, to come into effect immediately, aims to reverse an uptick in exploitation and fraud that risks causing reputational damage for Australia’s higher education system.
As part of the changes, the amount in savings students are required to prove they have in order to study in Australia will go up and the federal government will consider using its powers to issue suspension certificates to “high-risk” education providers, meaning they would be unable to recruit international students into their courses.
A loophole will also be closed to prevent providers moving international students from education to work, previously allowed for individuals who had been in the country for less than six months.
There has been a sharp uptake in concurrent enrolments this year, with recent investigations finding 17,000 had been created, compared with about 10,500 for the same period in 2019 and 2022 combined.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said maintaining integrity in the sector was crucial for the economy and Australia’s regional relationships.
International education is Australia’s fourth-largest export industry, accounting for billions of dollars in university funding each year.
“International student numbers are almost back to where they were before the pandemic. That’s a good thing … but there are also challenges in international education,” Clare said.
“As students have come back, so have some dodgy and unscrupulous players who are trying to take advantage of them.
“This change will work to stop predatory ‘second’ providers from enrolling students before they have studied for the required six months at their first provider. This will help ensure the integrity of one of our biggest exports while cracking down on dodgy operators.”
The federal government will increase the amount international students need to save to acquire a student visa. The figure has not been indexed since 2019 and does not reflect the surge in living expenses.
From 1 October, international students will need to show evidence of $24,505 in savings, a 17% increase from the current figure.
Additional scrutiny will be applied to “high-risk cohorts”, with extra documentation required to prevent fraud in applications.
International students spoke out this year in opposition to a reduction in permitted working hours while studying in Australia, citing the punishing cost of living that was against expectations.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said it was “essential” Australia’s global reputation for quality education did not take a tumble as a result of the rorts.
Earlier this year, a parliamentary inquiry heard Australia’s international student system had become a “Ponzi scheme” in which overseas agents were paid bonuses to lure foreign students with the promise of full-time work.
“Our government has no tolerance for people who exploit students,” O’Neil said.
“Our message is clear: the party is over, the rorts and loopholes that have plagued this system will be shut down.”
The government has begun immediate consultation on possible regulations to set clear grounds for suspensions, such as application rates with fraudulent documents and provider refusal rates.
More than 200 providers have visa refusal rates higher than 50%. The practice is particularly prevalent in the private VET and Tafe sector.
The skills and training minister, Brendan O’Connor, said it was “critical” to ensure the quality of the VET sector.
“Nine out of 10 future jobs will require a post-secondary qualification and VET is a vital pathway to secure jobs,” he said. “We are committed to lifting perceptions of VET and this is an important step to do that.”
A migration strategy, to be released later this year, will contain further measures to improve integrity in the sector.
