Tariffing the un-tarrifable
I spoke with several senior international education leaders for this piece on condition of anonymity, so they could speak frankly.
Go8 universities are the go-to for criticism – the Coalition’s policy announcement refers specifically to the universities of Melbourne, Sydney, and UNSW.
Why? Because – apparently – international students are the only temporary visa-holders contributing to rental challenges. Not working holiday visa holders, or any others.
Just international students. Perfect scapegoats. They can’t vote. But the communities and businesses who benefit from a healthy international student intake matter, and can vote.
We’re led to believe that rent inflation occurs only in Sydney and Melbourne, because Go8 universities recruit international students.
The opposition particularly objects to international student enrolments at Go8 universities raising the student visa application fee – already the most expensive in the world – to AUD $2,500 (£1,164) for all applicants, and an outrageous AUD $5,000 (£2,328) for students applying for a Go8 university.
An aspiring party of government proposes to deliver a gift to the Russell Group, denying Go8 universities access to some of the brightest international students.
The Go8 universities are our globally ranked, research-intensive universities. Why degrade them to the extent that they may have to cut courses for Australian students? Or suspend critical research programs?
One senior Go8 leader told me: “This will reduce the diversity of our international cohorts – reducing the powerful soft diplomacy across our region that international students bring.”
Guess what? Universities are everywhere. In metro, peri-urban, and regional Australia. Many uni-adjacent or uni-dependent providers have proportionally more international student enrolments than universities.
Some of these non-university providers are entirely legitimate and provide high quality student outcomes.
Others juice up on international students just for the revenue, exploiting the regulatory grey zones they occupy. Student outcomes are of little concern.
On social media, we’ve never seen international students referring to the Administrative Review Tribunal in such volume on visa decisions. Or the paucity of decisions on suspect providers. There’s an endless appeal process (or is it a loophole?) during which providers can continue operating.
Both sides of politics are operating on an assumption that limiting international student enrolments at the big metro universities will drive enrolments at regional universities.
There are amazing regional unis doing incredible things. In Geelong, Wollongong, Townsville, Newcastle.
We could go on.
One senior international education leader at a Go8 university reminded me, many regional universities have campuses in Melbourne and Sydney.
Why? Because this is where international students want to study.
Another senior international education leader pointed me to comments that the shadow minister for education made at a function attended by education agents and private providers.
Her comments were made as the Opposition voted against the current government’s international student caps legislation.
“The event… was part of my consultation on this bill,” Sarah Henderson is quoted in The Age. “The Coalition makes no apology for opposing Labor’s student caps legislation because it will fail to fix the migration and housing crisis of the government’s own making.”
We make no suggestion that this event was a fundraiser. It’s simply interesting to note that non-university providers will have a lower cap on enrolments (125k) than universities (115k), under a Coalition Government.
The Lygon Group refers to the economic contribution international students make locally as the haircut, coffee, clothes, food, or tourism index.
We could go on.
Less tangibly, international students volunteer, are members of local sports teams, and trainee health workers shadowing our professional health workers. Delivering better health outcomes for everyone.
We regard welcoming students and sending them home with advanced skills as ‘exports’.
Good luck to the Trump Administration placing a tariff on a US student taking their studies in Australia.
Another senior sector leader told me “capping international student numbers is tantamount to capping Australia’s economic growth.”
Sounds like placing our own ‘tariffs-esque’ on an un-tarrifible export sector is an act of economic self-harm.
Other senior leaders described the Coalition’s policy more colourfully. “This is like an unfunny episode of [ABC comedy] Utopia” said one.
“Total madness,” said another.
Indeed.
Written by Jeffrey Smart, co-founder and director at The Lygon Group.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The PIE News.
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