Australia maintains 2027 international student planning level at 295,000

Announcing the 2027 international education settings on July 3, education minister Jason Clare, skills minister Andrew Giles and assistant minister for international education Julian Hill said keeping the planning level unchanged would provide “stability and certainty” while ensuring Australia’s international education sector remained resilient, high-quality and globally competitive.

Government figures show international student commencements this year are down 8% compared with the same period in 2025 and 13% below 2019 levels. The 295,000 NPL remains 8% below the immediate post-COVID peak.

“International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, but we need to manage it sustainably,” said Clare. “This is about making sure international education supports students, universities and the national interest.”

The government confirmed that no active international education provider will receive a lower allocation in 2027 than in 2026, maintaining last year’s stronger allocations for regional universities.

Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students will remain exempt from the NPL under the government’s “TAFE at the Heart” policy, while strategically important cohorts, including students from Pacific nations and Timor-Leste, and Australian government scholarship holders, will continue to be exempt and receive priority student visa processing.

Ministerial Direction will remain in place to manage student flows through visa prioritisation, while universities seeking additional international student growth will continue to be assessed against government priorities, including engagement with Southeast Asia and the provision of adequate student accommodation.

For the international vocational education and training (VET) sector, the government said it would continue using visa processing and integrity reforms to shape the sector’s size and composition.

“International VET strengthens outcomes for students and supports our workforce, while deepening valuable global partnerships,” said Giles.

He added that the 2027 settings would provide “certainty” for the international VET sector while enabling it to continue delivering “sustainable growth and high-quality skills outcomes”.

This is about making sure international education supports students, universities and the national interest

Jason Clare, education minister

The announcement follows this week’s 25% increase in student and temporary graduate visa fees, which lifted the subclass 500 student visa fee to AUD$2,500.

The changes also introduced a separate AUD$2,050 fee for standalone English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), lower fees for applicants from ASEAN countries and non-award courses, while retaining lower fees for students from Pacific nations and Timor-Leste.

Subject to legislation introduced to parliament last week, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) will oversee international student allocations for higher education providers from 2027, while the federal government will continue setting the overall National Planning Level.

The announcement builds on the government’s 2026 international education arrangements, introduced after its earlier attempt to legislate international student caps failed to pass the Senate, with the government instead continuing to manage international student numbers through administrative settings.

The 2027 arrangements also build on broader integrity reforms aimed at tackling poor provider practices, improving the student experience and keeping international student numbers on a more sustainable path, the government said.

Hill said Australia continued to welcome “genuine international students seeking a premium Australian education” that was “great for our unis, domestic students and research”.

He added that the government would “not back off from managing the size and the shape of the onshore international student market and ongoing moderation in student numbers towards a more sustainable sector”.