Julian Hill responds to sector concerns on visa costs and onshore transfers

Hill’s portfolio is a new one for Australia, added to his duties as assistant minister for citizenship, customs and multicultural affairs. But he is no stranger to international education, having co-chaired the Parliamentary Friends of International Education and engaged closely with the sector during his political career.

There is a clear sense that Hill wants to listen to the sector’s frustrations – many of which were on full display at the recent The PIE Live Asia Pacific conference, where providers and stakeholders voiced concerns about visa refusals, visa fee hikes, lagging enrolments in certain parts of the sector, and unintended consequences of a potential ban on onshore agent commissions.

“There is no perfect way to manage onshore transfers. A perfectly functioning market will always have some level of friction,” said Hill, when asked if such a ban on onshore agent commission could be on the cards, during a webinar hosted by The PIE News.

“Some transfers are perfectly healthy… Sometimes students make the wrong choice – they’re young people,” he said. Circumstances change, a provider may not be the right fit, or a student may need to move cities. It’s a point some stakeholders have long made in arguing that there is a place for some onshore commission – a view Hill appears to share.

“There should be a certain level of transfer. It’s a consumer protection element as well to keep providers focused on offering quality experience that the consumer has some ability to change,” he said.

However, what the government is seeing in parts of the sector is “a level of transfers onshore that is concerning and that raises integrity questions”.

Despite the June 2023 ban on ‘concurrent enrolment’ – a loophole that had allowed newly arrived international students to to switch to cheaper providers shortly after arriving in the country – Hill said the government is still investigating unhealthy patterns.

The assistant minister, who stressed he is open to feedback from the sector, said there is a “spectrum of options” that could address the issue.

Some have suggested Australia could follow neighbouring New Zealand’s new model, requiring students to apply for a new visa when changing providers or lowering their level of study. A more “extreme” option would be a requirement for students to leave the country to apply for a new visa.

Others in the sector have floated the idea of a transfer commissions mechanism to “at least give pause for cause and give better insights into the data flows”, explained Hill.

Meanwhile, he reminded webinar viewers that students already need a new visa is going from higher level or provider to a lower one – but admits that hasn’t always been enforced.

In his conversation with The PIE, Hill was keen to assert the important role agents play in Australia’s international education ecosystem. “There are so many agents who give wonderful service, and care about the students and are passionate about getting the student to the right institution. But there’s obviously a distinction between offshore activity and onshore activity.”

The conversation comes weeks after the Australian government announced an increase to its National Planning Level for 2026 – currently set at 270,000 new international student places. This will increase to 295,000 next year, in what has been described as a “de facto cap” on international enrolments.

According to Hill, the government “inherited a mess,” claiming that integrity measures taken during Labor’s first term were necessary because “growth was expanding at an unsustainable rate, particularly in the less reputable parts of the sector”.

“Now that growth has returned to a sustainable level, we’ve been able to announce an increase in the number of students that we’d like to see commencing in Australia next year, with some of that growth coupled with new student housing and market diversification,” he added.

The government is confident it is on track to hit its targets, but Hill admitted there have been “ups and downs”, particularly with lower-than-expected enrolments in VET and ELICOS.

Stakeholders in the ELICOS sector have been vocal about the devastating impact of visa fee hikes on the sector. Responding to this, Hill defended the cost of Australia’s study visa fee – the most expensive in the world at AUD $2,000. This cost, he said, is a “very small proportion” of studying in Australia when all expenses are considered – tuition fees, living costs, and other contributions.

Historically, Australia has always had a visa fee that is somewhat higher than the global average – that’s been part of our positioning and that will continueJulian Hill, assistant minister for international education

“Historically, Australia has always had a visa fee that is somewhat higher than the global average – that’s been part of our positioning and that will continue,” he said.

And although he acknowledges the strong feedback coming from ELICOS and study abroad providers that visa fee hikes are having a disproportionate impact on their enrolments, Hill suggests it is not the only factor at play.

“The correlation between a reduction in offshore student numbers was not actually with the first increase to the visa fee… the correlation with the more significant drop in student numbers was when we tightened up the visa integrity settings because of some of the behaviour we were seeing from certain markets,” he said.

Despite this, he sought to assure stakeholders tuned in to the live broadcast that the government is taking their feedback seriously. “I’ve asked the department to prepare options for government to look at… we are listening,” he said.

Sector leaders, previously speaking to The PIE on the issue, were optimistic that lobbying efforts may soon bring relief in the shape of a significant reduction for certain cohorts of short-term students.

As some stakeholders say Ministerial Direction 111 has eased visa refusals, others continue to raise concerns about arbitrary decisions.

Hill encouraged stakeholders to share any concerning patterns in refusals with the Department of Home Affairs directly or with their peak body. “I’ve asked the department to be a bit more available to look at sensible providers and sensible patterns,” he said.

“With the advent of AI, we’re seeing, unfortunately, parts of the world flooding the system with what appear to be, and what have proven to be, fraudulent documents.”

Hill reinforced that any changes are driven by data and patterns of misuse, including overstaying of visas or moving between visas and then making protection claims. “That is not sustainable for the country, and that is what is driving a lot of this rebalancing and integrity of the visa system,” he said.

“The government looks at risk for overstaying the visa and and risk of taking an unmeritorious protection claim. Our risk appetite for these things when you look at the abuse of the protection visa system in Australia is exceptionally low,” noted Hill.

Elsewhere, strengthening the sector’s social licence with the Australian public sits high on Hill’s agenda. For Hill, building the reputation of the international education industry is key to its long-term sustainability, with a positive student experience also central to Australia’s future success.

“We should value the fact that young people choose to come to our country, live in our cities and regions during formative years, and make that contribution,” he said.

The PIE’s interview with The Hon Julian Hill MP is available to view on demand.