On March 31, the Australian government’s published its response to a 2023 interim report on international education, addressing recommendations aimed at improving the sector’s integrity and sustainability.
The response, coordinated by the Department of Education in consultation with government agencies, addresses the interim report which was published by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence, tabled in October 2023 and which set out 29 recommendations for the government.
Much of the government’s response reiterates policy directions and legislation announced in the years since the report.
Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) spoke to The PIE News, reflecting on some of these policy changes and reacting to the government’s direction.
“Given that this parliamentary committee tabled its report way back in October 2023, it says a lot about the priority afforded to our sector that we have had to wait an extraordinary 2.5 years for an official response,” said Honeywood, who added that “so much has happened since 2023 that some of the recommendations are very much past their use by date”.
One of the recommendations made by the committee argues the case for market diversification. “They even nominated some new priority countries from Africa and LATAM,” Honeywood recalls.
However, according to him, “the sad reality is that our Home Affairs department has only paid lip service to any market diversification goal”.
“African students find it incredibly difficult to get visas approved, our world’s most expensive visa charge has deterred Latin American students and Austrade has suffered reduced funding to support providers’ diversification campaigns. In contrast, for geo-strategic reasons, our government has moved quickly to shore up supportive policy settings for students from our Pacific neighbours.”
Elsewhere, a number of the recommendations reference the desirability of targeted campaigns to educate Australian employers on opportunities to hire international student graduates.
However, Honeywood argues that the government “seems to be content to let peak bodies do any heavy lifting in this crucial policy area”.
“Equally, there is no evidence that our government is willing to advance the cause of international students entering apprenticeships (due to too much trade union opposition) or requiring professional accreditation bodies to improve barriers to entry for overseas students.”
Honeywood welcomed the government’s response to the report’s recommendation to foster the expansion of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA).
“To this end, the government is permitting public universities to apply for an increase in their enrolment limits if they prove they are building additional PBSA facilities. However, IEAA advocates that independent higher education providers should also be incentivised to commit to new PBSA,” he explained.
The Student Accommodation Council has since commented on the government’s in-principle support for expanding PBSA, but has also called on state and local governments to play their part in unlocking more housing for students.
“International education is a national economic asset, and student accommodation is fundamental to its success. We welcome the Australian government’s recognition that PBSA plays a critical role in ensuring the growth and sustainability of our international education sector,” said Adele Lausberg, executive director of the Student Accommodation Council.
“As a housing option that removes demand from the broader rental market and provides professionally managed and safe living options for students, we need all levels of government to treat PBSA as an asset-class of priority,” Lausberg continued.
As a housing option that removes demand from the broader rental market and provides professionally managed and safe living options for students, we need all levels of government to treat PBSA as an asset-class of priorityAdele Lausberg, the Student Accommodation Council
“This means PBSA should be given the same exemptions from foreign owner surcharges and land-tax discounts across the country. We need an even playing field to ensure the growth of this critical asset-class.”
The government’s response recognises a strong PBSA pipeline, with more than 11,000 beds under construction, more than 15,000 approved and more than 12,000 in planning. Lausberg said this recognition was welcome, but delivery would depend on practical reform.
“PBSA is a proven, specialist housing product, yet it continues to face planning delays, inconsistent treatment across jurisdictions and limited access to domestic and superannuation capital,” she said.
“If Australia wants to remain globally competitive in international education, governments must remove barriers to PBSA delivery, improve planning pathways and support long‑term investment.”
Elsewhere, the government backed moves to increase transparency around education agent data, pointing to measures already legislated under the Education Legislation Amendment (ELA) Act, including the collection of agent commission data to enable greater information sharing with providers, while also committing to further consultation on strengthening provider monitoring requirements.
“The government should be commended for implementing the report’s recommendations regarding increased transparency of education agent data for providers,” said Honeywood.
“Although IEAA advocated for keeping some onshore commission in place, the government has now implemented an across-the-board onshore commission ban. However, the sector is already seeing onshore agents find ways around this ban,” he added.
