The 14 universities that enrol above Peter Dutton’s proposed 25 per cent cap on overseas students at public institutions would need to shed 80,000 places at a cost of $2.9 billion to meet his mandate.

The Coalition’s pledge to cut new overseas enrolments to just 240,000 would be the lowest since 2006 when 210,000 students commenced their courses, according to federal data – lower than during the pandemic years when borders were closed.