‘Mad rush’: Unis block foreign applications amid record student arrivals

Sydney universities have taken the unprecedented step of blocking new applications for 2025 as foreign students flood into Australia and Chinese visa approvals hit a new high.

A record number of international students entered the country in September ahead of the proposed cap on foreign enrolments, due to come into effect on January 1, as the federal government battles to contain migration.

The University of NSW has paused international student applications for all three trimesters next year to avoid exceeding its cap and facing stiff penalties from the federal government.

It will be the university hardest hit by the migration crackdown when it’s forced to enrol just 9500 new foreign students, compared with its current cohort of more than 17,000 this year.

UNSW is allowing prospective students only to submit expressions of interest to be added to a waitlist.

Typically, applications remain open throughout the year for different enrolment periods.

Universities are closely monitoring their enrolments because the legislation, if passed by parliament this month, would impose harsh penalties on institutions that exceed their limit by even one student, including banning them from accepting new foreign students for the rest of the year.

A UNSW spokesperson said it risked exceeding its proposed enrolment limit without taking pre-emptive measures after experiencing “unprecedented demand” over the past few years.

“UNSW is therefore introducing offer rounds and a waitlist for 2025 international admissions with merit-based offers to be released progressively for programs where there is still availability,” they said.

Despite losing hundreds of millions in potential revenue from the cut to its foreign student numbers, UNSW said it was in a relatively strong financial position due to “hard work, careful spending and good management” and expects to post a surplus for 2024.

“[The international student cap] is poor policy that will have negative impacts on the domestic student experience, national productivity and economic growth,” the spokesperson said.

The University of Sydney has closed foreign applications for many undergraduate and postgraduate degrees starting in semester 1 next year, while the Australian Catholic University closed all 2025 applications in September after already reaching its cap.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the government was committed to implementing caps for the international education sector to manage growth.

“We make no apology for the fact that we want to return migration levels to around pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “And part of that is returning international student numbers to roughly the sort of numbers they were before the pandemic.”

He said the government had been clear that providers should plan their 2025 activities in the context of the government’s public statements on migration and international education.

The moves to contain enrolments come as students rush into the country, with a record number of September arrivals. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 30,650 university students entered the country in September, compared with 24,420 at the same time last year.

There were 446,084 new foreign students in Australia in the year to August, the highest on record and 12 per cent higher than the same time in 2019, education department data shows.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs data reveals that record numbers of prospective Chinese students were granted visas in the first three months of this financial year.

There were 24,695 visas issued to Chinese students between July and September, up 20 per cent from the same time last year.

However, visa approvals are down for students from other countries, including Pakistan and India, whom the government considers a greater risk of being “non-genuine” students.

The government has issued 75,843 new student visas so far this financial year, down on the 89,000 issued by the same time last year.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said the government should give institutions a buffer on their cap because not every student who enrols will turn up.

“There is a real concern that there’s a mad rush to front-load [institutions’] 12-month cap into the first semester,” he said.

“It’s ironic that before this has even passed parliament, our education institutions are being forced to comply with non-legislated policy.”

The government’s legislation to enact the controversial international student caps is due to come before the Senate by the end of the month: the last chance for the bill to pass before its intended start date.

It has been fiercely objected to by most universities and vocational education providers who warn thousands of jobs will be axed as institutions grapple with lost international student revenue.

Clare has previously said the caps would even the playing field and allow smaller and regional universities to have a greater share of foreign students.

However, Regional Universities Network chief executive Alec Webb has voiced concerns that the caps would perpetually disadvantage regional universities.

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