Direction on foreign students to remain under Labor

Universities are expecting that the number of international students they can recruit will continue to be limited under a revamped ministerial direction.

education Minister Jason Clare. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

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Universities are expecting that the number of international students they can recruit will continue to be limited under a revamped ministerial direction, as the Greens vow to oppose any caps on foreign students in the parliament.

Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi has stood firm on the Green’s opposition to Labor’s “universally despised” bill capping overseas students, effectively ruling out that Education Minister Jason Clare would be able to revive the legislation which became stalled in the Senate.

After the Coalition joined the Greens in opposing legislation capping overseas students at 270,000 last year, Mr Clare pledged that a ministerial direction 107 that prioritised visa processing for low-risk providers would continue as a “de facto cap”.

It was later replaced by another revised Direction 111, which slowed down offshore student visa processing once a tertiary institution got close to its target.

The Australian understands Mr Clare has flagged with the sector that Direction 111 will remain in place to enable the government to limit the number of foreign students at tertiary institutions, before the new regulator body, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, takes over once it is established.

Senator Faruqi, who was the Greens higher education spokeswoman, accused Labor of pursuing cuts to the international education sector that would have “decimated” the university sector and led to massive job losses through the bill, officially known as the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment.

“The ESOS bill was migration policy disguised as education policy, and a weapon in Labor’s bid to win a race to the bottom with the Coalition on migration by falsely blaming international students for the housing crisis,” Senator Faruqi said.

“The remnants of the Coalition are now in political wilderness, and the Albanese government has more political capital than ever, so why are they still racing to the bottom on migration?”

The Greens are on track to hold 11 Senate seats, handing the minor party the numbers to pass Labor’s legislative agenda without any crossbenchers.

On Monday, Mr Clare said Direction 111 and the increase in visa fees was “working” and reducing foreign student numbers. This reflected comments he made in The Australian this month, when he signalled that he may continue to rely on the measure to cut overseas enrolments.

“Ministerial Direction 111, as well as the ­increase in the visa fees to ­students, has helped us to reduce student visa applications by about 30 per cent this year, so that’s working,” he said.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said a measure such as Direction 111 would need to remain in place for a time, warning that some providers were already in danger of breaching their limit.

“Until the ATEC is up and running, clearly the government needs to meet their 270,000 new international student commencement figures for 2026, for that reason there is every likelihood a regulatory measure akin to ministerial direction 111 will be utilised,” he said.

“Though there are already a number of providers who are sailing close to the wind, with their agreed 2025 overall student enrolment figure.

“Those providers will no doubt soon be contacted by government departments to remind them that it would be outside the government’s agreed parameters for them to be too ambitious in their recruitments.”