Australia’s bill to overhaul higher education funding resurrects the international student caps that the government failed to impose two years ago, according to the opposition’s education spokesman.
Julian Leeser said the “Open the Doors of Opportunity” bill, which legislates the Australian Tertiary Education Commission’s (Atec’s) role in allocating domestic teaching grants and international student places, would put the real power in the hands of the education minister.
Leeser told a Canberra gathering that while Atec would handle international student quotas at each institution, the overall “international allocation pool” would be determined by the minister.
“[He] can pause any growth in that pool, or he can grow it,” Leeser told an International Education Association of Australia forum, according to speech notes. “He is not required to consult. He can make [or] vary the determination at any time, and the determination cannot be challenged.
“The distribution of places is then done by the Atec…but it is very much under the thumb of the minister. The international student migration scheme is now transitioning to a capped scheme.”
