The Bill proposing the introduction of student caps from 1 January 2025 has been deferred another 3 weeks, while it is examined by the Senate Committee, prolonging confusion for thousands of international students hoping to enrol in Australian institutions.
The legislation, if passed in its current form, would give the Federal Government power to regulate how many international students were allowed to be enrolled in higher education courses across Australia. The Senate Committee examining the legislation yesterday secured a later deadline for reporting on its deliberations, pushing the report out to 6 September 2024.
The Senate sits the following two weeks, but even if the Bill passes unchanged, it would give Education Minister Jason Clare just over three months to curate caps for thousands of courses across Australia.
While the majority of universities have campaigned strongly against the caps, with a particularly vigorous campaign from the Go8, the Government’s moves to slow visa processing, increase processing costs and remove the welcome mat for international students is already reportedly dampening demand – potentially making the caps irrelevant for the Semester One intake next year anyway.
