The election of a Government that has vowed to crack down on international student enrolments less harshly than their opponent, while also ratcheting up visa application fees, has posed a question for international education offices – where to for Brand Australia?
After months of negative rhetoric about international students, and evidence of a decline in visa applications, hitting the VET sector particularly hard, has left many questioning what lay ahead for custodians of Australia’s reputation as an education destination.
Reports yesterday from latest insights of the Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey, developed in a collaboration by Studyportals, NAFSA and the Oxford Test of English, found that despite the bad publicity, Australia had 9% growth in international undergraduate enrolments, in contrast to a 33% decline in Canada, no growth in British enrolments and a 1% rise in US enrolments for the first quarter for 2025.
The number of students enrolling in the Big Four international destinations had apparently dropped from 38.4% of global international enrolments in 2023 to 28% in March 2025.
After backing the wrong horse in last week’s election, the Murdoch media published a story linking to a compilation of international students celebrating the Albanese Government’s win, quoting anonymous migration agents saying the result would be good for international students.
With continuing pressure to enforce caps, where to for Austrade’s Study Australia brand? Is it good policy for the Government to be feverishly slamming doors on students from Home Affairs while spending money maintaining the welcome mat over in another department?
Does the $2,000 visa application fee mean we are consciously prioritising wealthy applicants?
And what is the future of soft power, in an era of harsh declarations from the world’s most powerful? The British Council is effectively bankrupt,australi looking at selling off shopfronts and its much-vaunted art collection – raising questions about the value that Australia can unlock through soft power approaches of its own – after all, not all minds are swayed by defence spending alone.
The soul of Brand Australia is up for grabs. Whoever the Prime Minister anoints as the incoming Education Minister will have a complex path to navigate.
