Australia is set to change its student visa processing practices for the second time in as many years, with the current arrangements ¨C outlined late last year under ministerial direction 111 (MD111) ¨C to be replaced within weeks.

Julian Hill, the assistant minister for international education, said a new ministerial directive was being finalised and would take effect in mid-November.

While Hill did not reveal details of the intended changes, ÌÇÐÄVlog understands the government intends to enforce its international student quotas by introducing a third lane of visa processing.

Under MD111, universities and colleges are placed in a slow visa processing lane once they have filled 80 per cent of their allocated places for new overseas students. But they can continue enrolling foreigners, and some universities have exceeded their allocations by as much as 50 per cent.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

This could change if a third, even slower processing lane is introduced for institutions that have filled their quotas. Universities would be wary of over-enrolling and risking reputations as institutions for which it is all but impossible to obtain visas.

If the government makes this change, it could entrench the international student allocations announced on 14 October, after the government boosted publicly funded universities¡¯ quotas by 15,700 compared?with their 2025 allocations.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

The additional places were awarded in recognition of institutional efforts to boost the stocks of student housing and recruit a more diverse mix of foreign students, particularly from South-east Asia. Thirty-two of 37 publicly funded universities asked for their allocations to be expanded, with all but one ¨C the University of Sydney ¨C granted extra places.

Sydney has nevertheless retained the biggest quota, with permission to admit 11,900 fresh overseas students next year. Monash University has an allocation of 11,300, with 10,500 places granted to the University of Melbourne and 10,350 to UNSW Sydney.

At the other end of the ledger, the University of New England will be allowed just 700 fresh foreign students. The University of Notre Dame Australia has been allocated 800 places and the University of Southern Queensland 1,050.

Hill said the government was ¡°serious¡± about keeping growth in check. The ¡°legacy of bad policy¡± ¨C particularly the uncapping of students¡¯ working hours during the coronavirus pandemic ¨C will ¡°haunt the nation for years¡±, he told the Australian International Education Conference.

¡°Worries about unsustainable growth¡­were compounded by revelations of shocking abuse [of] the student visa system in the Nixon review ¨C trafficking, migration and work scams by criminal syndicates,¡± he said. ¡°One rogue or lax provider doing bad or dumb things can ruin it for everyone. The government will not back off from the need to manage the size and the shape of the onshore student cohort.¡±

ÌÇÐÄVlog

Hill said regional institutions ¨C specifically, Charles Sturt, Federation, Newcastle and Charles Darwin universities ¨C had secured the ¡°largest proportional growth¡± in their allocations. Nevertheless, the 12 regionally based universities have collectively attracted just 24,000 places, compared?with 136,850 across the 25 institutions based in big mainland capital cities.

Critics say the government¡¯s approach is entrenching historical advantage in the large metropolitan universities that have long enrolled huge numbers of foreign students, denying cash-strapped regional institutions access to the only significant source of revenue growth.

Max Yong, an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne¡¯s Centre for the Study of ÌÇÐÄVlog, said the biggest raw number increases in overseas student allocations had gone to universities that already had among the highest proportions of international students.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

Yong said 850 extra places had been awarded to UNSW Sydney, where foreigners comprised 47 per cent of students last year. ¡°UNSW may soon break the 50 per cent international-domestic student split,¡± he warned.

UNSW said it welcomed the confirmation of next year¡¯s allocations. ¡°UNSW educates majority domestic students, offering world-class education¡­to both local and international students who meet stringent entry requirements,¡± a spokeswoman said.

Sydney, where international students constituted a 51 per cent majority last year, said it had applied for extra places ¡°to demonstrate our commitment¡± to diversity.?

¡°Our goal is to deliver an outstanding education for all our students, and international students contribute enormously to the broad range of perspectives, ideas and cultures in our classrooms and on campus,¡± said vice-president Kirsten Andrews. ¡°We¡¯re continuing our discussions with the government as we seek to increase the diversity of our student mix over time.¡±

ÌÇÐÄVlog

Hill said the university had received ¡°no growth at this time pending further discussions about realistic plans for market diversification, genuine commitment to South-east Asian engagement and evidence of appropriate investment in housing¡±.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com