The Australian government released its 2024-25 budget last night. While there were not many strikingly significant takeaways from this budget, international students appear to be the big losers.
Key Points
- Applying for an Australian visa will be more expensive from 1 July 2023.
- Skilled workers stream to account for 70% of all visas allocated in the 2023-24 Migration Program.
- Student visa work restrictions are to be capped at an increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight from 1 July 2023.
- Temporary Graduate visa holders with select degrees will get an extra two years of post-study work rights.
- A $25 ballot for working and holiday visas will also be introduced for people coming from China, Vietnam and India from next financial year.
- A new program will be established for 3,000 Indian graduates and early-career professionals to be able to live and work in Australia for up to two years.
- Better pathways to Permanent Residency (PR) for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa holders.
- Additional funds to continue clearing the backlog in visa application processing
Net overseas migration is forecast to halve to 260,000 in
2024-2025. The government plans to cap the permanent migration
program at 185,000 places over the next financial year.
The government is prioritising the Skilled Migration which we support, but not necessarily at the expense of other sectors. Of the 185,000 permanent migration places available in 2024-25, 132,200 of those will be allocated to skilled working visas.
While most economists generally agree on how important immigration is to growing the Australian economy, once again, immigration appears to be being used as a scapegoat for a raft of political tensions, most topically the housing crisis and inflation.
International Students
As flagged in a recent article, the government will cap the number of students that can be enrolled by each of the 1400 universities and colleges registered to teach overseas students.
In the budget, the government has revealed its plan to tie the cap according to how much student accommodation a university provides.
These caps risk damaging Australia's reputation as one of the top destinations for international students, making Australia less attractive than other migrant destinations like Canada and the US.
It's a shame because most students work part-time to support themselves while studying in Australia, often doing the gig economy jobs that Australians don't want to do. International students generated $1.89 billion across all regions in Australia.
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