While recent policy changes have clearly been introduced with the best intentions to remedy a bad situation, the impact of these changes have compounded to produce a negative impact on international student enrolments at Australian universities.
The operations of universities and the activities of their students are influenced by a multitude of governments and government departments. A whole of government perspective on international education is essential to allow the industry to prosper. The potential ramifications of any and all policy amendments need to be considered before implementation to provide certainty to current and prospective students, and their universities.
Bearing this in mind, policy changes are required immediately in the area of student visas to reintroduce competition with competitors in the US and UK. Further, there exists an immediate need for opportunities to contribute to policy development with respect to international education policy more broadly