Unis blame government for student visa delays weeks before semester two
Alarmed universities say only half the visas of their enrolled international students have been processed with just weeks until semester two, in what some institutions believe is more evidence of the government suppressing foreign arrivals due to a political fight over migration.
The delays, which are mainly being felt by second-tier universities, follow the turmoil before semester one when Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil ordered the department to prioritise visa applications for top providers, a move the sector estimated cost it hundreds of millions of dollars.
The government has introduced legislation, due to come into force in January next year, that will cap foreign student numbers in a bid to halve net overseas migration by next July from 528,000 in 2022-23.
In the year to May, about one in five prospective students had their visa applications refused.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
Professor Sarah Todd, vice president of Griffith University’s international intake, said it was “hard to think it’s not” a deliberate act by the government to delay visa processing for students.
“It has a significant financial impact, obviously – not just on the university, but on the local community,” Todd said.
Charles Sturt University’s pro vice chancellor, international, Mike Ferguson, said parts of the sector were seeing similar trends to the lead-up to semester one, when many enrolled students missed the start date.
“There’s seemingly a linkage between the current approach to visa processing and a desire to decrease net overseas migration,” Ferguson said.
Many universities begin semester two next month.
O’Neil said the government was “taking the hard decisions necessary to restore integrity to our international education system after a decade of neglect under the former government”.
“Change is difficult,” she said. “We will help providers work through these changes, but we will not shy away from making them.”
Labor and the Coalition are facing off over migration before the next federal election as both link the post-pandemic international student surge to Australia’s housing shortage.
There were nearly 674,000 student visa holders at the end of May, up from more than 671,000 two months before. In the year to May, about one in five prospective students’ visa applications were refused.
Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy this month warned 4500 jobs could be lost because of an estimated $500 million funding shortfall due to slower visa processing and increased cancellations following O’Neil’s direction to prioritise visa applications for top universities.
However, executives at prestigious universities such as Sydney University and Australian National University said their enrolled students were also facing delays.
Some in the sector are speculating the government is contemplating ditching the ministerial direction before the start of student caps, which are likely to be imposed according to each institution’s circumstances.
International Education Association of Australia head Phil Honeywood said the directive had skewed the international student population, adding the government had indicated it wanted to “more evenly spread approved visas for the coming semester”.
“However, the countdown for final numbers is almost upon us [and], in the meantime, many potential students are getting the message that Australia is not a welcoming study destination,” he said.
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