‘Carve-outs’ sought from Australian international student caps

Australian international education representatives are lobbying for “twinning arrangements” to be exempted from proposed overseas student quotas, ahead of the impending release of indicative caps on international enrolments at about 1,400 universities and colleges.

The International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) said the arrangements – whereby foreign students undertake a year or two of studies in their home countries before completing their degrees in Australia – should be “kept out of the caps”.

Chief executive Phil Honeywood said the association was keen for “clarification”, and Canberra had indicated its willingness to resolve the issue.

He said the government had pressed universities and other providers to deliver more education offshore, and “one plus two” and “two plus two” arrangements were popular approaches.

“You’ve got to be able to provide some surety that the student that you’ve enticed to start their course in their home country has…some guaranteed pathway to Australia to finish the course,” he said.

Australia’s international education sector is concerned about both the intended and unintended consequences of the caps, with institutions expecting to be informed of draft quotas in the coming week.

Mr Honeywood said he expected a “carve-out” for exchange students, who come to Australia for short periods and have no impact on the country’s net population because of reciprocal exchanges by Australian students.

Foreign exchange students have reportedly been among those denied entry to Australia, amid an escalation of visa rejections following last year’s ministerial directive for staff to delay the processing of certain applications.

Mr Honeywood said the IEAA was seeking discounted visas for exchange students after the government more than doubled student application fees to A$1,600 (£823), making Australia easily the most expensive of the anglophone education destinations.

In a letter to ministers, the association has requested that fees for exchange students be halved to A$800 in recognition of their short stays and “soft diplomacy” benefits.

He said one ramification of the A$1,600 fee was that Australian students could face concomitant amounts when they headed abroad. This is because of “reciprocity” conditions imposed by the US Department of State.

“When a foreign government imposes fees on US citizens for certain types of visas, the United States will impose a reciprocal fee on citizens of that country,” the department explains.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com