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Although the international education sector has known tough times, “there has never been a time when all three of the major markets have aligned with stupidity, as they have done in the last twelve months” said Mark Lucas, vice president of business development and global partnerships at HUATONG International. His comments were made at The PIE Live Asia Pacific 2024 as Lucas, along with a panel of fellow agents, took to the stage to react to Australia’s shifting policy landscape, as well as that of its competitors. In the past, agents have had a “safety net”, Lucas explained. “If Australia went crazy, we could send them to the UK, to Canada or the US. Now we have a situation where Australia, for the first time, is taking notes from Canada’s playbook.” “The world is upside down. It’s completely politically driven. It’s global. It’s a swing to the right against immigration and the easiest target to reduce net migration is the student visa.” Speaking on the panel, Shayaz Khan, CEO, Bluesky Immigration and Students Consultancy Service, said the Australian government is ruining the country’s $48 billion international education industry through directionless visa refusals.

“By the time they realise it, I think the damage will already be done” said Khan, who predicts a hit to the country’s hospitality sector and wider economy as a result.

“All this uncertainty is ruining brand Australia,” continued Khan, who highlighted the difficult position of agents at the moment, unsure what to tell worried students about visa approval likelihood and timelines. One agent showed his distain for the government’s treatment of the sector by inciting an on-stage protest against the Department of Home Affairs. Azeem Qasim, CEO of Edify Group of Companies, invited his fellow panellists, as well as the Gold Coast audience, to stand up and join him for 15 seconds of silence. “This is our protest against the DHA and the government policies that recently have been changed,” said Qasim as delegates began to stand. According to Qasim, students from Pakistan are “topping the list” when it comes to being impacted by visa refusals. “The cherry on the top is that [the government has] increased the visa fees to to AUD$1,600 without increasing the standards of how you manage the visa applications,” said Qasim who noted a lack of policy, reason or foundation for the refusals.

All this uncertainty is ruining brand Australia Shayaz Khan, Bluesky Immigration

According to Lucas, from a visa denial perspective, Chinese students applying to Australia are seen as less “high-risk”, and have been less impacted by visa refusals

Despite this, Lucas said interest from China in Australia as a destination is dwindling, with a 20% drop off in terms of growth of HI students from China to Australia predicted for next year, which could be a sign of the wider ripple effect of the government’s rhetoric on international students.

Also sharing in the frustration is Melanie MacFarlane, CEO and principal migration agent at MMMigration and Recruitment, an agency thatused to pride itself on a 99% visa refusal rate – a claim it can no longer make. MacFarlane reinforced the idea that there is “no rhyme or reason” to the refusals and said it’s as if the government has “completely forgotten” its national migration strategy, refusing students, such as engineers, who could easily fulfil the strategy.