The Albanese government is facing a backlash from the higher education sector after international student visa rejections soared to a 20-year high, sparking accusations of a "chaotic" approach to migration policy.
In February 2024, the refusal rate for university applications hit 32.5%, a sharp pivot from the government’s previous commitment to expand international student spots.
The shift has left institutions feeling a sense of "whiplash", with Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy warning that "stop-start" settings jeopardise the sector's ability to deliver for the nation.
Hardest hit are students from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where rejection rates reached 40%, 60.2%, and 47.2%, respectively.
Conversely, China’s refusal rate remained stable at 3%. Experts suggest the government is using these blunt levers to curb net overseas migration, which edged up to 311,000 in late 2025, threatening Treasury forecasts.
Former immigration official Abul Rizvi noted that the "Genuine Student Test" introduced in March has allowed for a subjective, unannounced tightening of criteria to manage political pressure from the Coalition and One Nation.
While Assistant Minister Julian Hill maintains the measures are necessary to "weed out non-genuine students", critics argue the lack of transparency creates immense uncertainty.