Joint media release
Leader of the Opposition, Hon Peter Dutton MP
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Hon Sussan Ley MP
Shadow Minister for Housing, Hon Michael Sukkar MP
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Shadow Minister for Immigration, Hon Dan Tehan MP
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will act immediately to reduce the number of international students in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) as part of our plan to restore the Australian dream of home ownership and reduce pressure on the housing market.
Under Labor, it has become harder than ever for many Australians to buy or rent a home, with skyrocketing rents, vacancies at critical lows and not enough homes being built.
Labor has fueled demand and undercut affordability of housing with record migration and high inflation. Australians have been priced out of the market because of Labor’s unsustainable migration program, and spiraling costs for mortgages and rents due to high interest rates.
Labor is planning to bring in 1.8 million new migrants over five years but Labor’s housing policies are yet to deliver a single additional new home. The number of international students studying in Australia has soared by 65 per cent, from nearly 520,000 international students in the year to the last election, to more than 850,000 today.
In some courses at Australian universities, up to 80 per cent of students are international students.
The Coalition believes in a sensible and managed migration program that is in line with our capacity to adequately provide for infrastructure and housing.
We will not allow high migration settings to erode living standards, overburden our infrastructure and exacerbate housing shortages in our communities.
A Dutton Coalition Government will reduce the number of new international students commencing at public universities by at least 30,000 per year compared with Labor, freeing up housing supply in major metropolitan markets.
Under our plan, there will be at most 115,000 overseas student commencements each year at publicly funded universities and at most 125,000 in the VET, private university and non-university higher education sectors.
This will result in a reduction of:
- • Over 80,000 in annual new overseas student commencements compared with 2023 levels (the latest year of publicly available data); and
- • At least 30,000 new overseas student commencements each year compared to Labor’s botched 2025 allocation, which was designed to favour metropolitan universities.
To achieve the reduction at public universities, a percentage cap will be applied from 2026 to the share of new foreign student commencements at these institutions.
The cap is expected to be around 25 per cent but will be determined in government with access to the latest data and in consultation with the sector. Based on 2023 enrolments data, this is expected to overwhelmingly affect metropolitan, rather than regional universities, where pressure on housing and infrastructure is most acute.
The reduction will particularly affect the Group of Eight universities, which have admitted excessive numbers of international students.
We will work with the sector to prevent any unintended consequences for universities with regional campuses.
In addition, we will work with VET, private universities and non-university higher education sectors to manage their caps through the migration system.
The Coalition will also increase the student visa application charge to $5,000 for Group of Eight universities and $2,500 for remaining international students. A new charge of $2,500 will be introduced for students who wish to change education providers.
We will also conduct a rapid review into the Temporary Graduate Visas (subclass 485) to address the misuse of post-study work arrangements as a way to gain access to the Australian labour market and as a pathway to permanent migration.
Under our plan, we will free up substantial additional housing each year, particularly in our major cities. This builds on other Coalition policies including funding essential infrastructure to unlock new homes, cutting red and green tape, addressing regulatory barriers to accessing mortgages, tackling union corruption, and supporting new apprentices and trainees into building and construction.
The Coalition is committed to restoring the dream of home ownership and getting Australia back on track.