International Students Are ‘The Modern Boat People,’ Says Opposition Leader

A woman walks past a sign offering assistance to international students who want to get into any of the various Australian universities in Melbourne, on Oct. 30, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has compared the recent rise in international students visa appeals to the “modern version of the boat arrivals.”

The Coalition MP’s comments came in the wake of a report from The Australian, which suggested courts and tribunals were preparing for thousands of appeals from international students following a government cap on numbers as part of a move to stem unsustainable migrant growth.

According to the report, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had received 15,754 appeals from prospective overseas students who had their student visa applications rejected or cancelled, a significant increase from 2,244 appeals the year before.

The appeals were reported to have come predominantly from China and India, and that taxpayers would be “picking up every dollar.”

“I just think when you look at the detail, this is the modern version of the boat arrivals,” Dutton told Radio 2GB.

“So people have found a weakness in the system, they are exploiting the weakness, they obviously will be getting advice from lawyers in this space and others who have tested the system and found success, and ultimately have stayed in Australia or they have extended their stay.”

Dutton also linked the issue to broader immigration concerns, highlighting the costs incurred by the Labor government in housing and supporting criminal migrants released from detention. Dutton criticised the associated expenses, which include motels, meals, and medical support.

“We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars a year, money that should be spent on Australians and not on people who are here illegally, and the government is happy for it,” he said.

Growing Student Numbers

On Aug. 27, the Australian Government announced a cap called a National Planning Level to put limits on the growth of international student programs each year, with the cap applying to individual universities.

While Australia will still allow international students, that number will be capped at 270,000 admissions in the 2025 calendar year.

According to the Australian Government’s Department of Education, there has been an increasing annual intake of international students, with 810,960 total current enrolments in the year to May 2024.

Almost a quarter of students are from China, followed by India, with much lower enrolment numbers from Nepal, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

In August, Education Minister Jason Clare refuted claims the government had set an overall cap, saying it would instead issue numbers for individual institutions, in order to maintain steady student numbers.

“We want a managed system, not a free-for-all system,” he told media.

“Overall, what it means for universities is that they will have roughly the same number of students starting next year as they did last year.

“For the entire sector, it means roughly the same number of international students studying next year as there were before the pandemic in 2019.”