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[Global Times Special Correspondent Liu Haoran] In order to reduce the number of foreign immigrants, ease domestic housing pressure and enhance the reputation of international education, the Albany government of Australia has made the international student group an "optimization target" this year and raised the threshold for studying in Australia. This move not only caused complaints from the international student group, but also cut into the "artery" of the education interest group. On August 6, the federal government was "bombarded" by trade unions and organizations from various industries.

Australian News Network reported on the 6th that the Australian government submitted the Overseas Student Education Services Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill to the Federal Parliament several months ago. The bill greatly extended the regulatory authority of the Ministry of Education and allowed the government to directly intervene in matters such as admissions and school operations. At present, the latest draft has entered the consultation stage, and the government needs to listen to the opinions of relevant industries. On August 6, a review meeting held by the Australian Senate was full of gunpowder. Some education industry leaders criticized the government's promulgation of the bill as "unprecedented over-empowerment" and suspected that the Albanese government "managed too much." Luke Sheehy, head of the "Australian University Alliance", warned the government on behalf of the organization's 39 member institutions that the bill could cause the country an economic loss of 4.3 billion Australian dollars (1,000 Australian dollars is about 4,710 yuan) and cause 14,000 people to lose their jobs. He said that international education is the country's "second largest export industry" after the mining industry, providing an economic contribution of up to 50 billion Australian dollars and 250,000 jobs, but no major export industry has ever been subject to such strict control. Thomas, secretary general of the Group of Eight, criticized the government's latest legislation as "hastily enacted, poorly conceived, and of questionable intent," and said it was a concrete manifestation of "interventionism." The Business Council of Australia (BCA) also believes that international students not only bring considerable income to the government and businesses, but also support the country's scientific research capabilities and education quality, and are an important "soft diplomacy" channel for the country.

According to the "Dialogue" news network and other media, since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of international students whose studies were delayed have gone to Australia, which has rapidly warmed up the country's international education industry. In May this year, the number of Australian student visa holders has reached 674,000, 58,000 more than before the pandemic. The Albanese government has previously actively supported the return of international students to Australia, but this policy direction has suddenly taken a sharp turn since the end of 2023, only because Australia was experiencing a "full-blown" housing crisis at the time. Under the dual pressures of inflation and soaring rents, people's livelihood has been severely affected, and the influx of a large number of foreign immigrants has inevitably become the target of public criticism, including the international student group. Bad public opinion began to appear in major Australian media, with rumors that international students "can all afford to rent apartments in the city center" and are the "culprit" for pushing up rents. A student charity organization later refuted the rumor, saying that international student tenants only account for 4% of the rental market in Australia, and that it is much more difficult for international students to rent than locals.

Even so, the Australian government still announced a tightening of immigration policies, claiming that it would limit the annual net number of immigrants to 250,000 in 2025, more than double the current level. Since the end of 2023, the Australian government has issued a series of entry restriction policies, most of which directly affect the vital interests of international students. For example, international students will need to have a higher level of English and provide deposit certificates with a higher amount to study in Australia in the future. International students of a certain age group have also been deprived of the important "benefit" of temporary graduate visas. In July this year, Australia raised the application fee for study visas to 1,600 Australian dollars, more than doubling the price. According to the British "Guardian", many international students have personally felt the obstacles to going to Australia. In May this year, an Indian student named Rajesh said that it took more than a year to apply for his visa to Australia, and his two "prospective doctoral" friends failed to apply until the admission notice expired. Other students said that they were tortured by a series of "incomprehensible policies" and were exhausted physically and mentally. They did not dare to go home during the holidays, for fear that they would never come back once they went back.

Regarding this series of trends, some analysts believe that the Australian government is ostensibly targeting international students, but is actually secretly planning to gain an advantage in immigration policy reform in order to win future elections. Regarding the latest bill, Luke Shea believes that this is a "political smokescreen" of the current government, playing a game of "dog whistle politics" (a political strategy that uses relatively obscure information to attract support from specific groups, while "carrying private goods" without causing widespread opposition).

Andrew Norton, an expert on higher education issues at the Australian National University (ANU), said that the government's current push for legislation will obviously do more harm than good, and being unfriendly to international students will eventually hurt the country's reputation. Experts suggest that the government "slow down" and observe the actual effects of the policies that have been implemented first, and be careful not to "overdo it."