A law capping international student enrolments in tertiary education is likely to pass Australia’s Senate next week.

A government-majority Senate Committee report, released on October 9, recommended the bill be passed with amendments.

Once passed – with significant amendments including setting course-level enrolment limits, exemptions for certain classes of students and requiring the Education Minister to consult relevant education services agencies and the Immigration Minister before setting future limits – it will likely take effect in January 2025.

Concerns about the legislation's implications have been raised by international students and university representatives in the months since it was first announced in August.

These include harm to Australia’s reputation, reduced funding, budget cuts and job losses at universities and a negative ripple effect across the economy.

The policy reflects a broader trend in targeting international students in the context of Australia’s domestic cost of living and housing crises.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s comment that international students were the “modern version of boat arrivals” drew sharp criticism from students who suggested people may consider studying somewhere that is more “welcoming, open and inclusive of diverse cultures”.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Global Engagement at the University of Queensland Rongyu Li described it as “good politics, not so good policy”.

Obstacles to studying in Australia

International students already face significant hurdles in coming to study in Australia.

Prior to the student cap announcement, the government’s Ministerial Direction 107 attempted to stem the post-pandemic hike in international students by increasing visa application fees, extending visa processing times and denying swathes of visas.

This has contributed to a perception that international students are not welcome and has deterred families and prospective students from seeing Australia as a country of choice when looking at tertiary education options.

Taking a forward-thinking, intergenerational approach to Australia’s policy planning requires reconceptualising how we perceive international students.

Rather than being a domestic burden, there are many long-term advantages of facilitating international enrolments.

With future generations in mind, consideration needs to be given to the vital role that international students play in soft power and diplomacy.

This is part of a larger conversation about the value of international education in Australia’s whole-of-nation approach to regional engagement.

How Australia benefits

Australia has vested interests in building strong connections with the main source countries for international education.

Up until the end of August this year, 80% of international students were from Asian countries, including more than half from the following five nations: China (22%), India (17%), Nepal (8%), Philippines (5%) and Vietnam (5%).

While the removal of Ministerial Direction 107 is another amendment in the Senate Committee report, the combination of caps and visa hurdles are set to disproportionately impact students from India and lower and middle-income countries.

Education, as a central component of Australia’s soft power, should be recognised as a key enabler of broader strategic policies and partnerships.

Education is an important site for strengthening people-to-people links, generating influence and mutual understanding.

To achieve ambitious goals – such as increasing trade through the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 so that Australia shares in the region’s growth and prosperity – will require exactly the sort of links that international education provides.

This includes investing in international students as the future leaders in countries whose power will one day match their populations.

Global alumni of Australian universities have a proven history of becoming national leaders – from Indonesia’s Minister for Trade Mari Pangetsu and World Bank Chair Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith.

At one point, a quarter of Mongolia’s cabinet ministers were Australian alumni.

Every international student discouraged from studying in Australia is a missed opportunity to nurture relationships with future leaders today.

Long-term impacts on diplomacy

Domestic higher education students also gain from connecting with international students.

For students from rural and remote Australia, they may have had limited cross-cultural interactions.

These interactions are critical in challenging stereotypes and building cultural competency skills that are vital in this era of global interconnectivity.

It is a vital channel for fostering Asian literacy, especially considering not all students have the means to study abroad.

While caps on international students were being proposed, the New Colombo Plan celebrated its 10th anniversary, announcing reforms to increase engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.

The New Colombo Plan is widely praised as a key initiative in Australia's soft power and Indo-Pacific engagement strategy.

It is inconsistent to expect our Asia-Pacific neighbours to welcome Australian students and teach them invaluable cross-cultural knowledge and skills while discouraging students from these same host countries the opportunity to gain similar skills and connections in Australia.

While the immediate impacts of student caps will be felt by international students, long-term it is Australian diplomacy and power that will bear the consequences.

The perception that international students are a domestic burden is far outweighed by the strategic, political, economic and diplomatic advantages they offer.

Education – as much as defence, diplomacy, business and civil society links – is an important tool of statecraft to build enduring relationships for Australia's national interest.

Jasmine Stephens is a Masters of Applied Anthropology and Development student at The Australian National University and intern at the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D).

Melissa Conley Tyler is an Honorary Fellow in the Asia Institute at The University of Melbourne and Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D).

The Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D) is an initiative funded by the foreign affairs and defence portfolios and hosted by the Australian Council for International Development.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.