The Australian Government is Destroying Jobs in the International Education Sector
Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) Media Release
The Australian Government is pursuing policies that are inconsistent and confusing immigration and education policy in a manner that is putting the livelihood of more than 30,000 Australians employed in the international education sector at risk. That’s the position of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent skills training and higher education providers.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen a series of intellectually inconsistent decisions by the Australian Government that lack a clear, consistent and cohesive approach to international education,” said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
Highlighting the inconsistencies in the Australian Government’s approach, ITECA draws attention to the fact that upon coming to office, the new Australian Government took great pride in clearing a backlog of visa applications, many of them from international students. When these students then came to Australia, the Australian Government demonised these same students and claimed that they were driving up housing costs, despite experts struggling to find merit in this argument.
“The Australian Government’s international education policy is in tatters and lacks a cohesive strategy. The Government is now drowning in its own baseless rhetoric,” Mr Williams said,
ITECA is concerned the Australian Government is now making international education policy on the run.
“The result is a number of knee-jerk policy responses that are not only damaging Australia’s reputation as a welcoming destination for overseas students but causing anxiety for the 30,000 people employed with independent providers in the independent tertiary education sector that support international students,” Mr Williams said.
Despite the official data showing high levels of student satisfaction when studying with independent providers in the skills training sector, the Australian Government is pursuing a different narrative to cover-up its own shortcomings according to ITECA.
“The Government is using a very small number of abhorrent cases of wrongdoing by some non-genuine providers to take a sledgehammer to the international education sector that is second only to the resources sector in terms of overseas revenue earned by Australia. Such an approach is economically reprehensible to all Australians and manifestly unfair to all those employed in the sector,” Mr Williams added.
ITECA draws attention to the lack of consistency in approaches in the draft “International Education and Skills Strategic Framework” released by the Australian Government and the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 currently before the parliament.
“Both the draft framework and the legislation before the parliament are short-sighted responses to the failure of the Government to properly administer the migration framework. Small businesses in the international education sector and the working Australians employed by them deserve better,” Mr Williams said.
ITECA has again called for an Australian Government strategy for the international education sector.
“We need a long-term strategy for international education that creates a framework where the sector can operate sustainably, jobs are protected, and international students feel welcome. Sadly, the Australian Government’s approach to international education is diametrically opposed to these outcomes,” Mr Williams concluded.
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3 comments
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leefe
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Andrew Smith
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Clakka
Return to home pageSo the group whose members have been shown to engage in blatant profiteering don’t like the current government’s policies that affect that profiteering? I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked, stunned, amazed, etc.
Sledgehammer again, or another rinse, spin and repeat as the sector becomes wedged by bipartisan white nationalism promoted by our RW MSM and nudged by Tanton Network NGOs; since the time of Howard, ascendancy of Murdoch and fossil fueled think tanks…..
One has much sympathy for students, instructors and admin in higher ed, VET, school and English courses, but none for the alleged sector ‘leadership’ and middle management, who avoid public scrutiny (except on LinkedIn & other insiders), why?
Firstly one has heard views of the latter ‘leadership’ which suggests much antipathy towards the ‘other’, but useful for their career, while using the eugenics tropes masquerading as science i.e. population control, sustainable population, limits to growth, carrying capacity etc. used to justify migration policies.
Secondly, no one in Australia seems to understand our demographics, immigration, population, workforce, budgets and international education?
Our permanent population is stagnant, 7+ million oldies & boomers in or transitioning to retirement, hence, like elsewhere, we attract students etc. as ‘net financial budget contributors’ to support more retirees tugging on budgets, while permanent working age also stagnates.
However, temporary student residents are falsely and egregiously mislabelled as ‘immigrants’ to inflate headline numbers and headlines for a dog whistle….this really kicked off mid late noughties when carbon pricing was mooted and Rudd-Gillard-Rudd were being wedged etc..
Further, one observes similar in the US and of late the UK especially, coincidentally where Murdochs have a media foot print, but locally it’s bipartisan bigotry? That other influence of Tanton Network, see the ‘pro-British demonstrators’ (according to the BBC) on the streets to create ‘chaos’ and ‘acceleration’
Locally, why have the Sustainable Population Australia patrons alwasy been mute, embarrasssed? Includes especially ‘progressives’ in Bob Carr and Tim Flannery who never appear or speak in public about related issues, yet they are linked to an NGO that does especially via others, especially influencers in the RW MSM).
Offshore or transnationally, Farage was allegedly wooed by Steve ‘great replacement’ Bannon as an ‘agent of chaos’, see Brexit, while influenced by Tanton Network; the latter has made deep inroads into the RW MSM and onlien to promote white Christian nationalism, in cahoots with the Koch Heritage Project 2025 for the GOP…..
Locally, higher education etc. will suffer as local or domestic students are in comparative decline, are not in sufficient numbers to support all higher education institutions, especially regional, who use CBD campuses to attract fee paying international students and cross subsidise regional campuses.
Related to the introduction of fees, HECS etc. for local studenst as power moved to the above median age via boomers and oldies, who also coincidentally (not) tug on budgets more without personal taxes (yet)….then let’s blame ‘foreign’ students…. cutting noses to spite faces?
What’s happening offfshore? Students will not cionsider Australia and the beneficiaries are competitors in US, UK, Canada etc. and the big one nowdays the EU that actually welcomes international students, but beyond Australians?
Yes Leefe, entirely shabby.
With a long and sordid record of profiteering, beguiling their students, using non-qualified or under-qualified teachers and trainers, and providing false credentials. A churn destroying quality education.
There’s plenty of jobs and high demand for quality, properly credentialed teachers and trainers, so what are they actually whinging about? Don’t need one of their certs to work it out!