Australia Says: “International students are too high.”

The number of students is currently “too high,” according to a former Australian minister who had previously marketed the nation as a “destination of choice for international students.”

The half a million student applications this year are a “record,” according to Dan Tehan, the shadow immigration minister, who spoke with Sky News Australia.

“We believe that we will see 500,000 people by the end of December this year. We continue to receive record numbers of overseas students, even though they are processing fewer applications. It is excessively high. We have a crisis with housing, a crisis with rentals, people are unable to see their general practitioner, and our capital cities are experiencing increasing traffic,he stated.”

The current Australian government, headed by Labor Party member Antony Albanese, announced “integrity measures” in December as part of a migration policy. These included extending the duration of certain graduate visas and introducing a new Genuine Student Test.

With the reopening of the nation’s borders following the epidemic, immigration minister Jason Clare has spearheaded policies aimed at getting rid of the “shonks” in the industry who, in his words, are taking advantage of students.

Due to “higher levels of fraudulent documents, fraud related to English language testing, non-genuine claims, and non-genuine subsequent marriages being presented in student visa applications,” Home Affairs has received, according to The Australian, a 90,000 reduction in the number of student visa holders this fiscal year.

“More than this from the government is going to be required,” Tehan, who served as education minister for two years until December 2020, continued.

As Tehan stated in December, “Obviously, there is a place for international students as well, but it’s gotten completely out of whack over the last 18 months under this Labor government. That is bad for both our reputation and the foreign students that come to study here.”

Between 2018 and 2020, Tehan served as prime minister Scott Morrison’s deputy. He worked to increase international student enrollment at metropolis campuses while also pushing for chances at regional and remote universities.

Tehan did, however, advocate throughout the epidemic for a greater emphasis on blended, online, and offshore learning in addition to new delivery methods like micro-credentials.

While the business mocked Morrison’s attempts to discourage international students from studying in Sydney and Melbourne, Tehan asserted that “excellence must come from the sector” working in conjunction with local communities, not from the government.

At the time, Labor criticized the government for allegedly targeting and singling out particular cultural groups while also mismanaging Australia’s urban expansion.

As part of a report with 29 recommendations, a trade subcommittee last year encouraged the government to “review and consider” the development of campuses in the Central Business District, where students are “largely international” and teaching is subcontracted.

Further suggestions included focusing more on foreign student employment, strengthening laws on agents, and increasing attempts to diversify the nations of origin of international students.