The Minister for Education, Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration, and Acting Minister for Skills and Training, announced that the government is setting a National Planning Level (NPL) for new international students at 270,000 slots for the 2025 calendar year (where previously, there was no cap),which will decrease the number of foreign students allowed to enter Australia to pre-pandemic levels. The NPL will be divided between higher education and vocational education and training (VET) sectors. Under the higher education category, publicly-funded universities will have 145,000 slots, while other universities and non-university higher education providers will have 30,000. As part of this growth, the government will encourage universities to increase new student housing to benefit both domestic and international students. The government will allot a total of 95,000 slots for the VET sectors, ensuring that these sectors can grow sustainably by providing more training opportunities for international students alongside Australian students. The following categories of individuals will be excluded from the NPL, among others: students undertaking standalone English language courses, students part of an Australian transnational education arrangement, and students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2025, subject to the relevant legislation being passed.
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