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High visa fees are restricting access to Australian higher education to all but the wealthiest students and hurting the sector¡¯s ability to diversify, top universities have warned.

Innovative Research Universities (IRU) and the Regional Universities Network (RUN), which together represent 14 of the country¡¯s?institutions, have penned a joint statement calling on the Labor government to consider changes?they feel are needed to support a ¡°fairer international education system that delivers sustainable growth¡±, including action around student visa costs.?

They warn that Australian visa fees, which are the highest of any comparable country, are impacting long-standing international partnerships, with overseas universities directing exchange students elsewhere.

¡°This reduces opportunities for Australian students to study abroad and further undermines diversification. Ongoing high visa fees will privilege high-income students and exacerbate concentration.¡±

The mission groups call?for visa fees to be immediately reduced for students coming to Australia for 12 months or less to better support individual students and system diversification.

And the IRU and RUN say improved data around real-time international arrivals would support better decision-making, giving the?people more confidence in the system as a whole. Applicants would also benefit from greater transparency about visa processing decisions and timelines, they add.

Experts recently warned that Australia risks ¡°losing the trust of a generation¡±, amid signs?that visa changes are pushing institutions out of business.

After the upheaval in international education policy in 2024 as a result of government intervention, Paul Harris, executive director of the IRU, said a positive new approach is needed overall.

¡°Changes to student visa processing and policy in 2024 disproportionately impacted our students and universities, and undermined equity and diversification,¡± he said.

The widely criticised Ministerial Direction 107 led to further concentration of international student numbers at large metropolitan universities, while shrinking the diversity of Australia¡¯s international student markets.

¡°These distortions also made life harder for the universities that will play the most critical roles in delivering on the government¡¯s goals for our domestic tertiary education system, as set out in the Universities Accord,¡± added Harris.

The IRU and RUN call for clarity on international student allocations for 2026 as soon as possible.

And as the government¡¯s draft International Education and Skills Strategic Plan has not yet been finalised, they say there is an opportunity to set a more positive vision for the future.

It should distribute the benefits of international education and of international student numbers more equitably across the whole sector, and include a comprehensive plan for outbound mobility by Australian students, the?statement says.?

Alec Webb, RUN chief executive, said: ¡°We need a genuinely collaborative approach to set policy and a proactive strategy that takes into account global changes and maximises the benefits of international education for all providers and for all communities across Australia.¡±

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com