Universities slam ‘ministerial overreach’ of student caps

Limits on international students will cripple sector, say Australian institutions

Universities have told an Australian Senate inquiry that proposed caps on international student numbers are politically motivated, are unworkable in practice and will hit research funding.

At a public hearing held by the Senate’s Standing Committee on Education and Employment on 6 August, Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy slammed the proposal as “ministerial overreach to an extent we have never seen before”.