Known as Ministerial Direction 107 (MD107), the policy has led to massive delays in the processing of visa applications and, subsequently, a dramatic decline in student numbers.

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According to CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon, regional universities are being unfairly and disproportionately impacted by MD107, with visa applications for prospective students largely deprioritised.

The knock-on effect of this loss of skilled graduates in regional areas like the Camden Haven and Hastings is a critical shortage of workers in health, aged care and other fields.

“As a policy, MD107 has failed, with international student commencements at large metropolitan universities growing significantly while those at members of the Regional Universities Network (RUN) have fallen almost 40 percent,” Professor Leon said.

“This is having a catastrophic effect on Charles Sturt, with an estimated $40 million negative impact on revenue so far.

“More than half of the visa applications for our metro-based international students were delayed beyond the start of semester, or refused.

“We currently have less than 1000 international students on our campuses, compared to 8000 prior to the pandemic.

“A strong cohort of international students, including at our city campuses… is crucial to our financial sustainability.

“Without this, our ability to offer opportunities for higher education to regional, low SES and First Nations students is hugely diminished and potentially jeopardised.”

Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy has labelled MD107 a “destructive instrument” which is disproportionately impacting regional universities and “is putting thousands of jobs at risk right across the economy”.

Education Minister Jason Clare describes MD107 as a “de facto cap” on international student numbers and a potential solution to migration and housing issues.

But Professor Leon said it is operating as a cap only on smaller and regional universities while providing an accelerant for the largest universities.

The Minister flagged that MD107 would remain if Labor was unsuccessful in getting through its amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, which would see international enrolments reduced by 30 percent to 270,000 from 2025.

But in a surprise backflip, the Coalition last week sided with The Greens and Independents in opposing the amendments.

“MD107 represents a significant policy failure and should not be in place a day longer,” Professor Leon said.

“This has left the university sector in chaos.”.

Vice-Chancellor of Southern Cross University Professor Tyrone Carlin, who is also the chair of the Regional Universities Network (RUN), said “action must be taken now to address the unresolved issues associated with the ESOS Amendment Bill still before Parliament, the government’s proposed approach to international student caps, and inequities in the current student visa processing regime.

“Leaving these issues unresolved until 2025 will not provide certainty – on the contrary, it will further undermine equity and diversification in Australia’s international education system, and unfairly punish some students, institutions and communities.”

“This must happen this week. If we wait any longer, it will be too late for many students hoping to commence study in our universities in 2025.”

By Sue STEPHENSON