A planned cap on international students at Australian universities has created an awkward rift, with the education minister at odds with an independent advisor over the impacts on housing supply.
Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, said plans to enrol 53,000 fewer foreign students from 2025 would not make access to accommodation any easier.
The Albanese government intends to impose a cap of 270,000 international students in a bid to slash migration and relieve pressure on the property sector.
In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said the foreign student cap would not solve housing issues.
“It’s really hard for us to see how capping international student numbers could make very much of a dent at all on the housing system,” she said.
“It would seem to be fairly damaging to our second-biggest export industry and probably has very little effect on freeing up housing.”
Under the government’s proposal, universities could increase their capped number of overseas enrolments if they built student housing.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the cap would mean more student housing in coming years.
“This is a fairer way to sustainably manage this important sector,” he told AAP.
“The Albanese government will encourage universities to create new supplies of student housing to benefit both domestic and international students as part of their future growth.”
It’s estimated university students make up four per cent of renters in Australia.
There may be other reasons to limit the number of international students in Australia but housing was not one of them, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
“It is not the case that international students are crowding out renters in our cities, that’s just simply not true,” she said.
Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy said international enrolments should not be blamed for housing woes.
“Using students as cannon fodder in the migration battle risks the viability of our universities and as national accounts show, the growth of our economy,” he said.
“International students contributed more than anything to Australia’s GDP growth last year.
“We must seriously consider what we’re willing to give up by telling them to stay home.”
Vicki Thomson from the Group of Eight, which represents the largest universities in Australia, said the press club speech was not surprising.
“A cap on international student numbers won’t ease housing pressure,” she said.
“It doesn’t address supply-side issues, the real cause of the housing crisis.
“We absolutely reject the notion that capping international student arrivals will play any part in solving the challenges we face as a nation. It will only exacerbate them.”
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said foreign student numbers needed to be reduced.
“We have seen record numbers of international students … we will wait and see what the government’s measures actually lead to,” he said.
