The numbers of international students in Australia are in steep decline, according to the latest data from the federal Department of Education. 

And experts say this will have dire consequences for skills shortages and the international education sector. 

The new data, which compares numbers of new students from April 2024 to April 2025, shows massive falls inn many sectors, including, English language (ELICOS) – down 49 per cent, VET – down 67 per cent and school – down 23 per cent. 

At the same time, the higher education sector is down just two per cent. 

The Department’s data also shows that 57 per cent of all international students are coming from just five countries – China (23 per cent), India (17 per cent), Nepal (8 per cent), Vietnam (5 per cent) and Philippines (4 per cent). 

Chair of the International Student Education Agents Association Melanie Macfarlane said many cohorts have had their numbers slashed, including those from Latin America. 

“The number of visa grants for English studies has halved from 35,596 to 17,999 between August and December 2024, with Colombia hardest hit, numbers falling from 24.9 per cent to 8.5 per cent of visas granted,” Ms Macfarlane said.

“Another concerning trend revealed in the Education Department’s latest data release is that in both higher education and VET, the most popular courses are in management and commerce. 

“While this area of study is likely very useful for students who are returning to their home country, it’s hardly an area where Australia is facing pressing skills shortages,” she said. 

With education visa refusals rising both offshore and onshore, the Administrative Review Tribunal, now has a backlog of 34,000 visa refusal reviews. 

This begs a fundamental question for the international education sector now, which is: What constitutes a genuine student? 

Ms macfarlane has called on the government to clarify what constitutes a genuine student. 

“Should we be permitting only those who have the obvious skill sets to fill skills shortages in Australia to enter, or to study in these areas, only if they have previous experience and studies that are relevant? 

“Or should we also be encouraging those who wish to study business or marketing at VET level just to have an experience of studying outside of their countries, to then go back home and spread the message of what a great country Australia is, otherwise known as “soft diplomacy”? she said. 

Ms Macfarlane said good quality education providers in both the English and VET sectors were going out of business while poor quality operators continue to thrive under the radar. 

She said a clean-up of the sector was necessary, but there is a current risk of severe economic consequences. 

She says these include job losses amongst Australians, 240,000 of whom have been employed in the sector, and reputational challenges where Australia is not seen as the once friendly country it was. 

“The government may well be pleased with the dramatic reduction in student numbers, but there will be significant unintended consequences of this policy in the coming years,” Ms Macfarlane said. 

“Decisive action needs to be taken, and now, before it’s too late and we are left as we were after two years of border closures, with the country crying out for skilled workers and both businesses and the economy reeling from the impact,” she said.