Labor expects a fall in the number of new overseas students starting at universities to wipe $2 billion from the sector over the next three years, as prospective visa applicants spooked by soaring rejection rates increasingly look to other countries.
Lucrative international student fees have long underpinned university budgets, but a spike in visa refusals and tighter rules preventing migrants using study as a gateway to stay in the country have led the sector to warn that Australia’s standing as a top study destination is at risk.
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