As Australia enters a period of change, stakeholders across the international education sector spoke to The PIE News about their priorities and predictions for the year ahead.<\/p>\n
For Melanie Macfarlane, migration specialist and CEO and principal of MMMigration<\/a>, the most important opportunity to seize as the sector enters a new year is the regaining and retaining of trust Australia\u2019s international education visa system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need consistent government policy that does not keep chopping and changing in order to create this trust and stability,\u201d she told The PIE.<\/p>\n \u201cInternational students need to be left out of any ongoing dialogue about immigration and instead applauded for all they contribute to the economy and the soft diplomacy they create in their home countries.\u201d<\/p>\n International education was worth AUD $51.0 billion to the Australian economy in the financial year 2023-24, with $30.2bn paid as goods and services and $20.6bn paid as tuition fees.<\/p>\n Following a period of policy turmoil in 2024 which saw international education make headlines as the Albanese government sought and failed<\/a> to introduce a hard cap on the number of international students the country allows, the sector has been enjoying a period of relatively stability in recent months.<\/p>\n Stakeholders are adapting to the enrolment targets handed down to providers \u2013 also known as new overseas student commencements or NOSCS \u2013 introduced under the government\u2019s National Planning Level<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, a suite of reforms<\/a> is on the cards for Australia\u2019s international education sector under the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025, which proposes changes across several key education laws, including the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act.<\/p>\n The measures are designed to strengthen quality, integrity and long-term sustainability across the sector, and include changes to the broader legal definition of an education agent, alongside expanded ministerial powers.<\/p>\n In addition to this, at the end of 2025, a new visa processing directive \u2013 Ministerial Direction 115<\/a> \u2013 was introduced, replacing Ministerial Direction 111. The new settings under Ministerial Direction 115 largely mirror its predecessor, with a handful of key changes \u2013\u00a0including the introduction of a third priority category for providers that exceed their NOSC allocations by more than 15%.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sector needs to get to grips with the new environment and act accordingly and education agents need to have some sort of self-regulation with education providers kept equally accountable,\u201d said Macfarlane.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Macfarlane is urging the government to look at the visa fees for the ELICOS sector and \u201cbring these down to a sensible level, given these students are likely to then go onto higher education studies in Australia or go home, having enjoyed a great experience in Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s student visa fee sits at AUD $2,000, following an increase<\/a> in June 2025, making it the most expensive in the world. Since then, stakeholders have been vocal about the impact on Australia\u2019s competitive standing and the financial impact on the ELICOS sector with lobbying<\/a> continuing to decrease the fee for certain short-term programs.<\/p>\n Macfarlane said a personal priority for 2026 is to continue to highlight success stories of migrants in Australia including those of international students and what they bring to the country and to continue to advocate for and develop an accredited system for education agents to be self-regulated \u2013 \u201cone that can be replicated worldwide\u201d.<\/p>\n The PIE spoke to Jane Li, regional operations director for Australasia at IDP<\/a> about some of the trends shaping Australia\u2019s international education sector in the year ahead. For Li, the most exciting opportunity ahead is the expansion of \u2018Study with Australia\u2019, as offshore and hybrid delivery models reshape how \u2014 and where \u2014 students connect with Australian education.<\/p>\n \u201cWith more students considering alternative destinations or blended pathways, offshore and hybrid models are giving providers a way to engage with students earlier and keep that connection throughout their decision-making journeys,\u201d said Li.<\/p>\n