Over the past four years, Australia has modified its immigration policies in response to labor shortages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and to manage the subsequent surge in immigration. These policy changes have notably impacted the student population in the country.
In the 2022-23 period, Australia issued nearly 500,000 student visas to primary applicants, marking a 40 percent rise from the figures recorded in 2018-19 and nearly double the count from ten years prior. However, due to a gradual tightening of policies, the number of student visas granted fell to 332,000 in the 2023-24 period, with expectations of further declines as new restrictions are put into place.
The student visa landscape has similarly affected students from the Pacific region and Timor-Leste. Historically, scholarships provided by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Department of Defence have played a pivotal role in attracting Pacific students to Australia, supporting the growth of the Pacific student community prior to the pandemic. During the pandemic, temporary relaxations of working hour limits created significant economic incentives for Pacific students enrolled in the vocational education and training (VET) sector.
This incentive was rescinded in July 2023, and although its impact lingered for a few months, the number of student visas is now on a downward trajectory as new financial and logistical hurdles emerge. Despite the overall decline, Fiji has emerged as a prominent beneficiary in terms of student visas among Pacific nations, taking advantage of opportunities that arose during the pandemic. The number of visas granted to Fijian primary applicants surged more than five times from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and has remained comparatively high in 2023-24.
Most of this growth occurred within the VET sector, but enrollment in higher education also more than doubled, reflecting a positive trend. In contrast, Papua New Guinea and other Pacific nations, along with Timor-Leste, registered smaller increases during the immigration boom. The proportion of student visas allocated to PNG dropped from an average of 0.36 percent prior to the pandemic to 0.23 percent in 2022-23, while other Pacific countries and Timor-Leste saw their share decline from 0.25 percent to 0.18 percent.
The increase in visa allocations has proven to be short-lived; in 2023-24, the number of student visas issued to PNG fell below the levels seen in 2018-19, and remained significantly reduced compared to 2014-15. Other Pacific nations and Timor-Leste depend largely on support from the Australian Government. When excluding visas funded by DFAT and Defence, the overall number of student visas granted in 2023-24 has fallen below that of 2018-19.
For many from the Pacific and Timor-Leste, pursuing education in Australia poses economic challenges. Consequently, with the exception of Fiji, many other Pacific nations have not only faced difficulties in leveraging Australia’s favorable student policies during the pandemic but are now confronting additional pressures from tightened immigration regulations.
While Australian government scholarships remain a crucial resource for Pacific students and the new Pacific Engagement Visa provides an avenue for permanent residency—which includes access to Australian student loans and domestic tuition rates—these opportunities are limited and contingent on specific factors.
As a result, an increasing number of Pacific individuals are opting for alternative study destinations, influenced heavily by economic factors. Educational exchanges are vital for fostering connections and enhancing soft power, emphasizing the need for Australia to consider the implications of its student policy modifications on neighboring countries. Proactive measures should be implemented to mitigate any further adverse effects on those who are already underrepresented and in need of greater opportunities.