Australia’s Labor Party pledges new hike in student visa fees if reelected

SYDNEY: In the latest move targeting the lucrative education sector, which has been a key source of immigration, Australia's ruling Labour Party announced on Monday that, if reelected, it would increase visa fees for overseas students to A$2,000 ($1,279).

Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher stated on Labor's policy costings for Saturday's federal poll that the increase in visa fees, from the current A$1,600, will generate A$760 million over the next four years.

"We think that's a sensible measure that really prizes, I think, the value of studying here in Australia," Gallagher told a news conference.

The government more than doubled the fee for international student visas in July last year to A$1,600 from A$710.

Australia's conservative opposition has already pledged to raise the visa fee to a minimum of A$2,500, and A$5,000 for applicants to the country's top universities, known as the Group of Eight.

International students are a major source of revenue for Australian universities, but are also in part responsible for a rise in net migration that has driven up housing costs.

Almost 200,000 international students arrived in Australia in February 2025, government statistics show, an increase of 12.1% over the previous year and 7.3% higher than pre-Covid levels in February 2019.

Labor has promised to cap international student commencements at 270,000 in 2025, while the opposition favours a lower figure of 240,000.

There were more than a million international students enrolled in Australia in 2024, while 572,000 students commenced their studies.

Visa fees for students in Australia are already significantly higher than similar countries such as the US and Canada, where they cost about $185 and C$150 ($108) respectively.

The government last year also tightened English language requirements for student and graduate visas, as well as introducing powers to suspend education providers from recruiting international students if they repeatedly break rules.