04/09/2026
Labor bans VET course for foreign students
International students will be banned from enrolling in a popular graduate diploma course due to concerns it was being used to facilitate “non genuine” settlement in Australia, as the Albanese government prepares a crackdown on its migration program to attempt to ward off the rise of One Nation.
Labor has for the first time triggered new course cancellation powers to prevent international students from enrolling in the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning), arguing there was “significant evidence” the course was being exploited by foreign students who want to extend their stay in Australia beyond the term of their original visa.
The government said the course, which has more than 40,000 international student enrolments and is taught by 452 vocational education and training (VET) providers, was associated with a high number of non-completions and visa refusals.
The regulation will only impact prospective students and will not invalidate the GDML course qualification.
The one- to two-year course, which can be taken without prerequisite qualifications, is designed to help build business management skills, including through a focus on strategic planning, marketing and financial management.
Senior Labor sources played down the decision as being related to the political debate on migration numbers, although it will prevent thousands of foreign students from extending their stay.
Assistant International Education Minister Julian Hill said the Albanese government would “act decisively to ensure Australia remains a trusted global education destination”.
“The Coalition left behind a shocking mess in 2022, with unsustainably high growth in student numbers in the least reputable parts of the sector, and our high-quality student visa being degraded into a low-rent illegal work visa and misused by shonks,” Mr Hill said.
“Australia continues to welcome genuine international students seeking a premium education and must maintain a ruthless focus on quality, integrity and a great student experience.”
The Albanese government passed legislation last year allowing the minister to cancel or suspend a course if there were systemic delivery issues or it was not aligning with Australia’s skills needs and the public interest.
The laws were a response to a review into exploitation of Australia’s visa system by former Victoria Police commissioner Christine Nixon, which found the migration program was being undermined by shonky VET providers.
The Australian reported last week Anthony Albanese, under pressure from One Nation’s emergence as a genuine electoral threat, was close to finalising an immigration crackdown as net overseas migration remains above 300,000 annually.
The government is aiming to bring the NOM down to 225,000 in the next two years.
The overhaul is expected to see new restrictions on international students and their family members, a six-month limit on visitor visas, moves to stop students shifting courses, and a clampdown on onshore visa applications.
This could include making it harder for foreigners to shift university courses, while blocking movement from higher education to the vocational, education and training sector.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was forced to cancel the announcement of Labor’s migration policy last month over internal splits on the policy.
The Prime Minister has denied reports the government was planning on slashing the refugee intake from 20,000 a year to below 14,000.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has vowed to limit the NOM to 130,000, although new MP David Farley has created doubt about whether this will be practically achieved.
The Coalition is preparing to unveil a plan that would drive the NOM below 200,000.
Mr Albanese last week said the business community backed skilled migration. “We’re making sure … we get the right skills mix, but also that we deal with the issue of ensuring that people who aren’t entitled to be here, leave,” he said.
(Source; The Australian Newspaper)
