Labor shuts down course linked to student visa misuse

In short:

The federal government is preventing new enrolments in a graduate diploma it fears is being used by non-genuine international students to switch courses and prolong their stay in Australia.

The move is the first use of new course-cancellation powers designed to protect the integrity of the international education system.

What's next?

Existing students can finish the diploma, but providers will be prevented from recruiting or commencing new students.

A graduate diploma used as a vehicle for international students to remain in Australia will be effectively shut down under the federal government's first use of new cancellation powers.

Transfers into the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) have surged in recent years, with the government concerned students are using it to maintain their visa status rather than for genuine study.

The VET course crackdown is part of a broader effort to improve the quality of the international education sector and comes as the government is looking to slow migration arrivals.

Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Labor was acting to ensure Australia remained a "trusted global education destination" to protect students and "prevent misuse of the visa system".

"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," he said.

Mr Hill accused the previous Coalition government of leaving a "shocking mess" with unsustainably high growth in the "least reputable" parts of the international education sector.

Earlier this year, Mr Hill imposed a 12-month freeze on private colleges and training organisations applying to offer new courses to international students, which he said would give the national regulator more time to investigate concerns about poor quality providers.

High transfer rate sparked concern about diploma

The cancellation of the management diploma was sparked by concerns around the large volume of international students who were already in Australia switching into the course.

Transfers jumped from 510 people in 2020 to 4,000 in 2025, with 77 per cent of the students switching to the diploma coming from elsewhere in higher education.

It meant students could switch into the course without necessarily needing a new student visa application.

Almost half of the people approved to enrol in the diploma did not commence in 2025, while completion rates were significantly below other VET courses.

There are 452 VET providers registered to deliver the course to international students with 41,033 active confirmed enrolments, including 15,772 students recorded as currently studying.

Students who have already started will be able to complete their studies; however, VET providers and education agents are prohibited from recruiting more international students.

Labor using visa regulation to slow migration intake

The government has been increasingly turning to regulatory and administrative levers to slow visas and new arrivals as it tries to bring net overseas migration (NOM) down.

NOM is running at about 300,000 a year, but Labor wants to get it back toward its forecast of 225,000 by 2028.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has changed visa processing priorities to favour skilled migrants already in Australia, effectively slowing applications from offshore workers.

Backpacker visas have also been slowed for applicants from 24 countries.

Mr Burke appeared to leave the door open to changing working holiday visa arrangements for British backpackers, before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ruled them out.

Mr Albanese said the government would "continue to honour" the existing arrangements outlined in the Australia-UK free trade agreement.

The ABC has also previously reported the federal cabinet was considering stripping work rights from people whose protection claims had been rejected.

The number of people on bridging visas has risen from 130,450 in 2017 to 413,000 in 2026.

There was also a short-lived possibility Labor would cut Australia's humanitarian intake from 20,000 back toward the previous baseline of 13,750, but Mr Albanese has since guaranteed this would not occur.