Australia proposes A$2,000 student visa fee as part of election campaign

Australia’s ruling Labor Party said on Monday it would increase international student visa fees to A$2,000 ($1,279) if re-elected, as part of a wider policy to manage immigration and boost revenues.

The visa fee hike, up from A$1,600, is expected to generate A$760 million over the next four years, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said in a statement outlining Labor’s election costings.

“We think that’s a sensible measure that really prizes the value of studying here in Australia,” Gallagher told reporters.

The government had already more than doubled the student visa fee last July, from A$710 to A$1,600.

Australia’s conservative opposition has proposed an even steeper increase, pledging a minimum fee of A$2,500 for standard universities and A$5,000 for applicants to the prestigious Group of Eight institutions.

International students are a major source of revenue for Australian universities and have contributed to a sharp rise in net migration, fuelling housing demand and higher costs.

Government figures showed almost 200,000 international students arrived in Australia in February 2025, a 12.1% increase compared to the previous year and 7.3% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

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

In 2024, Australia recorded more than one million international students enrolled, with 572,000 commencing new studies.

Visa fees for students in Australia remain significantly higher compared to other countries, with equivalent charges at about $185 in the United States and C$150 ($108) in Canada.

The government last year also tightened English language requirements for student and graduate visas and introduced measures to suspend education providers from recruiting international students if they repeatedly breach regulations.