Australia’s independent tertiary education sector has accused the government of putting international education and the country’s long-term skills pipeline at risk, as providers grapple with rising costs and tighter policy settings.
Pirie warned that government policies risk “choking Australia’s long-term skills pipeline”, including in critical sectors such as nursing. Photo: iStock
Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) chief executive Felix Pirie said two registered training organisations (RTOs) had contacted the association in the past week to say they would close by the end of October “as a direct result of government policy decisions”.
“We’d like governments to get off our backs and to stop making every day harder than the one before,” said Pirie.
He pointed to international education’s contribution of almost AUD$55 billion to the economy in 2025, arguing that restrictions on the sector would have consequences beyond education providers.
“The federal government has carelessly taken a hatchet to those jobs and to the communities that support them through education, hospitality and retail,” said Pirie.
ITECA also criticised current student visa settings, claiming the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is now refusing around one in three offshore higher education visa applications.
Pirie said this increases the risk of “artificially contracting Australia’s fourth-largest export sector”, with potential consequences for GDP and living standards.
He warned the policies could result in the “choking of Australia’s long-term skills pipeline”, particularly across nursing and care, engineering and mining, hospitality, construction and agriculture.
The association also took aim at regulatory pressures, including a Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) consultation on updated fees and charges due to take effect from January 2027.
However, Pirie welcomed action by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) against non-genuine providers.
“Integrity matters,” he said. “As we have seen, when some are not doing the right thing, everyone suffers as regulators are undermined and under-resourced, and the scale of their work becomes overwhelming.
“The result is not that governments seek a better system, rather, they seek a smaller one. That means fewer choices, and dimmer prospects for the learners of the future and for our economies and communities,” said Pirie.
Independent tertiary education doesn’t need a lifeline. Neither do our students. We need to foster ambition, not cut it off at the knees
Felix Pirie, ITECA
“Independent tertiary education doesn’t need a lifeline. Neither do our students. We need to foster ambition, not cut it off at the knees.”
