Federation University welcomes new international student reforms

Federation University Australia has welcomed today’s announcement from the Government of the introduction of a new Ministerial Direction which will provide a fairer, more sustainable approach to international student recruitment for the tertiary education sector.
 
The introduction of Ministerial Direction 111 will prioritise offshore student visa applications that are tied to a tertiary education provider that has not yet achieved 80 per cent of their international student cap for a given year. Once this threshold is reached, visas will then be processed by the Department of Home Affairs in the order in which they are received. 

This means that the recruitment of international students – who are valuable members of the communities Federation University serves in regional and outer metropolitan Victoria – will now be more equitable and sustainable than it was when Ministerial Direction 107, which has now been revoked, was active.

For Federation University, this announcement will expedite the recruitment of international students for 2025 at its campuses across Victoria, which have been capped at 1,100 international student commencements for next year.

The development of MD111 and its prioritisation approach has been informed by consultation with the international education sector undertaken by the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations throughout 2024, with Federation University strongly advocating for reforms in the sector to provide greater equity between regional universities and their metropolitan counterparts.
 
Federation University will continue to collaborate across all levels of government to ensure that the unique needs of regional universities are considered in future reforms relating to the tertiary education sector.

Quote attributable to Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley

“Federation University Australia welcomes the Government’s announcement that this new Ministerial Direction has been introduced with immediate effect . This change represents a significant boost to universities like ours that serve regional and outer metropolitan communities and will help create an equitable and more sustainable higher education sector."