Australia's Labor to hike student visa fees in pre-election pledge

Australia’s Labor vows to hike student visa fee if reelected

Robert Besser
02 May 2025, 11:21 GMT+10

Australia's Labor to hike student visa fees in pre-election pledge

Australia’s ruling Labor Party says it will raise the fee for international student visas to A$2,000 (US$1,279) if it wins the upcoming federal election
Right now, the visa costs A$1,600
The higher fee is expected to bring in A$760 million over four years, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher

SYDNEY, Australia: Australia's ruling Labor Party says it will raise the fee for international student visas to A$2,000 (US$1,279) if it wins the upcoming federal election.

Right now, the visa costs A$1,600. The higher fee is expected to bring in A$760 million over four years, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

Gallagher said the change makes sense and shows that studying in Australia is still valuable. The government already increased the visa fee from A$710 to A$1,600 last year.

Australia's opposition party also wants to raise the fee — even higher. They plan to charge at least A$2,500 for most students and up to A$5,000 for those going to top universities, known as the Group of Eight.

International students bring in a lot of money for Australian universities, but they are also part of the reason why immigration numbers are rising, which has pushed up housing costs.

In February 2025, nearly 200,000 international students arrived in Australia — up 12 percent from last year and seven percent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labor wants to limit new international student enrollments to 270,000 in 2025, while the opposition wants a lower limit of 240,000. In 2024, more than a million international students were enrolled, and 572,000 started new courses.

Student visa fees in Australia are already much higher than in countries like the U.S. (about US$185) and Canada (about C$150 or US$108). The government has also made English language rules stricter and can now block schools from enrolling international students if they break the rules too often.