The Australian government announced a new National Planning Level for international student programs in 2025.

Key Points:

• Effective Jan. 1, 2025, a total of 270,000 new international student commencements for the 2025 calendar year will be allotted under the new National Planning Level limits.
• The commencements are divided between higher education and vocational education and training.
• Vocational education and training sector providers will have 95,000 slots and the higher education sector will have 175,000, including:
  • Public universities — 145,000
  • Private universities and non-university higher education providers — 30,000

Additional Information: Current international students will not be affected by these changes, and the allotments do not include enrollments or offers. The following categories of individuals will be excluded: international students enrolled at an Australian provider studying an Australian transnational education or twinning program, students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste, and “standalone” ELICOS students, among others. The complete list of exempted student cohorts not impacted can be found here.

BAL Analysis: The new 2025 student commencement numbers will be set at around 2023 levels — the government aims to decrease the number of foreign students allowed to enter Australia to pre-pandemic levels. The government will allot slots in the vocational education and training sector to provide more training opportunities for international students alongside Australian students.