The Coalition will reduce the number of overseas students coming to Australia each year by around 80,000 in what it says is a bid to address housing affordability for young Australians.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton announced on Sunday that a cap of around 25 per cent would be applied to the number of foreign students admitted to public universities.
The Coalition said "unsustainable" migration levels were leading to housing unaffordability.
"The plan that we announce today is about getting young Aussies into homes more quickly and helping them afford that home," Dutton told reporters in Melbourne.
What is the Coalition's plan for international students?
An elected Coalition government would allow 30,000 fewer foreign students into Australia each year compared to Labor's plan. This would set the cap of international students each year at 240,000.
The Opposition estimated there would be a maximum of 115,000 overseas student commencements each year at publicly funded universities and, at most, 125,000 enrolled in private and other higher education like VET courses.
"We're cutting migration because we want to put Australians first. We want Australians into homes," Dutton said.
The Coalition also said it would raise the student visa application charge to $5,000 for Group of Eight universities and $2,500 for remaining international students.
Students will also be charged a new $2,500 fee if they want to change education providers.
The Coalition will also review a visa that allows international students to live, study and work in Australia after they've completed studies. It said the review would address the "misuse" of the visa, "as a way to gain access to the Australian labour market and as a pathway to permanent migration".
Dutton says students save on commute
Dutton was asked how a student cap — which would largely impact metropolitan areas — would help a first-time home buyer in the suburbs.
He responded by flagging that the Coalition's promise to bring down the cost of petrol would save students money at the bowser.
"If you're spending an hour and a half in a car, even a little Mazda2, or if you've got a bigger, gas-guzzling car, you're probably going to save, as a university student under our policy, maybe two tanks a week," he said.
"Two tanks a week. That's probably 30 bucks a week you're going to save as a university student. That is a huge saving."
He went on to say that students are buying houses across metropolitan and outer metropolitan areas, but have faced a "housing crunch" under the Labor government.
The Coalition said the number of international students studying in Australia rose from almost 520,000 international students in the year to the last election, to more than 850,000 in 2025.
A international students were "not the culprits of the rental crisis in Australia", with its authors "rejecting the assumption that the growth of international students 'caused' or exacerbated the housing crisis in Australia".
Greens, universities criticise Coalition plan
The Greens criticised the Coalition's plan and accused the party of a "cynical attempt to scapegoat" migrants and international students for the housing and rental crisis.
"Dutton's plan to slash student numbers and triple visa fees is a cynical ploy to stoke fear and division in the lead-up to an election," deputy Greens leader and spokesperson for higher education Mehreen Faruqi said.
Faruqi also accused Labor of "starting this round of punching down on international students" by pushing for their own caps last year.
"The facts are clear, we've seen the evidence: international students are not the cause of skyrocketing rents or unaffordable housing. That responsibility lies squarely with successive governments who have refused to build enough public housing and prioritised lining the pockets of wealthy property investors."
Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi accused the Coalition of "scapegoating" migrants and international students. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
"Students make up less than six per cent of the national rental market. The real solution is more homes, not fewer students," said CEO Luke Sheehy.
"We urge all parties to base policy on facts, not finger-pointing. We're ready to work constructively on real solutions, but cuts like these will only harm the nation's prosperity at a time we can least afford it."
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the Coalition's plan was "the wrong policy at the wrong time", and that blaming international students for the housing crisis was "flawed".
"It beggars belief that the Coalition would single out the [Group of Eight] for extra burden — Australia's top universities all ranked in the world's top 100 — that attract the best and brightest minds from our region and around the world," Thomson said.
The Business Council of Australia also said that placing further caps on international students would impact one of the country's major export sectors.
