The number of visas issued to students from seven major source countries has significantly declined in Australia. While China remains the largest source of international students, the number of visas granted to Chinese students has decreased slightly from 98,500 to 77,185. On 1 July, the Australian government unexpectedly announced a more than doubling of student visa application fees, increasing from AUD 710 to AUD 1600. The government also prohibited students holding visitor visas and temporary graduate visas from applying for student visas while in Australia.

Furthermore, the Australian government plans to impose caps on the number of international students each university can enroll starting next January. These measures are expected to further dampen the study and immigration market.