The Australian federal government has once again considerably increased visa application charges for international trainees. These boosts were lodged in Parliament last night to be active from today to ensure candidates did not get a chance to use quickly at the ‘lower’ charge.
ELICOS has been exempted from the main boost. Applications for ELICOS and Non-Award Programs will increase by $50 to $2,050.
The student visa application charge for Greater Ed, VETERINARIAN, and School course applications and packaged visas culminating in among those courses has increased from the world’s most pricey student visa application charge at $2,000 to $2,500.
The sector woke to this news this morning. Having been on the phone to members much of the day, it is necessary to acknowledge the frustration, disappointment, even heartbreak that a number of our members are feeling at this news.
For numerous months English Australia has actually pointed to the government’s own data revealing that the boost in the student visa application charge from $710 to $1,600 on 1 July 2024 caused a 38% drop in student visa applications for Independent ELICOS.
The 2nd visa application charge increase to $2,000 since 1 July 2025 caused a fall of another 25%. Integrated with record low trainee visa grant rates for Independent ELICOS, this has resulted in 2025-26 seeing the lowest variety of applications for Independent ELICOS on record, 24% listed below 2005-06 numbers.
This represents the loss of more than 20 years of financial investment in the sector by universities and companies, by people investing in their professional development and making Australia a world leader in English language teaching, by our state governments, and by consecutive federal governments for decades before this existing federal government. Eventually, we know this represents members losing incomes.
To study English for 4 or 5 months– the typical length of an ELICOS enrolment in Australia– in among the other crucial ELICOS destinations, including U.S.A., Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Malta, etc, an using trainee will pay a visa application charge of in between 1% and 60% of the Australian trainee visa application charge.
Federal government’s choice to not use the full increase to ELICOS applicants is a recognition that English language trainees the world over have actually currently made clear that the $2,000 application charge has actually made Australia unsightly as a location. Students have actually just stopped applying to study in Australia.
By increasing the trainee visa application charge for ELICOS by $50, the government has indicated that it is able to distinguish the visa application charge by sector, despite having actually stated numerous times over the last 18 months that this was not possible, that the government’s computer system systems were not able to manage it.
Nevertheless, it also indicates that this government does not want to attend to the damage done to the ELICOS sector by charging the highest visa application charge in the world, even though many Australians have and continue to lose their jobs due to this cost increase.
No announcement was made of the decision to hike these visa fees– a decision clearly reached weeks if not months ago. There was no conversation with the sector to think about the most likely impacts of these modifications. The Explanatory Memorandum to the legislative instrument introducing these visa charge increases states that federal government saw consultation outdoors federal government as not necessary.
The recent federal budget plan consisted of a projection boost in profits from visa charges (a single combined item) but clearly stated that this was from the March boost to the Temporary Postgraduate visa (subclass 485) and the boost to the Guest Movement Charge.The Explanatory
Memorandum to the legislative instrument introducing these visa charge increases states that the boosts were talked about within government as part of the Spending plan procedure. No description has actually been offered regarding why the government failed to mention these considerable changes to visa income in the Spending plan Papers themselves. English Australia sees these visa costs as unreasonable and akin to rent-seeking. Unreasonably high fees have a substantially negative effect on Australia’s worldwide reputation, making Australia appear unwelcoming and exploitative to worldwide students. English Australia will continue to advocate for student visa application charges to be decreased and brought into line with the costs charged by other nations worldwide, such as the USA, Canada, UK all of which charge a drastically lower visa fee. English Australia will also continue to advocate for visa charges that are commensurate with the length of stay. As always, I motivate members to get in touch to discuss these modifications and the impact they will have on you, your institution, your coworkers, and your communities.