‘Tighten your seatbelts': International students celebrate Albo victory
International students have taken to social media to celebrate Anthony Albanese's re-election.
'It's big, big news for all international students, which means more chances, more work rights, better support are on the way,' one man said in a viral clip shared on X.
'So if you are planning to stay or study in Australia, this is your moment, OK? Just tighten your seatbelts and consider Australia for your future. Congratulations.'
Another TikTok user hailed it as a 'big sigh of relief for international students'.
'No more $5000 international student visa fees, no more international student visa cut each year, no more international student visa issues,' he said. 'It's great news for everybody.'
Other clips showed international students doing celebratory TikTok dances.
'As an international student this is a happy moment for us,' one woman captioned her video.
Migration agents also welcomed Mr Albanese's win.
'It is obviously good news in and around Australia and so far around the world too,' one said. 'Hope this good news brings good fortune for Nepalese international students who are in Australia and who are willing to apply Australia.'
Another said 'it will be good news for students and immigrants but not today or maybe in three months but after some time, maybe after six months or one year'.
'So congratulations Labor and students as well,' he said.
Immigration became a heated topic during the election, with particular focus on international students who account for the bulk of temporary visa holders.
A record 197,000 international students arrived in February alone.
Today Australia receives roughly one in 10 of the world's estimated 6.4 million international students. Last year a record 853,045 international students studied in Australia — equivalent to about 3 per cent of the population.
China was the top source (189,282), followed by India (139,038) and Nepal (65,815).
Pathways to residency available for students who complete courses in occupations on skilled migration lists have driven much of the trend over the past two decades, particularly in the vocational sector.
In 2023, cookery was by far the most popular course for international students with 45,250 enrolments.
Business management was the second most popular vocational course with 39,127 enrolments, and the top choice for university students with 22,069 enrolments.
Peter Dutton went into the election vowing large cuts to international student numbers to ease pressure on the housing market.
The opposition leader pledged to cut total numbers by 80,000, with a cap of 240,000 overseas student commencements each year. Public universities would have been limited to 115,000, with 125,000 places available for the vocational, private university and non-university higher education sectors under Mr Dutton's plan.
The move would have cost the large universities $2.9 billion in lost revenue, according to analysis by the Mitchell Institute.
Labor last year tried legislating international student caps, but was defeated by the Coalition and the Greens.
The government then moved to plan B by slowing down visa processing, amounting to a de facto cap that has already led to massive budget and staff cuts at universities including ANU, UTS and Western Sydney University.
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