International students withdrew Australian visa applications at triple the normal rate last year, as Canberra applied policies to discourage overseas enrolments.

More than 15,000 would-be students pulled the plug on their visa applications in 2024, up from around 5,000 a year in 2023 and 2019, according to newly published data.

The withdrawal rate rose from about 1 per cent to 3 per cent among higher education students, and 6 per cent among their vocational education peers.

Visa withdrawals skyrocketed from about March, amid reports of universities pressuring overseas students ¨C particularly from southern Asia ¨C to withdraw their applications to visit Australia, and?rescinding offers of enrolment?to those who did not comply.

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Monash University higher education policy expert Andrew Norton, who obtained the data from the Department of ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Affairs, that the spike in withdrawals could reflect students ¡°simply giving up¡± on an Australia that had suddenly become less accessible.

He says that by mid-2024, Australian officials were typically taking about three months to process visas for higher education study and twice as long for vocational training. ¡°It would be understandable if applicants just cut their losses and moved on,¡± Norton writes.

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But many of the withdrawals appear to have been ¡°tactical¡± moves by students who were wary of torpedoing future opportunities, as the visa rejection rate rose to historical highs.

¡°Visa refusals must be declared in future visa applications,¡± Norton explains. ¡°If an applicant believes their application is likely to be refused it would be prudent to withdraw it.¡±

Universities also had a vested interest in students withdrawing their applications as the rejection rate increased. Visa refusal rates are factored into institutional immigration risk ratings, which affect universities¡¯ attractiveness to foreigners.

However, the mass withdrawal of students¡¯ visa paperwork did not prevent authorities?downgrading 11 universities¡¯ risk ratings?in April.

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Meanwhile, a new ?reveals the progress that educators and developers have made in alleviating the housing shortages that?ostensibly motivated?the government¡¯s crackdown on international education.

Almost 10,000 student accommodation rooms were approved for construction across Australia between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with annual approvals accelerating from less than 2,000 in 2021-22 to more than 5,000 two years later.

The momentum is continuing, according to the Student Accommodation Council, which??new housing for almost 36,000 students is ¡°in the pipeline¡± ¨C including about 11,000 rooms currently under construction, 15,000 approved for development and 10,000 awaiting approval.

¡°Both sides of politics have flagged plans to reduce the impact of international students in our cities,¡± said the council¡¯s executive director, Torie Brown. ¡°The easiest way to increase housing for students and to reduce their demand on the private rental market is to work with the sector to increase PBSA [purpose-built student accommodation] development.

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¡°We have the capital ready to deploy. We don¡¯t need handouts. We are a solution to housing pressures for students and neighbourhoods.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com