SYDNEY: In the latest move targeting the lucrative education sector, which has been a key source of immigration, Australia’s ruling Labor Party announced Monday that, if reelected, it would increase visa fees for overseas students to A$2,000 ($1,279).
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher stated in a statement on Labor’s policy costings for Saturday’s federal election that the increase in visa fees, from the current A$1,600, will generate A$760 million over the next four years.
“We think that’s a sensible measure that really prizes, I think, the value of studying here in Australia,” Gallagher said during a press conference.
In July of last year, the government increased the cost of international student visas by more than double, from A$710 to A$1,600.
