Private colleges are engaged in a last-minute scramble to lure international students into a controversial graduate diploma course before the federal government axes the qualification on 5 October.
The government announced in early September that it would deregister the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) amid concerns the course has been widely “misused by shonks” to facilitate long-term residency for non-genuine students. While over 15,000 students are currently enrolled across nearly 450 institutions, the cancellation leaves more than 40,000 students with future enrollments in limbo.
In a race against the upcoming deadline, private providers and education agents have flooded social media and messaging apps with aggressive promotional campaigns. Advertisements are offering discounted fees, free certificates of enrollment, and “special intakes” scheduled as late as 2 October—just three days before the program is officially struck from the register. One college has even incentivized agents with “attractive” commissions for providing same-day enrollment letters to prospective students.
Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, praised the government’s intervention, noting that the move targets “factory-type” providers who have exploited loopholes to keep international students in Australia under the guise of education.
“The government for all the right reasons moved to stop non-genuine international students from using this course to stay in the country,” Honeywood said, adding that high-quality providers would prefer these operators to be removed from the ecosystem.
The sudden crackdown has caused significant stress for students caught in the middle of their migration pathways. One student told Guardian Australia they had been advised by an agent to abandon a bachelor’s degree for a vocational carpentry course, followed by the now-cancelled diploma, simply to maintain visa eligibility. They reported being pressured to begin the diploma immediately to beat the deadline, despite concerns about the unmanageable academic workload of balancing multiple courses.
Assistant Minister Julian Hill, who is spearheading the effort to curb visa-hopping, issued a stern warning to both providers and agents that the government is monitoring these “curious patterns” of enrollment.
“Students and providers are on notice that curious patterns of early commencement or new enrolments will be investigated and action taken against those doing the wrong thing,” Hill said.
The move is part of a broader federal effort to dismantle systemic exploitation within the migration system. The government has already moved to ban commissions for agents who transfer students between courses and is preparing to mandate new visa applications for international students wishing to change education providers starting next year.
As the 5 October deadline approaches, migration experts warn that some unscrupulous agents are likely to continue pushing students toward other, similar high-level qualifications in a bid to keep their business afloat, further testing the government’s resolve to clean up the sector.
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