Australia’s international student visa system is facing renewed scrutiny, with a new report warning that capital city branch campuses run by regional universities have become a key channel for course-hopping and prolonged access to work rights.
The report, authored by Salvatore Babones and Preston Vissotski for the Menzies Research Centre, shifts the focus beyond headline dropout rates to the rapid expansion of metropolitan campuses that cater primarily to international students. It argues that these campuses, many operated by private, for-profit companies, are central to patterns of enrolment that appear disconnected from genuine study.
“Many outer-metropolitan and regional universities have taken advantage of this non-genuine demand for student visas by opening low-cost capital city campuses,” the authors write, noting that these campuses are frequently marketed almost exclusively to international students.
The report documents how at least sixteen publicly supported universities now operate or licence campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide, despite being chartered to serve regional or state-based communities. In several cases, universities license their name and accreditation to private providers while retaining the ability to issue a Confirmation of Enrolment, a critical document for securing a student visa.
“Victoria University licenses out its name and accreditation to a private company that offers Victoria University branded degrees in the Sydney and Brisbane CBDs to international students”
“In effect, Victoria University licenses out its name and accreditation to a private company that offers Victoria University branded degrees in the Sydney and Brisbane CBDs to international students,” the report states, adding that similar arrangements exist across multiple institutions.
The authors question whether such campuses align with the public missions set out in university legislation. They point out that many of these city-based operations are absent from university strategic plans, mission-based compacts and annual reports, even though they enrol thousands of students.
This expansion coincides with a sharp rise in first-year attrition at universities that operate lower-cost degrees in major cities. The report finds that “the most expensive universities have the lowest attrition rates, while the least expensive universities have the highest attrition,” a pattern it links to incentives facing students whose primary goal is employment rather than study.
At Central Queensland University, which runs campuses in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, 57.2 per cent of international undergraduates dropped out in their first year in 2023. Southern Cross University, Federation University and the University of New England also recorded attrition rates well above national averages, according to Department of Education data cited in the report.
At Central Queensland University, which runs campuses in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, 57.2 per cent of international undergraduates dropped out in their first year in 2023
Once students withdraw, the report argues, branch campuses make it easier to transition into the visa “waiting game”. On dropping out, students are moved onto Bridging visas while applying for new courses, often in the vocational sector, allowing them to remain and work in Australia for extended periods. By mid-2025, there were 107,274 temporary migrants on Bridging visas while applying for new student visas, up from 13,034 in 2023.
The authors describe this system as a structural vulnerability rather than a series of isolated cases. “There are signs that, having tapped out the legitimate international student market, Australia’s public universities are increasingly expanding international enrolments in ways that could undermine their public service missions while facilitating visa abuse,” the report says.
To address these risks, Babones and Vissotski propose administrative changes aimed at limiting the role of private operators and tightening pathways between institutions. Among their recommendations is a ban on universities contracting external providers to deliver degrees under the university’s name, alongside a requirement that students who wish to change education providers must leave Australia and reapply from offshore.
The report warns that without reform, the growth of capital city branch campuses could further entrench course-hopping, place pressure on housing and services, and erode confidence in Australia’s international education system, even as universities continue to rely on overseas students for financial stability.
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