More Australian universities mull staff cuts as enrolments fall

Perth’s Murdoch University has become the latest Australian institution to flag potential job cuts after federal government rule changes triggered a decline in international education earnings.

In an email to staff, vice-chancellor Andrew Deeks warned that the university had “a number of change proposals coming forward” to deal with the “challenge” caused by changes to international student visa settings.

“These changes have significantly decreased our international student numbers both this year but also on an ongoing basis, and consequently we need to reduce our expenditure in next year’s budget and going forward,” the email says.

“Cutting back expenditure is never pleasant, and I apologise to all those who will be affected by these changes, both directly and indirectly.”

Charles Sturt University has also warned that it may need to reduce its net staffing levels by around 100 full-time positions because of a plunge in the international tuition fee revenue “that used to subsidise our operations”.

Adelaide University has proposed a voluntary early retirement scheme and flagged a possible future round of voluntary redundancies to cope with a projected A$90 million (£47 million) shortfall in earnings from new international students.

Adelaide said its international enrolments sat at around 16,700, compared with about 20,800 across its two foundation institutions at the same time last year. It said the early retirement scheme was “not confirmed” and the university was taking expressions of interest from staff as it awaited regulatory approvals.

Murdoch is particularly vulnerable to international education changes because it has the highest share of foreign enrolments of any Australian university. Fifty-seven per cent of its students were from overseas in 2024, the latest year for which comprehensive statistics are available, although around two in five were at Murdoch’s offshore campuses in Dubai and Singapore.

Murdoch’s international enrolments “stabilised” last year after a “tumultuous” year in 2024, according to the institution’s 2025 annual report. However, student visa grants to applicants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal – all of which rank among Murdoch’s top five student source countries – have crashed this year.

Deeks said Western Australia had been “more adversely affected” than other jurisdictions by the international education changes. In recent months, refusal rates for people applying from overseas for visas to undertake degree-level study in the state have been up to 17 percentage points higher than the national average.

“Given the current immigration debate, we do not believe visa settings are likely to ease in the short term,” Deeks said. “Like many universities, Murdoch is implementing a programme of cost-saving measures to align expenditure with the revised revenue outlook.”

He said Murdoch was “committed to good governance and prudent financial management” and was “taking the necessary steps to safeguard our financial stability”.

The university has also been disproportionately affected by a widespread decline in domestic enrolments. Its first semester figures fell by 22 per cent between 2022 and 2026 – the second steepest decline in the sector, according to recently published preliminary data.

Meanwhile, in a move to buttress its numbers and help students disadvantaged by the latest rule changes, Murdoch has written to its agents inviting former students who transferred out of the institution to apply for readmission.

The offer comes after the government introduced a requirement for many foreigners to leave Australia before applying to have their student visas renewed. Thousands now face the potential expiry of their visas before they have completed their initial courses.

Murdoch said it would consider readmitting former students if “sufficient credit” could be granted for their studies elsewhere, and the students had “realistic” study plans for “genuine” completion of their courses. “Approval is not guaranteed,” the email stresses.

“This should not be viewed as a student recruitment initiative. It is an opportunity for former Murdoch students who chose to transfer elsewhere to return and complete the qualification they originally commenced.”

The email says any readmissions should be treated as a “return transfer” with no agent commission “payable”. A spokeswoman said the university had taken the action following “an influx of queries”.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com