ns on average incomes are more likely to support big cuts to immigration as surging population growth causes a housing crisis, new data has revealed.
Migration Watch has commissioned a survey which showed 76 per cent of respondents wanted a cap on international student numbers.
In 2023, 733,370 international students came to .
That figure continues to grow with 428,790 international students on a visa arriving in the first six months of 2024.
International students make up the bulk of long-term arrivals, classified as foreigners coming to for at least 12 months, with in the grip of a rental crisis.
The Compass Polling data of 1,015 respondents, commissioned by Migration Watch , showed those on average incomes of $100,000 were more likely to favour hard caps on international student arrivals.
This included young men aged 25-34, earning $90,000 to $130,000 with a bachelor degree.
But women aged 35-44 with post-graduate degrees, earning $130,000 to $230,000 were opposed to capping international student numbers.
So were Labor-voting men in the same age group on a similarly high income.
Women earning more than $230,000 a year- among the top 2.3 per cent of income earners, were also opposed to caps on international student numbers.
Nine out of 10 survey respondents agreed that fixing the housing crisis was more important than educating foreign students.
But postgraduates and high income earners were among the few groups who disagreed with that question.
Three quarters of respondents also wanted vocational education programs removed from international student visas.
Migration Watch founder Jordan Knight said the high number of international students was worsening ‘s rental crisis.
‘This is at a time when ns are going homeless, when wages are flat, rentals are impossible to find, and roads are full,’ he said.
‘The big universities are wrong. This isn’t populist or emotional.
‘Calls for hard caps are logical. The Labor government brought in record numbers of people since they came in, and minor tweaks won’t fix this. It’s time for hard caps.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government announced plans to slash international student numbers in the May Budget.
The Group of Eight, representing ‘s most prestigious universities in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, has been lobbying the government against its proposals to cut international student numbers.
Education was ‘s fourth biggest export in 2023 after iron ore, coal and natural gas, making it the biggest service sector sold to overseas customers.
Go8 chief executive Vicki Thomson argued putting caps on international student numbers would compromise a $48billion export industry.
‘Imposing caps on international student enrolments will have long lasting, damaging consequences for our economy, our capacity to attract the highest-quality students, our skilled workforce and ‘s international reputation,’ she said in July.
Education Minister Jason Clare this month ruled out capping international students at 40 per cent of all enrolments.
But is enduring a rental crisis with capital cities having an ultra-tight rental vacancy rate in July of just 1.3 per cent, SQM Research data showed.
‘s population growth of 2.5 per cent in 2023 was the fastest since the early 1950s as a record 547,300 migrants flooded in, with departures factored in.
The economy has also been in a per capita recession since the middle of last year, where output for every n has been going backwards.
‘ns are seeing their living standards implode under the weight of immigration-fueled population explosion, and they know the government isn’t doing enough,’ Mr Knight said. ‘They want tougher action.’