The Australian government has announced visa changes making it harder for international students to bring their families with them while they study. There are also new rules designed to stop students from cycling through courses just to prolong their stay in Australia.Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has framed these changes as part of a broader, “orderly” and “fair” approach to lowering net overseas migration. But they also continue a years-long push by the federal government to lower international student numbers.What has been announced? And what is happening with international student numbers more broadly? What did Tony Burke say?On Thursday, Burke told the National Press Club most international students will have to come alone to Australia. There will be some exceptions, including for people from Pacific and ASEAN countries and PhD students.Last year, more than 45,000 visas were granted to family members of an international student.Burke also flagged the government would clamp down on “visa hopping” by international students. Students will need to prove they are progressing to a course at a higher level to prolong their student visa. As Burke explained: One of the classic areas of visa hopping is people finish a course, hop to the next course, hop to the next.These changes are part of the federal government’s wider bid to bring down net overseas migration from about 290,000 to 225,000 in 2027-28.The peak body, Universities Australia, described the latest move by the government as “worrying”. Chief executive Luke Sheehy explained students often bring family members to Australia if they are doing research degrees “because they can be here for up to three or four years while they do that”. What has been happening?Over the past three years, the government has been trying to lower the number of international students in Australia.Legislation to give the government greater powers to do this was blocked before the last election, so the government has had to use a series of “workarounds”. These include increases to student visa application fees and slower visa processing times.After the pandemic, international students returned to Australia more quickly than expected. In 2022, the Australian government suggested it might take four years to reach pre-pandemic levels of students. It took one year.This surge created an increase that continues to work its way through the system. After completing a course, many international students can apply for a graduate visa. This means they can extend their stay for a further 18 months or more. The number of students on graduate visas has more than doubled from 70,000 in June 2019 to 199,000 in June 2026 as students who finish their courses transition to these visas. Further increasing the total number of current and former students are “secondary” visaholders. These are normally immediate family members, such as partners and children who come with students to Australia. The total number of student and graduate secondary visaholders has increased from about 92,000 in June 2019 to about 142,000 in the most recent available data. Other moves to reduce international studentsTo reduce net overseas migration, the number of residents leaving the country must be higher than the number of residents entering the country.Many of the measures announced on Thursday give the government more ways to ensure student visaholders leave. In the meantime, there has been a reduction in the intake of new international students.Our analysis of immigration data (shown in the chart below) shows the visa refusal rate for international students has increased significantly over the past six months. Student visa refusal rates are currently the highest they have ever been. The government has said this is because it is more strictly applying a financial capacity test. These are the funds an international student must demonstrate when applying for a visa – to prove they can support themselves while in Australia.How does Labor’s plan compare to other proposals?The complicated nature of migration means it can be difficult to make direct comparisons between different proposals.However, this week, One Nation announced a much harsher plan. Its target of 350,000 international students would come close to halving the number in Australia, as part of its proposal to reduce the overall number of temporary migrants by 750,000.Such a cut would have a huge impact on the university sector and beyond. The Australia Bureau of Statistics says international education is worth A$54.7 billion per year, of which $24.3 billion is from student fees. International students also take a huge range of courses at different types of institutions, such as vocational colleges, private providers or English-language schools.Universities can be the face of international students, but they only account for about half of the international student enrolments in Australia.An international student could be your baker or your carerOur analysis of tax data (shown in the chart below) shows international students play a significant role in certain occupations. These include jobs as hospitality workers and food trades workers (such as bakers and cooks).About 10% of carer and aides jobs, such as child carers and aged care workers, were held by current and graduate international students. Other countries are doing similar things, but …Australia is following a global trend to tighten settings for international students.Canada has also wound back its international student program. Rather than having an open-ended number of visas, there are planned ceilings. The United Kingdom also announced a restriction on family members applying for student visas in 2024.What is missing from these announcements is a clearer picture of how international education fits within the wider migration program. The debate has focused on reducing numbers, but the bigger question is what Australia wants international education to achieve. That means deciding which skills to prioritise and how education, migration and workforce planning can work together.The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.