Australia Increases International Student Places at 31 Universities

The Australian government has announced its allocations for international student places for 2026/2027 and 31 universities have been granted new placements. Australia will welcome up to 295,000 new international students next year, with a focus on bringing in more students from strategic partnerships in south-east Asia and increasing student accommodations. Here’s a breakdown of the placements ahead of the 2026/2027 intake and what it means for international students.

Staying within the National Planning Level

Earlier this year, the Australian government announced the National Planning Level (NPL) for 2026/27, indicating that it would increase the number of available placements for new international students to 295,000. It then invited publicly-funded universities to apply for increases to their existing allotments, and 32 universities submitted requests for additional placements. It also assured universities that they would receive at least their previous year’s allotment.

On Tuesday, the increased allocations were announced, and 31 of the 32 applicant schools received additional placements. Only the University of Sydney did not receive any additional placements.

In 2025, the University of Sydney was allocated 11,900 new overseas student commencements (NOSCs) – the largest allocation of all the universities - and will continue to hold the same allocation for 2026/27. The Ministry of Education stated that they were continuing to discuss “market diversification, south-east Asian engagement, and…investment in new housing” with the University of Sydney.

And while Monash University has the second largest allocation, at 11,300 NOSC for 2026/27, it was Federation University Australia that saw the largest increase in allocation, up nearly 64 percent from its previous allowance. Last year, FUA was allocated 1100 NOSC and will be allowed to recruit up to 1800 new students for 2026/27. Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, and the University of Tasmania received the smallest increase, with only a 2.7 percent and 2.2 percent increase, respectively.

Focus on student housing

Last year, the Australian government tried to cap new student placements at 270,000, but the proposal was rejected in parliament, and the NPL was set to 295,000. One of the reasons that Australia wanted to limit placements was due to shortages in the housing market.

To counteract this challenge, the government stipulated that universities that want to increase their yearly allocation must demonstrate “provision of student accommodation to ensure both domestic and international students have access to safe and secure housing.”

As well as announcing the allocations for 2026/27, Tuesday’s press release confirmed that Australia is making strides in developing new student housing. There are now at least 11,000 new accommodations under construction, as well as 15,000 approved developments and 12,000 that are in the planning process.

Surveys of urban housing show that many rental units are leased by the room to students, rather than as single-family accommodations. This indicates the need for increased development of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), and data compiled by Urbis, an Australian policy analyst, shows that there will be more than 144,000 PBSA units available by 2027.

And while much of the PBSA growth is focused on the East Coast of Australia, new projects are being developed throughout the country. Earlier this year, a Singaporean investment fund was granted permission to build an 835-bed housing project in Perth. Construction began in September and accounts for more than half of the 1600 student accommodations currently under construction in Perth.

What’s next?

With the 2026/27 allocations set, Australia’s universities can now start offering places to international students for the coming academic year. Under the current NPL stipulations, universities will need to demonstrate continued commitment to the government’s priorities regarding engagement with Southeast Asia and student accommodations to be considered for NOCS increases in the next academic cycle.

The allocation press release also stated that visa applications had declined by 26 percent in the last year, which could indicate that the Australian government’s efforts to encourage sustainable international student enrollment growth are working.

Minister for Education, Jason Clare, said that the government was “making sure growth in international education happens in a way that supports the national interest and spreads benefits more evenly.”

He also stressed the importance of regional universities, like Federation University Australia, to local communities and economies, noting that the government was “backing them with more places.” Other regional universities, like Charles Sturt University, the University of Newcastle, and Charles Darwin University, all received proportionately larger shares of NOCSs this year.