International education providers in Australia have expressed their concerns about the high visa refusal rate from Southeast Asian countries.

They expressed their concerns with Australian MP Andrew Charlton about the current visa refusal and its adverse impact on the international students after visa rejection. The current visa refusal rates are high from the countries like Nepal and India which are the largest student sources for Australia.

Speaking at an interaction programme on current policy and upcoming changes in international students organised by the Association of Private CRICOS VET Colleges of Australia, Micheal Seamer Dean, chief executive officer, of Churchill Institute of Higher Education expressed his concerns about current international student visa refusal and also the chaos it has created in the international education industry.

Also speaking, Sagar Lohani, chief executive officer of the International Institute of Education, expressed his concerns about the policy of controlling the net migration flow. It has created uncertainty among those students who have high hopes of studying in Australia, he said.

Dipendra Sharma, chief executive officer of Choice College and secretary of APCA, raised concern on behalf of 70-80 education providers about current changes which have harshly impacted the business and industry.

He also raised concern over uncertainty among providers and students. He said it would create a negative impact on the market that has been built by intuitions for decades.

Speaking at the programme, lawmaker Charlton said such interactions will provide the government with more ideas and understanding on the impact of the sudden change in international student visas and how this will impact the Australian international education industry, education providers and students in the long term.

Charlton also requested the providers to form a small group of delegation so that it would be easier to deal with the issue and draw the attention of the concerned authorities, said the organiser.

Charlton also assured the stakeholders of his support to the industry and education providers, according to the organiser.