Universities say they are being treated like ‘political footballs’ in scathing critique of Labor’s student cap

Universities Australia chair Prof David Lloyd is appealing to both major parties to provide bipartisan support for higher education. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The chair of Universities Australia will accuse both sides of parliament of using the tertiary education sector as a “political plaything” in a scathing critique of Labor’s proposed international student cap.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Prof David Lloyd will call the decision to cap international student enrolments at a maximum of 270,000 the most “extraordinary intervention” by a government into universities since the Morrison government vetoed six Australian Research Council (ARC) grants in 2021.