In 2023, Labor MP Julian Hill, who is the Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs, and Assistant Minister for International Education, described Australia’s international education system as resembling a “Ponzi scheme”, accusing agents of misusing student visas by promoting them as cheap work visas with pathways to permanent residency.
Phil Honeywood, the CEO of the International Education Association of Australia and a key lobbyist for the industry, supported Hill’s view.
Honeywood also the labelled the international education system a “Ponzi scheme” and a “race to the bottom”, according to an article from The Guardian.
