The IEU consistently advocates for improvements for members, most notably through the negotiation of enterprise agreements.
These agreements must provide for pay and conditions superior to the underpinning award, and members are encouraged to approach the union to see how this might be utilised in their workplace.
Agreements update
The IEU has recently settled long-running negotiations at UoW College (the pathways college of Wollongong University), with pay increases of 3% in 2025 (backdated to January), 2.75% in 2026 and 2.75% in 2027.
An inflation protection mechanism in the latter two years means pay may go as high as 3.5% in either year should the inflation rate go higher than the agreed 2.75%.
The union is also negotiating at Navitas Skilled Futures, which runs migrant English programs for the federal government. Negotiations are almost settled, with the parties close, but not quite there, on pay.
Talks are continuing at Taylors College (with a probable pay deal of 3% per annum) and WSU The College (where bargaining is still at an early stage).
Bargaining will start at both UTS College and UNSW College later this year.
State of the industry
Recent figures from English Australia, the national peak body for the English language sector of international education, suggest that student numbers and visa approvals have greatly declined in comparison to 2024.
ELICOS has seen the most notable change, with numbers down 37 per cent on 2024, and 32 per cent down on the pre-pandemic years before 2020.
Student visa applications, which indicate future trends, are down 47 per cent on last year.
However, there is hope on the horizon, with the federal government in August announcing an increase of 25,000 student visas offered in 2026 to a total of 295,000.
“International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia but we need to manage its growth so it’s sustainable,” federal Education Minister Jason Clare said.
“International education doesn’t just make us money, it makes us friends.”
International students under attack
In the United States, the Trump Administration is actively targeting international students, often with horrific scenes of people being taken off the streets and taken into detention.
Donald Trump’s hostility to migrants and non-Americans is by now well-established, and so international students will no doubt need to think carefully before applying to study in the US.
Britain is also getting tougher in this area, with a range of restrictions on international students leading to a 40 per cent drop in visa applications in 2025.