Who is really running the university campuses in CBD office blocks?

Universities across the country are using private companies to operate city office-block campuses, which a new report claims facilitates widespread “visa hopping”, effectively granting international students work rights.

Former Labor leader and University of Canberra vice chancellor Bill Shorten has called on the federal government to consider stricter rules to close visa loopholes which allow international students to transfer from university courses to cheaper private providers.

Charles Sturt, the University of Tasmania, Victoria University and Western Sydney University have all outsourced their Sydney CBD and North Sydney operations to private companies.

A report co-authored by University of Sydney Associate Professor Salvatore Babones for right-leaning think tank The Menzies Research Centre noted 13 publicly supported universities based outside Sydney have Sydney campuses.

“Only a few of these serve Australian students. Most only admit international students, and many of these are actually run by for-profit companies on behalf of the universities,” it read.

Western Sydney University, which has a stated vision to secure success for students in the Greater Western Sydney region, has a campus on Elizabeth Street opposite Hyde Park.

La Trobe University, which was founded to “broaden participation in higher education in Melbourne’s north and, later, in regional Victoria” also has a campus on Elizabeth Street.

Victoria University, whose vision is to have “inseparable ties to the west of Melbourne” has a campus at 160 Sussex Street.

Some of those campuses have been established for more than a decade, but the report said there was “evidence that these capital city campuses are increasingly serving as vehicles for the abuse of Australia’s student visa system by non-genuine students seeking entry into Australia for work”.

The number of “course-hopping” international students on bridging visas increased from 13,034 in 2023 to 107,274 in 2025, it said.

Major universities in metropolitan cities with large international student populations have had strong financial results. The University of Sydney recorded a surplus of $500 million last year.

But the report detailed how regional outer metropolitan universities, by contrast, have generally been sidelined.

“Over the last three years, many of these non-city centre (and often financially challenged) universities have turned to the international student market to make up for budget shortfalls,” the report said.

There are about 833,000 international students in the country, according to Department of Education data.

A Victoria University spokesperson said its Sydney campus had been operating since 2007. “We routinely review and benchmark academic performance and attrition rates to ensure that students are provided every opportunity to gain a world-class qualification,” they said.

University of Canberra vice chancellor Bill Shorten said his institution’s campus in Castle Hill had courses designed by University of Canberra academics but was taught by Education Centre of Australia staff, noting the ongoing enrolment rate in 2023 was above 93 per cent.

“The campus delivers courses in areas where there are well-known workforce shortages – for example, in the nursing and early childhood sectors, in this area of Sydney and nationally,” he said.

Last year, 77 per cent of students enrolled at that campus were international students.

“However, we are concerned that some students do elect to transfer to private providers after commencing with us. I recognise that, since the data which is reported on in this report, the government has taken several steps to improve the integrity of the student visa system,” he said.

Shorten said he welcomed recent moves by Assistant Minister for International Education Minister Julian Hill last year to ban agents from getting commissions for onshore provider transfers.

“We also acknowledge that a healthy market has elements of friction and protection issues that should facilitate some level of transfers. But further measures should be taken to address these loopholes in transfer flows and tighten visa regulation,” Shorten said.

“One option that should be considered in the future [is] a stricter system which requires international students wanting to transfer onshore to apply for a new visa to improve integrity.”

Charles Sturt, Western Sydney University, and La Trobe’s Sydney CBD and North Sydney campuses are operated by Navitas, which is owned by a private equity firm.

A Charles Sturt University spokesperson said it monitored students’ progression, while prospective students are advised of any partnership arrangement for the university’s relevant delivery.

A Western Sydney University spokeswoman said the pass rates of students studying at its Sydney City campus was similar to the broader university. Sixty per cent of students at the campus are international students.

A spokesperson at Navitas said they had partnered with Australian universities to manage campuses that expand access to quality education for both international and domestic students for many years.

“Navitas strongly supports the government’s new integrity reforms. By banning commission payments to education agents for onshore provider transfers, the government has removed a major incentive behind course-hopping,” the spokesperson said.

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