Australian universities temporarily suspend enrollment of hundreds of new courses, will Vietnamese international students be affected?

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has just announced a temporary suspension of new admissions for more than 100 courses, but stressed that this will have 'very little' impact on Vietnamese international students, according to a representative of the school.

Students on campus of the University of Technology Sydney

PHOTO: UTS

According to the announcement on August 14, UTS will temporarily suspend the recruitment of new international students for 120 courses in 7 training facilities including UTS Business School, Interdisciplinary School and the faculties: Design and Society; Engineering and Information Technology; Health; Law; Science . The suspension lasts from now until the end of February 2026 and only applies to courses "with low enrolment numbers", according to UTS.

This means that all students currently enrolled in the suspended programs will not be affected, even in terms of visas, according to Mr. Nguyen Nhut Hung, UTS's Southeast Asia regional recruitment partner manager. In addition, 54 out of 120 courses suspended for new enrollment are programs involving two courses, in the form of double degrees or honours programs.

For example, the suspension of international studies bachelor's degree training applies to both general and honors programs. Or although the international studies and business bachelor's dual program has been suspended, the business bachelor's single program is still enrolling as usual. In general, most courses popular with international students are still enrolling as usual, according to the manager.

"Fortunately, the number of Vietnamese international students affected is very small, accounting for less than 4% of the total number of applications to UTS for 2026. Of which, the group that is really affected because they have just accepted an offer of admission accounts for less than 1%, or about 5 students," Mr. Hung informed. "This number does not include those who apply through the University Admissions Center (UAC) because they are high school students in New South Wales."

To support the affected group, Mr. Hung said the school will proactively contact to advise students on alternative options in the same field, or support finding equivalent programs at other training institutions and carry out transfer procedures for students without incurring additional costs. "In special cases, the school considers a number of solutions such as changing majors, postponing admission or withdrawing applications with refunds according to regulations," he informed.

Explaining further the decision to suspend, Mr. Hung said that this comes from the regular review process of the faculties to ensure that the curriculum is always suitable for the needs of students and the labor market. Courses with low enrollment for a long time will be considered for suspension, but Mr. Hung emphasized that some courses can be reopened after the school redesigns the program or if they meet the criteria of demand and feasibility.

"Only when there is an official decision to close the course will training stop," he said.

In addition to direct training in Australia, UTS is also collaborating with the University of Technology (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) in two majors: artificial intelligence and information technology from the 2025-2026 school year. Both majors are not subject to a temporary suspension of new recruitment, Mr. Nguyen Nhut Hung emphasized.

In addition to suspending new recruitment, UTS also plans to cut 400 jobs, equivalent to about 10% of its workforce, according to news.com.au. Of these, 150 are lecturers, 250 staff, and all affected staff will be provided with support services, training and job search advice, according to the ABC .

According to data from the Australian Department of Education , there were 723,265 international students in the country as of April, of which Vietnam had 33,378, ranking fourth after China, India, and Nepal. Of these, about 1,000 are currently studying at UTS at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This year, UTS ranked 96th in the world and 9th in Australia, just behind the Group of Eight (G8) universities in the country, according to the QS 2026 rankings.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dh-uc-tam-dung-tuyen-moi-tram-khoa-hoc-du-hoc-sinh-viet-co-anh-huong-185250628191720456.htm