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One of Australia's top universities has rubbished claims it banned Indian students amid an increase in sham visas and insists it's made application processes faster.
The University of Wollongong on Thursday rejected reports that five Australian universities had imposed restrictions on students from specific Indian states in response to a spate of fraudulent visa applications.
An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald found the UOW - as well as Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, Torrens University and agents working for Southern Cross University - put bans on Indian students to pre-empt greater restrictions being imposed by the Home Affairs Department.
"Like all Australian universities, UOW has rigorous entry criteria for all students," the university said.
"UOW does not have any restrictions on student applications from India other than the standard entry criteria we apply to all international students and the requirements of the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
"In fact, rather than introducing restrictions, we have streamlined our application process for all international students, including Indian students, which will speed up turnaround times on their applications."
The university claimed it monitors enrolment fraud trends and works closely with Home Affairs to ensure the applications it is receiving are genuine, insisting its visa refusal rate over the past year remains low.
Indian students represent the university's largest international group, with more than 2500 enrolled at UOW.
On Tuesday, International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood told an inquiry into the sector that Australia's tertiary education has become a "Ponzi scheme", as education agencies lure international students to courses they aren't suited to with the promise of unrestricted work access.
Mr Honeywood, a former Victorian education minister, said the federal government's decision to scrap maximum work hours for people on student visas caused numbers of non-genuine applicants to balloon.
Students locked in "monocultural bubbles" are frequently deprived of award wages by employers who exploit the students' lack of familiarity with local work requirements, the inquiry was told.
