Australia has promised to honour a controversial agreement to mutually recognise qualifications with India as part of a new economic roadmap.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launched the Roadmap for Australia’s Economic Engagement with India on Wednesday, revealing it would focus on “clean energy”, education, agribusiness and tourism.
But the Roadmap also includes a commitment to “fully implement” the Mechanism for the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between Australia and India, which was signed in 2023.
The deal forces Australia to recognise all Indian educational qualifications from secondary school through to the doctorate degree level, for both education and general employment purposes.
In its list of promises the Roadmap includes: “Fully implementing the Australian Government’s A Partnership for the Future: Australia’s Education Strategy for India including mutual recognition, transnational education and commercialisation of research.”
The Roadmap also highlights Labor’s Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES), which allows thousands of Indian graduates or young professionals to live and work in Australia for two years, and then apply for permanent skilled visas.
MATES started in November, and was created as part of a sweeping immigration deal Mr Albanese signed in May 2023 that critics called “open borders for India”.
On top of MATES, the deal allowed for five-year student visas for Indians, eight-year temporary work visas for Indian graduates, unlimited work rights for spouses, and three-month visitor visas for family or business purposes, with no caps on numbers.
Mr Albanese said on Tuesday that the Roadmap would also include $16 million for a Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund, and an extra $4 million for a Maitri (“friendship”) Grants program.
“India is an essential partner as we diversify our trade links to boost prosperity for all Australians,” he said.
“This Roadmap is critical to helping us fully realise our potential with India, which will be a boon to Australia’s economy, our businesses and jobs, and our prosperity.”
I asked about the mechanism for the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between Australia and India, which recognises that an Australian degree awarded here is equivalent to an Indian degree awarded in India. It also allows Indian colleges, including private ones, to offer… pic.twitter.com/q3UxC5c0kh
— Malcolm Roberts 🇦🇺 (@MRobertsQLD) February 22, 2025
The mutual recognition deal has caused controversy in Australia, and One Nation Senator Malcom Roberts last week raised the issue in parliament.
“I asked about the mechanism for the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between Australia and India, which recognises that an Australian degree awarded here is equivalent to an Indian degree awarded in India,” he told his social media followers.
“It also allows Indian colleges, including private ones, to offer degrees to anyone globally, which can then be used to improve their chances of getting into Australia as skilled migrants.
“However, there are concerns about the integrity of this system, given that India is notorious for exam cheating. This raises the risk of admitting individuals who may not possess the skills their degrees allow them to do.”
Sustainable Australia President Peter Strachan also raised concerns about the plan last year.
“These agreements are particularly harmful because India is known for churning out degree shovelware and fake qualifications whose holders will now be permitted to work in Australia under mutual recognition,” he said.
In August 2024 the Australian government ordered the closure of 150 “ghost colleges” – fake schools that take fees from international students who never attend classes but work full-time instead – and sent warning notices to 140 more.
The move sparked complaints from visa-scamming Indian students, who complained they had been left out of pocket, and migration agents in India said they were working on ways around the crackdown.
Header image: Left, right, Anthony Albanese (Facebook).
