Students from Latin America and the Caribbean have been blocked from accessing scholarships to attend Australian universities under the Australia Awards funding scheme.
The changes mean that students from countries including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil will no longer be eligible for certain government-funded scholarships from 2015.
In a statement to SBS, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the changes had been made but provided little detail on why certain countries had been targeted.
"As a result of the Government's refocusing of the Australian aid program on the Indo-Pacific region, there will be no new Australia Awards Scholarships offered to Latin America and the Caribbean" she said.
In a second statement, the spokeswoman said: "The decision to award no new Australia Awards Scholarships to students from Latin America and the Caribbean is final."
Students currently on such scholarships will be unaffected, but no new ones will be granted.
Latin student population on the rise
In the past decade, the number of Latin American students travelling to Australia each year has steadily risen.
Between 2006-07 and 2012-13, there was a 34 per cent increase in the number of student visas issued to Latin American citizens, according to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Brazil makes up the highest number of international enrolments in Australian universities, outside of Asia.
Dr Fernanda Peñaloza, a Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies at the University of Sydney, said there were a number of reasons why these students would want to come here.
"There is a sense of adventure that coming to this side of the world offers," she said.
"There is a historical connection as well - which I think is more known to people in Latin America than Australia - which has to do with people who migrated here for political reasons in the '70s and '80s."
She said students also favoured Australia over the United States because they did not face the same stereotypes and discrimination in this country.
In its 2013 report, The International Education Advisory Council said maintaining high numbers of students from these countries was important for the diversity of Australia's international student population.
"While there is a focus on Australia in the Asian Century, with 80 per cent of international students in Australia coming from Asia, it is important to develop links with the emerging regions of Latin America, the Middle East and Africa," the report stated.
But in January this year, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the government's aid budget would largely be focused on the Indo-Pacific region.
"The Government is committed to investing aid in the sustainable development of our close neighbours," she said in a statement online.
Dr Peñaloza said maintaining diversity should be a priority.
"The more global the exposure of Australian students to other ways of thinking; other ways of knowing, the better it’s going to be for the country as a whole," she said.
Australian Award scholarships: A big loss?
In 2012, AusAID – since absorbed into DFAT - and the ACIAR provided almost $300 million in funding for 4,124 scholarships and Fellowships under the Australia Awards scheme.
These awards make up the majority of government-funded scholarships available to international students.
In a statement to SBS, a spokeswoman for DFAT said while students from Latin America and the Caribbean would no longer have access to these funds, they could still be eligible for other global scholarship programs such as the Endeavour Awards.
The number of scholarships available under that program, however, is markedly lower at about 500 scholarships and fellowships per year.
A spokesman for the Department of Education told SBS that recent data showed "Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships make up approximately 12 per cent of Australian Government-funded scholarships."
But Dr Peñaloza noted that there were strong scholarship programs in Latin American countries, including Brazil's large-scale Science Without Borders program, which helped get students to Australia.
In light of these, she said that Latin American students would likely continue to flock to Australian universities regardless of cuts.
