International students should be allowed to enter Australia as part of a ‘vaccination passport’ arrangement, according to stakeholders. 

The Australian government is looking for input from students, educators and the higher education sector on a new 2021-2030 strategy for international education – Australia’s fourth largest export earner, worth around $40bn a year.

Australia won’t see a return of international students en masse until 2022, according to the federal education minister, Alan Tudge.

Australian higher education institutions lost 17,300 jobs and an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue in 2020, the peak body for the sector Universities Australia has said, and it warns that more losses are on the way.

The government has narrowed the scope of proposed international agreement laws which could see the vetoing of international university agreements. 

Small numbers of international students are returning to Australia. But for many, there is irritation about being unable to return or reunite dependents.

The crisis in Australia’s higher education sector continues to deepen as more universities announce staffing and budget cuts, with growing calls for the federal government to provide financial support.

Proposed legislation in Australia would give the federal government power to cancel agreements between local authorities or public institutions and foreign governments, which could impact universities' relations with overseas partners.