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.
Representatives from peak international education sector bodies have come together to meet with the federal government to discuss the crisis in the sector.
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.
The Australian government has pledged $231.6 million to "ramp up" domestic marketing activities to encourage Australians to travel again.
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.
Universities Australia has called for a hardship fund for international students among the key recommendations in its pre-budget submission to government.
