Growth and Struggle of International Education

Australia’s international education sector is splintering. While universities have largely weathered the student visa crackdown, vocational and English language providers are bearing the brunt.

New figures from the Department of Home Affairs show higher education demand remains above pre-pandemic levels. Last financial year, 206,000 visas were granted for university study – slightly up on 2023-24 (202,000) and well ahead of 2018-19 (189,000). The total is well below the 2022-23 boom year (261,000), but still signals resilience in the sector.

By contrast, vocational and English colleges are in freefall. Vocational study visas slumped to just 54,000 – the lowest in a decade, including the pandemic years. English language colleges fared even worse, attracting only 24,000 visas – their weakest result in at least 20 years outside the Covid shutdown. Approval rates paint an even grimmer picture: just 79% for English programs and 58% for vocational training, both record lows.

The source markets tell a divided story. Applications from China – still Australia’s largest supplier of university students – dipped slightly to 64,000, but remain well above pre-Covid levels. From South Asia, however, demand collapsed: lodgements fell 20% from Nepal, 30% from Sri Lanka, 40% from India, 60% from Bhutan and 80% from Pakistan. Bangladesh bucked the trend, with applications up 6%.

Financial outcomes reinforce the gap. Public universities lifted their international education revenue by 22% last year, with the Group of Eight monopolising the gains – almost A$1.4 billion compared to just A$857 million across the other 25 public universities.

The government and public universities might be satisfied with the current trajectory, but vocational and language colleges are confronting an existential struggle.

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