RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2020–21   updated 22 April 2021

Overseas students in Australian higher education: a quick guide

Dr Hazel Ferguson and Harriet Spinks¹

Social Policy Section

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that, in 2019–20, international education was worth $37.4 billion to the Australian economy, down from $37.6 billion in 2018–19.² Research for the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) shows Australia also gains social, cultural and skilled workforce benefits from international education.

This quick guide provides an overview of key information related to overseas students in Australian higher education. Higher education accounted for 68.1 per cent ($25.4 billion) of international education export income in 2019–20, and 47.4 per cent of all overseas student enrolments in 2020. Overseas students also enrol in Australian vocational education and training (VET), schools, English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), and non-award courses. However, each of these accounts for fewer students and has less economic impact than overseas student enrolments in higher education.

While people studying in Australia on a student visa are often referred to as ‘international students’, this quick guide uses the terminology of ‘overseas students’, for consistency with the relevant legislative frameworks.

Except where otherwise indicated, the information provided in this quick guide relates to the entire higher education sector. Registered higher education providers are public and private universities, as well as for-profit and not-for-profit non-university providers, including public institutions such as TAFEs.

Some non-Australian citizens, such as New Zealand citizens, Australian permanent residents, and permanent humanitarian visa holders are not considered overseas students for the purposes of higher education support.

1 Enrolments

Overseas student statistics are available from DESE’s international student data webpage. The latest full-year data is for 2020. As shown in Figure 1 below, there were 418,168 higher education enrolments in 2020. This represents a 5.1 per cent decline from 2019, the first decline since 2012.

Enrolments include new and continuing students. Enrolment figures can double count students who complete one course of study and enrol in another within given period. For example, a student may complete an ELICOS course and then enrol in a bachelor degree, and have both enrolments counted in the same year.

Although enrolment figures would usually refer to people in Australia on student visas, in 2020, due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, an enrolment does not confirm that a student is currently in Australia.

Figure 1: higher education enrolments, overseas students, 2010–2020Figure 1: higher education enrolments, overseas students, 2010–2020

Source: DESE, Basic pivot table 2002 onwards, March 2021.

Enrolments by state and territory

In 2019 and 2020, overseas student enrolments in higher education institutions in Australia were largely concentrated in NSW and Victoria.

All states except the Northern Territory (NT) saw a decline in enrolments in 2020, with Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) experiencing the largest decline in percentage terms (although the ACT has a relatively small number of overseas students overall, so the 9.7 per cent decline is equivalent to 1,291 enrolments).

Table 1: higher education enrolments, overseas students, state and territory, 2019–2020

State

2019

2019 % of total

2020

2020 % of total

% change 2019–2020

NSW

157,789

35.8%

153,545

36.7%

-2.7%

VIC

155,700

35.3%

141,703

33.9%

-9.0%

QLD

56,348

12.8%

53,462

12.8%

-5.1%

SA

24,144

5.5%

25,159

6.0%

4.2%

WA

24,884

5.6%

23,851

5.7%

-4.2%

TAS

6,662

1.5%

6,397

1.5%

-4.0%

NT

1,843

0.4%

2,045

0.5%

11.0%

ACT

13,297

3.0%

12,006

2.9%

-9.7%

Grand Total

440,667

100.0%

418,168

100.0%

-5.1%

Source: DESE, Basic pivot table 2002 onwards, March 2021.

Enrolments by nationality

Of overseas student enrolments in 2020, 38.4 per cent (160,430) were from China, and 19.0 per cent (79,410) were from India, with the remaining top ten nationalities being Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The top ten nationalities are the same as in 2019. Enrolments among students from India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Singapore declined more significantly than those from other key countries in 2020.

Table 2: higher education enrolments, overseas (os) students, top ten nationalities, 2019–2020

Nationality

2019

% of all OS

2020

% of all OS

Change 2019–2020

% change 2019–2020

China

164,306

37.3%

160,430

38.4%

-3,876

-2.4%

India

90,240

20.5%

79,410

19.0%

-10,830

-12.0%

Nepal

34,372

7.8%

34,149

8.2%

-223

-0.6%

Vietnam

16,299

3.7%

15,632

3.7%

-667

-4.1%

Malaysia

13,074

3.0%

11,212

2.7%

-1,862

-14.2%

Pakistan

11,678

2.7%

10,524

2.5%

-1,154

-9.9%

Indonesia

10,608

2.4%

10,331

2.5%

-277

-2.6%

Sri Lanka

11,045

2.5%

10,127

2.4%

-918

-8.3%

Hong Kong

8,878

2.0%

9,027

2.2%

149

1.7%

Singapore

7,120

1.6%

6,552

1.6%

-568

-8.0%

Other

73,047

16.6%

70774

16.9%

-2,273

-3.1%

All OS

440,667

100.0%

418,168

100.0%

-22,499

-5.1%

Source: DESE, Basic pivot table 2002 onwards, March 2021.

Overseas share of higher education enrolments

DESE’s higher education statistics provide a breakdown of overseas student enrolments at Australian higher education institutions, and allow comparison of overseas and domestic enrolments. The latest full-year for this data is 2019, before the 2020 decline in enrolments. Table 3 below shows total higher education enrolments for both overseas students and domestic students from 2010 to 2019, showing the increasing proportion of overseas students—a decline in this proportion may be evident in the 2020 data, when it is released later in 2021. A breakdown by institution is at Appendix 1.

Table 3: higher education enrolments, domestic and overseas students, 2008–2019

OS students (temporary entry visas)

Other OS students(a)

Domestic students

Total

OS students (temporary entry visas), % of all higher education enrolments

2010

245,737

89,536

857,384

1,192,657

20.6

2011

242,903

89,674

888,431

1,221,008

19.9

2012

232,867

90,745

934,110

1,257,722

18.5

2013

236,332

92,070

985,374

1,313,776

18.0

2014

254,383

93,177

1,025,670

1,373,230

18.5

2015

273,817

89,481

1,046,835

1,410,133

19.4

2016

304,957

86,179

1,066,073

1,457,209

20.9

2017

345,686

85,752

1,081,945

1,513,383

22.8

2018

395,442

84,545

1,082,533

1,562,520

25.3

2019

436,305

85,643

1,087,850

1,609,798

27.1

Source: DESE, ‘Student data’, DESE website, all students data tables, various years, and Parliamentary Library calculations.

(a) ‘Other overseas students’ includes those students who are not domestic students, and who are residing outside Australia during the unit of study/time of application. Students studying in Australia on student visas make up the bulk of the enrolments shown in the ‘temporary entry visas’ column. Further information about the citizenship classifications is available via DESE, HEIMSHELP.

Visa arrangements

Types of overseas student visas

Changes to the student visa framework, which commenced in 2016, reduced the number of student visas from seven to one—the Student (subclass 500) visa. Instead of distinct visas for different types of overseas students, there are now seven streams within the one visa: higher education; post-graduate research; VET; schools; independent ELICOS; foreign affairs or defence, and non-award. There is also a distinct student guardian (subclass 590) visa, for the guardians of students aged under 18, but these students are outside the scope of this quick guide.

International students studying in the higher education sector are predominantly granted student visas under the higher education and postgraduate research streams (see Tables 4 and 5 below).

Visa processing

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) assesses and grants student visa applications. However, under the DHA’s Simplified Student Visa Framework (the Framework), higher education providers also have a role, with the intention of reducing duplication and streamlining the process.

Two key areas in which higher education providers have a role are confirming English language proficiency and assessing the financial capacity of students to live in Australia. Depending on the higher education provider and the student’s country of origin, these requirements may not be further assessed by DHA. While the DHA retains the ability to assess any requirement for a student visa, the Framework does not mandate this.

Visa grants

Overseas student visa statistics are available from DHA, via the data.gov.au portal under Student visa program. The most recent full-year data is for 2020. The data show the number of visas granted, which is distinct from the number of overseas students, as one overseas student may be granted more than one visa in a period of time, depending on their circumstance.

As shown in Table 4 below, there were 129,012 primary student visas granted in 2020 for the higher education and postgraduate research streams—the lowest number in seven years. ‘Primary’ refers to the person who holds the visa for the original purpose while ‘secondary’ refers to any spouses and/or dependent children.

Table 4 shows the growth in primary student visas granted in the higher education stream from around 2011 to 2019, after a period of sustained downturn between 2008 and 2011. However, this growth came to an abrupt end in 2020, with visa grants declining by 35 per cent compared to 2019, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 4: primary student visas granted—higher education and postgraduate research streams, 2008–2020

Primary student visas granted

Growth rate

2008

126,470

14.2%

2009

119,570

-5.5%

2010

108,507

-9.3%

2011

104,277

-3.9%

2012

110,978

6.4%

2013

128,964

16.2%

2014

146,128

13.3%

2015

138,334

-5.3%

2016

152,017

9.9%

2017

168,149

10.6%

2018

188,567

12.1%

2019

199,563

5.8%

2020

129,012

-35.4%

Source: DHA, ‘Student visa program’, March 2021, data.gov.au

Note: these figures are for the higher education and postgraduate research streams of the student (subclass 500) visa.

When using visa statistics, including student visa statistics, the number of visas granted should not be used as a proxy for the number of people migrating to Australia. This is because a significant proportion of higher education overseas student visas are granted to people who are already in Australia, as shown in Table 5 below. Students gain visas in Australia for a variety of reasons, including moving from one mode of education to another, or transitioning from a different category of temporary visa to a student visa.

Table 5: primary student visas granted in Australia–higher education and postgraduate research streams, 2008–2020

Primary student visas granted in Australia

Proportion of total primary student visas granted

2008

38,269

30.3%

2009

42,365

35.4%

2010

49,673

45.8%

2011

52,715

50.6%

2012

50,939

45.9%

2013

49,707

38.5%

2014

47,292

32.4%

2015

42,486

30.7%

2016

44,158

29.0%

2017

49,871

29.7%

2018

61,590

32.7%

2019

69,698

34.9%

2020

60,453

46.9%

Source: DHA, ‘Student visa program’, March 2021, data.gov.au

Note: these figures are for the higher education and postgraduate research streams of the student (subclass 500) visa.

Table 5 shows primary student visas granted to people already in Australia over the past twelve years. Until 2020, the share of student visas granted in Australia as a proportion of the total has been relatively stable at about one-third, except from 2009 to 2013. Due in part to immigration policy changes, the proportion of primary student visas granted in Australia grew from 2008 to 2011 and then declined. In 2020 the share of student visas granted in Australia grew significantly, to 46.9 per cent. This is a result of COVID-19-related travel restrictions, which resulted in a pause on visas being granted to people outside Australia for several months in the first half of 2020—in the April to June 2020 quarter, only 12.7 per cent of visas grants were to people outside Australia. Student visa grants to people outside Australia resumed in July 2020, but ongoing travel restrictions meant very few students were able to enter Australia in 2020.

Eligibility

Under the Migration Regulations 1994, in order to be granted a student visa, applicants generally must:

• be enrolled full-time in an approved Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) course (that is, a course approved to be offered to overseas students) [section 500.211]

• have sufficient money to support themselves while living in Australia (section 500.214)

• have adequate health insurance (section 500.215)

• be a ‘genuine temporary entrant’ with the intention to return home after studying (section 500.212) and

• meet English language requirements (section 500.213).

Full-time study

An overseas student cannot undertake part-time study. A full-time course of study is required and this is linked to the length of each student visa. In most instances, this means overseas students are unable to vary their course load (medical and other exceptions are available).

English language requirements

In practice, English language requirements for overseas students are subject to two thresholds:

• the Australian Government sets a minimum test score for overseas student visas, set out in the Legislative Instrument Migration (IMMI 18/015: English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (student) visa) Instrument 2018, and

• higher education providers also include their own English language proficiency requirements as part of entry requirements, which can be higher than the minimum entry score prescribed by the Australian Government.

IMMI 18/015 includes five proficiency tests which may be used to demonstrate the required level of English, including the widely-used International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A student visa applicant must demonstrate:

• a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 (out of 9) or

• a minimum IELTS score of 5.0 paired with 10 weeks of ELICOS or

• a minimum IELTS score of 4.5 paired with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

Equivalent test scores are prescribed for the four other tests which may be used to demonstrate English proficiency.

2 Work rights

While the purpose of the overseas student visa program is study, rather than employment, people on student visas do have work rights. Currently, they may work up to 40 hours per fortnight when their course is in session (that is, during term time) and unlimited hours in holiday periods. Concessions to the limitation on work hours have been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. These allow overseas students to work more than 40 hours per week if they are employed in certain aged care, health care, disability, or agriculture settings.

3 Tuition fees

Under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, the Higher Education Provider Guidelines 2012 (the Guidelines) specify (subject to some exceptions):

• fees charged to overseas students must be sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the course to the student and

• the fee cannot be less than the relevant domestic student fee, unless the course is fully offshore or permission for the lower fee is granted by the responsible department (currently DoE).

The Guidelines do not set an upper limit for overseas student fees.

According to the Australian Government’s Study Australia webpage, Australian higher education providers charge on average $20,000 to $45,000 for an undergraduate bachelor degree and $22,000 to $50,000 for a postgraduate Masters degree. (These figures do not include high-cost courses such as veterinary and medical degrees.)

Overseas student fees as a proportion of university revenue

For Australian universities, overseas student fees have been the largest source of revenue growth in recent years.

As shown in Table 6 below, revenue from overseas student fees has grown as a proportion of total revenue, from 17.5 per cent in 2010 to 27.3 per cent in 2019 (latest year available). Well over half (58.5%) of the $6.4 billion revenue increase from 2016 to 2019 came from overseas student fees, although growth in overseas student fee revenue appears to have peaked in 2017 at 19.3 per cent.

Based on declining enrolments, some revenue declines would be expected when the 2020 data is released later in 2021.

Table 6: Australian university revenue from fee paying overseas students, 2008–2017

Total revenue from all operations ($’000)

Change from previous year

Revenue from fee paying overseas students ($’000)

Change from previous year

Percentage of revenue from fee paying OS students

2010

$22,158,466

$3,881,656

17.5%

2011

$23,658,742

6.8%

$4,124,064

6.2%

17.4%

2012

$25,210,033

6.6%

$4,134,768

0.3%

16.4%

2013

$26,332,964

4.5%

$4,290,808

3.8%

16.3%

2014

$27,751,858

5.4%

$4,741,973

10.5%

17.1%

2015

$28,609,979

3.1%

$5,349,879

12.8%

18.7%

2016

$30,147,079

5.4%

$6,249,049

16.8%

20.7%

2017

$32,028,091

6.2%

$7,457,002

19.3%

23.3%

2018

$33,741,910

5.4%

$8,838,891

18.5%

26.2%

2019

$36,519,249

8.2%

$9,978,794

12.9%

27.3%

Source: DESE, Financial Reports of Higher Education Providers, various years, and Parliamentary Library calculations.

4 Legislative protections for overseas students in Australia

Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards)

Under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, all higher education providers must meet the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 as a minimum condition of registration. Under the Threshold Standards, all institutions that offer higher education to students in Australia on a student visa are required to provide support services, including initial orientation and academic support.

The Education Services for Overseas Students legislative framework

In addition to the requirements of the Threshold Standards, the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and related legislation, including the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code), make specific provision for the protection of overseas students studying with Australian providers in any education sector.

In the higher education sector, these arrangements are primarily enforced by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), which also enforces the Threshold Standards.

5 Student satisfaction

DESE conducts an international student survey every two years, the latest being the 2018 International Student Survey. For overseas higher education students in Australia, compared with the 2016 International Student Survey:

• 89 per cent are satisfied with their overall study experience (stable compared with 2016)

• 91 per cent are satisfied with the quality of support provided (up from 89 per cent in 2016)

• 88 per cent are satisfied with the overall learning environment (up from 87 per cent in 2016)

• 92 per cent are satisfied with the expertise of lecturers (down from 93 per cent in 2016) and

• 94 per cent are satisfied with the safety of living in Australia (up from 90 per cent in 2016).

6 Student achievement

Attrition rates

The DESE’s higher education statistics collection includes attrition (‘drop out’) data by citizenship status. The attrition rate for overseas students is consistently below that for domestic students.

Table 7: domestic and overseas bachelor university student attrition rates 2010–2018, per cent

OS student attrition rate

Domestic student attrition rate

2010

8.3

12.9

2011

8.9

12.7

2012

8.9

13.3

2013

8.4

14.7

2014

8.7

15.0

2015

9.3

15.0

2016

9.4

14.3

2017

9.0

14.9

2018

9.9

14.6

Source: DESE, ‘Student data’, DESE website, attrition, success and retention data tables, various years.

Note: the best available attrition measures for domestic and overseas students differ. The domestic student attrition rate is the ‘new adjusted attrition rate’, which uses student ID and the Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) to track students within and between institutions, so a student is not counted in the attrition figures if they move to another institution. The overseas student attrition rate is the ‘new normal attrition rate’, which is based on student ID only (overseas students do not have a CHESSN). This means overseas students who move to another institution are counted in the attrition figures, leading likely to over-estimates of attrition among overseas students in the Table 7.

7 Post-study visa pathways

There is no automatic pathway from a student visa to a permanent residency visa in Australia.

However, overseas students can transition to various types of permanent residency visas if they meet the relevant eligibility criteria. A joint Treasury and Department of Home Affairs report published in 2018 found that, of 1.6 million overseas students (from all education sectors) granted a visa between 2000–01 and 2013–14, 16 per cent transitioned to a permanent residency visa at some stage after arriving in Australia.

Table 8: permanent residency visas granted to former international students in Australia, 2008–09 to 2019–20

Total permanent residency visas granted

Skilled

Partner

Other

2008–09

20,141

15,878

4,087

176

2009–10

13,286

8,143

4,919

224

2010–11

29,755

24,482

5,172

101

2011–12

28,473

21,638

6,689

146

2012–13

30,170

21,895

8,011

264

2013–14

18,100

10,766

7,179

155

2014–15

17,638

10,296

7,173

169

2015–16

18,251

12,277

5,804

170

2016–17

17,102

9,811

7,118

173

2017–18

13,138

7,458

5,619

61

2018–19

14,732

8,210

6,484

38

2019–20

16,588

9,992

6,575

21

Source: DHA, Australian Migration Statistics, 2019–20, data.gov.au

Note: these statistics are only available for financial years. Also note the title for this table is drawn directly from the sourced material from the Department of Home Affairs.

International students who transition to another temporary visa before gaining a permanent residency visa, are not included in the departmental data above. However, it is likely many people are transitioning from a student visa to a different category of temporary visa and then gaining a permanent residency visa. There is no publicly available data on this group of people, but Table 9 below shows the number of people granted a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) each year over the last twelve years. Prior to 2020, this visa saw significant growth, indicating a strong demand for former international students to stay on in Australia.

A Temporary Graduate visa allows a migrant to live, study and work in Australia after completing their study. Only people who hold a student visa are eligible for the various streams of the Temporary Graduate visa.

Table 9: Temporary Graduate visas (subclass 485) granted, 2008–2020

Graduate Work

Post-Study Work

Skilled Graduate

Total Temporary Graduate visas granted

2008

0

0

4,056

4,056

2009

0

0

20,025

20,025

2010

0

0

24,575

24,575

2011

0

0

27,736

27,736

2012

0

0

43,879

43,879

2013

5,184

32

20,441

25,657

2014

16,423

3,751

973

21,147

2015

13,345

12,203

76

25,624

2016

11,454

25,999

19

37,472

2017

8,752

37,580

8

46,340

2018

8,452

46,478

2

54,932

2019

10,558

60,268

13

70,839

2020

7,812

55,355

0

63,167

Source: DHA, ‘Temporary Graduate visa program’, March 2021, data.gov.au

8 Further information

There is a range of additional research and information available via the DoE’s international education website, including research papers, data visualisations showing student origins, locations and pathways, data on the offshore delivery of Australian courses, and Australian students studying overseas.

See also:

• Department of Home Affairs, Student visa and Temporary Graduate visa program reports.

• Spinks, H, Overseas students: immigration policy changes 1997–2015, Parliamentary Library, Research paper series, 2015–16, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2016.

9 Appendix 1. All higher education students by state and territory, higher education institution, citizenship and residence status, 2019

State/Institution

Domestic Students

Overseas Students

TOTAL

Australian citizen

New Zealand citizen

Other domestic

Temporary entry permit

Other overseas

New South Wales

Charles Sturt University

32,211

253

581

8,498

1,887

43,430

Macquarie University

31,564

297

1,238

11,893

331

45,323

Southern Cross University

13,755

191

299

5,043

727

20,015

The University of New England

22,476

157

477

1,337

472

24,919

The University of Newcastle

28,726

172

699

4,458

1,371

35,426

The University of Sydney

36,734

796

2,426

29,592

503

70,051

University of New South Wales

36,580

442

2,180

24,816

36

64,054

University of Technology Sydney

28,883

213

1,580

14,747

827

46,250

University of Wollongong

18,461

93

418

8,339

7,678

34,989

Western Sydney University

38,520

386

2,370

7,893

276

49,445

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

34,450

454

878

24,889

4,314

64,985

Victoria

Deakin University

44,239

447

1,383

15,708

436

62,213

Federation University Australia(a)

8,043

67

335

9,280

992

18,717

La Trobe University

27,052

312

823

8,832

1,753

38,772

Monash University

42,368

684

2,301

29,545

11,855

86,753

RMIT University

36,024

548

2,306

18,697

15,153

72,728

Swinburne University of Technology

29,865

305

944

6,994

3,734

41,842

The University of Melbourne

38,110

973

2,949

28,361

256

70,649

University of Divinity

1,260

18

64

129

29

1,500

Victoria University

14,985

268

814

7,273

5,171

28,511

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

5,966

48

261

28,407

686

35,368

Queensland

Bond University

2,728

68

112

2,973

220

6,101

CQUniversity

17,583

229

496

8,608

17

26,933

Griffith University

38,299

1,015

1,223

8,342

674

49,553

James Cook University

13,544

179

426

3,327

3,265

20,741

Queensland University of Technology

40,710

691

1,330

9,729

40

52,500

The University of Queensland

32,891

681

1,521

20,092

120

55,305

University of Southern Queensland

21,559

347

717

2,323

474

25,420

University of the Sunshine Coast

13,452

266

281

3,579

182

17,760

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

6,563

80

174

1,990

6

8,813

Western Australia

Curtin University

33,730

430

1,740

6,536

6,837

49,273

Edith Cowan University

22,365

337

1,100

5,914

921

30,637

Murdoch University

14,348

245

739

3,976

6,116

25,424

The University of Notre Dame Australia

11,200

np

221

214

< 5

11,727

The University of Western Australia

17,523

209

1,078

5,272

115

24,197

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

996

7

108

1,758

2,034

4,903

South Australia

Flinders University

19,437

101

831

3,546

1,585

25,500

The University of Adelaide

18,371

117

837

8,921

57

28,303

Torrens University Australia

8,060

77

140

8,903

712

17,892

University of South Australia

27,054

111

1,339

6,424

323

35,251

Private Universities (Table C) and Non-University Higher Education Institutions

4,720

61

147

2,407

1,154

8,489

Tasmania

University of Tasmania

26,437

319

1,640

6,623

1,465

36,484

Northern Territory

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

13

0

0

0

0

13

Charles Darwin University

9,210

144

760

1,847

49

12,010

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian National University

14,892

253

668

10,214

290

26,317

University of Canberra

12,217

100

467

3,267

217

16,268

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

1,167

np

186

330

< 5

1,697

Multi-State

Australian Catholic University

27,612

303

679

4,362

240

33,196

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

2,862

42

110

97

40

3,151

TOTAL

1,029,815

13,639

44,396

436,305

85,643

1,609,798

Source: DESE, ‘2019 Section 2 All students’, DESE website, September 2020.

© Commonwealth of Australia

Creative Commons

With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence.

Notes

[←1]

.    Updating and adapting H Ferguson and H Sherrell, Overseas students in Australian higher education: a quick guide, Research paper series, 2018–19, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 20 June 2019.

[←2]

.    Export income figures are from Parliamentary Library calculations based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), International Trade: Supplementary Information, Financial Year, cat. no. 5368.0.55.003, Table 9.1, ABS, Canberra, 2020.