According to figures issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a total of 28,690 international students arrived in Australia in October this year, an increase of 28,520 students from the same time previous year. However, ABS reports that in comparison to the pre-COVID levels a year earlier, the number of student arrivals in October 2022 was 43.6 percent fewer.
Catriona Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Universities Australia, commented on the findings and called the return of international students to Australia “excellent news,” but she added that more work needs to be done to get the same number of international students back as before the epidemic.
In higher education, there were 11,050 international students registered, followed by 8,370 in vocational education and training, 5,790 in autonomous ELICOS, 1,610 in postgraduate research, 860 in classrooms, and another 1,000 in other levels, according to the ABS data.
According to Australian government statistics, there were 569,204 foreign students studying there between January and September of this year, a 1 percent increase over the same period in 2021.
International students’ primary places of origin in Australia over that time have been:
- 50,298 students in China
- 92,574 students in India
- 53,610 students in Nepal
- 21,024 students in Vietnam
- 17,312 student in Colombia
- 16,330 students in Brazil
- 15,818 students in Indonesia
- 15,671 students in Thailand
- 14,851 students in Malaysia
- 14,645 students in Philippines
However, Australian states continue to be eager to draw in more foreign students. The latest action was taken by the Western Australian government, which declared it would fund a new programme to aid in promoting Western Australia as a study destination for foreign students. The new initiative known as the “International Education Familiarization Program” will get about $1 million.