Study Group welcomes the Australian international education recovery roadmap proposal

Study Group welcomes the Australian international education recovery roadmap proposal

Leading international education provider Study Group welcomes the news that the Australian government is considering implementing a recovery roadmap for the international student recruitment sector.

The roadmap, developed by a coalition group of tertiary education experts, is an 18-month plan, which recommends the introduction of several new initiatives. New initiatives are reported to include giving priority to students from low-risk countries, waiving visa fees and simplifying the visa renewal process to support learners impacted by COVID-19 to continue their studies in Australia.

Alex Chevrolle, Managing Director of Australia, and New Zealand for Study Group, shares his perspective on the roadmap proposal:

“We are pleased to learn of the 18-month recovery roadmap proposal currently being considered by the Australian government.

“As an international education provider, we recognize the importance of providing our off-shore students with clarity about when they can return to study on-campus in Australia after so much uncertainty during the pandemic. Many of our international students have expressed a preference to study in-country, correlating to the most recent IDP survey results, which indicate that 88% of students reported a willingness to quarantine upon arrival in their destination country rather than defer.

“Furthermore, the IDP survey also shows that international student sentiment about Australia as a study abroad destination has declined. Pre-pandemic, international education contributed $40 billion to the Australian economy. However, the Mitchell Institute is predicting that as a result of continued border closures, international student contributions to the economy could almost half to $22 billion by the end of this year, which is a worrying trend we would like to see reversed.

“The UK and Canada have recently made clear their policies regarding international students and vaccines and Australia risks losing its appeal as a higher education study destination in the long-term.

“International students are crucial to Australia’s COVID-19 recovery and greatly add to the cultural diversity of our country, and we strongly advocate for the implementation of the recovery roadmap to help learners overseas to start studying in-country.”