Cast your mind back to when our usually bustling cities and towns were deserted as we navigated the global pandemic. The absence of vibrant, eager international students in our shops, libraries and hospitality scene changed the fabric of our cities. International students were left out in the cold, and grappled with the message that they were not welcome.
Since then, our sector has worked tirelessly to rebuild our relationship with international students to ensure they feel encouraged to pursue their global ambitions at Australia’s leading education institutions. In October last year, we saw the benefits, when Australia ranked equal first as a global study destination alongside Canada in our Emerging Futures research of 10,000 prospective and current students. Our cities came alive once more, and research showed that international students were critical in preventing Australia from slipping into a recession.
In recent days, the Australian Government has announced a range of policy reforms that aim to create a more sustainable international education industry in Australia. IDP welcomes policies that aim to abolish unethical education providers and agents, but at the same time, there needs to be more careful consideration to ensure policies are nuanced and take into consideration the complexity of our industry.
While we understand and support the government’s drive for quality over quantity, tightening policies can send confusing messages to international students, especially if we do not communicate these new policies clearly. Word of these restrictive policies is already spreading through global communities, seeding anxiety and uncertainty among genuine, talented students, and affecting their perception of Australia.
The consequences of excluding the student voice from policy decisions has been profound, with our latest research published in April showing that demand for Australia as a first-choice study destination is waning as these changes are perceived as unwelcoming. In all global industries customer preferences and demand shape outcomes and determine which participants thrive, but in international education, the student voice is often missing.
We know that successful policy reform in our sector centres on improving outcomes for students. Student satisfaction has always been key. The good news is that according to our research, Australia is globally tied first for student satisfaction. This is being driven by a welcoming onshore experience, quality education and the opportunity to gain meaningful and relevant work experience.
When students are given a fair chance to pursue their study goals in Australia, they thrive, our institutions benefit and so too do our communities. It is now time to place international students back at the heart of our polices to avoid a further decline in our standing on the global stage.
If Australia wants to raise the bar in international education, it must listen to students. IDP will continue to champion the student voice through our research and leverage our unique insights to positively influence government policies around the world. The work does not stop there. It will then require strong collaboration and a nuanced understanding of the challenges we face in our industry.
If we approach this work with a genuine excitement for the future of our sector, and a desire to remain competitive on a global stage, we have every opportunity of ensuring international students can achieve their goals in Australia and we can benefit from their contribution to our society. Let’s not go back to being a country without international students. They are too much of an important part of what makes Australia great.
Jane Li is IDP’s Regional Operations Director, Australasia & Japan.
