According to the latest data on international student commencements from the Government (Austrade Pivot tables), YTD May Schools Sector commencements increased by 43.5% versus 2022. Enrolments have increased by 9.5%.
Highlights include:
- Queensland has the highest number of commencements in the school sector in 2023 YTD, surpassing NSW and Victoria for the first time.
- There is still incredible diversity in the schools sector. The six largest source markets with their percentage of the market total for enrolments in order are China (30%), Vietnam (20%), Hong Kong (8%), South Korea (7%) and Japan (5%).
- Hong Kong overtook South Korea for the #3 market position.
- Victoria has the highest market share for international enrolments (3696 students), with Queensland surpassing NSW with 3188 enrolments versus 2670 enrolments.
- Chinese commencements are up 45% from last year. They are making a steady recovery to pre-COVID numbers overall, but Chinese enrolments in schools are still down more than 57% from pre-Covid numbers.
- There is a noted growth in commencements (although the market percentage is still small) for Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia and Singapore when compared to pre-Covid commencements.
- The YTD figures, when compared to pre-COVID numbers for the schools’ sector, are down 36% for commencement and 49.5% for enrolments.
