Fourth biggest export continues to shrink

Reports released today show that Australia’s international education industry is continuing to decline.

“Government figures suggest that university enrolments have declined by 4.3 per cent and vocational education have dropped by 14.2 per cent,” said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne.

“Last year the Immigration Department processed less than 5,000 onshore student visa applications, down from over 17,000 from the previous year,” Mr Pyne said.

“The vocational education and training sector has also seen onshore visa applications fall from 9800 to just 1700 over the last four years,” he said.

“Just days ago a Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) was released, suggesting that the Government’s delayed implementation of student visa changes has caused severe damage to our economy.

“A key recommendation from the Government’s 2011 Knight Review into student visas, was that new streamlining visa processing measures be extended beyond just the university sector.

“The Review also suggested offering post study work visa arrangements for students, but the Government has been dragging its heels and these are being offered only from the beginning of next year.

“That’s nearly two years after the Government received the recommendations from the Knight Review.

“State Government Premiers have been pleading with the Prime Minister to extend post study work visa arrangements to all VET students, requests which the Prime Minister continues to call premature despite an entire industry going into free-fall.

“Higher Education Minister Chris Bowen must act quickly to restore confidence in Australia as a destination for international students and stop ignoring the falling revenues of this vital industry,” Mr Pyne said.

14 February 2013