RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2018–19              20 June 2019

Overseas students in Australian higher education: a quick guide

Dr Hazel Ferguson and Henry Sherrell

Social Policy Section

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that, in 2017–18, international education was worth $32.4 billion to the Australian economy, up from $28.1 billion in 2016–17. Recent research for the Department of Education (DoE) shows Australia also gains social, cultural and skilled workforce benefits from international education.   

This quick guide provides an overview of key information related to overseas students in Australian higher education. Higher education accounted for 68.5 per cent ($22.2 billion) of international education export income in 2017–18, and 45.6 per cent of all overseas student enrolments in 2018.[1] Overseas students also enrol in Australian vocational education and training (VET), schools, English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), and non-award courses. However, each of these accounts for fewer students and has less economic impact than overseas student enrolments in higher education.  

While people studying in Australia on a student visa are often referred to as ‘international students’, this quick guide uses the terminology of ‘overseas students’, which is more commonly used in the Australian Government’s Education and Home Affairs portfolios, which have responsibility for policy and programs related to overseas students.  

Except where otherwise indicated, the information provided in this quick guide relates to the entire higher education sector. Registered higher education providers are public and private universities, as well as for-profit and not-for-profit non-university providers, including public institutions such as TAFEs. 

Some non-Australian citizens, such as New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, and permanent humanitarian visa holders are not considered overseas students for the purposes of higher education support.

Enrolments

Overseas student statistics are available from the DoE’s international student data webpage. The latest full-year data is for 2018. As shown in Figure 1 below, there were 398,563 higher education enrolments by people in Australia on student visas.

Enrolments include new and continuing students. Enrolment figures can double count students who complete one course of study and enrol in another within given period. For example, a student may complete an ELICOS course and then enrol in a bachelor degree, and have both enrolments counted in the same year.

Figure 1: higher education enrolments, overseas students, 2008–2018

Source: DoE, Basic pivot table 2015–2019, December 2018.

Enrolments by state and territory

In 2018, overseas student enrolments in higher education institutions in Australia were largely concentrated in NSW and Victoria.

Table 1: higher education enrolments, overseas students, state and territory, 2018

State/territory

Enrolments

% of total

NSW

143,585

36.0

VIC

140,807

35.3

QLD

51,003

12.8

SA

20,722

5.2

WA

22,136

5.6

TAS

5,869

1.5

NT

1,540

0.4

ACT

12,901

3.2

Total

398,563

100.0

Source: DoE, Basic pivot table 2015–2019, December 2018.

Enrolments by nationality

Of overseas student enrolments in 2018, 38.3 per cent (152,591) were from China, and 18.0 per cent (71,857) were from India, with the remaining top ten nationalities being Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Table 2: higher education enrolments, overseas (os) students, state and territory, top ten nationalities, 2018

Nationality

NSW

Vic.

QLD

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Total

% of all OS

China

58,510

50,878

17,686

8,701

5,328

2,762

188

8,538

152,591

38.3

India

20,512

33,696

8,705

3,287

3,949

601

282

825

71,857

18.0

Nepal

19,306

4,720

2,141

776

703

121

378

88

28,233

7.1

Vietnam

5,462

6,617

1,452

880

792

232

75

208

15,718

3.9

Malaysia

2,243

6,041

1,794

1,237

1,781

576

19

297

13,988

3.5

Pakistan

4,709

4,351

769

320

921

105

55

167

11,397

2.9

Indonesia

3,153

4,692

754

216

671

30

35

324

9,875

2.5

Sri Lanka

981

6,599

691

249

413

95

37

144

9,209

2.3

Hong Kong

2,721

2,142

1,872

1,095

712

128

14

247

8,931

2.2

Singapore

1,368

2,454

1,291

537

1,215

265

1

197

7,328

1.8

Other

24,620

18,617

13,848

3,424

5,651

954

456

1,866

69,436

17.4

All OS

143,585

140,807

51,003

20,722

22,136

5,869

1,540

12,901

398,563

100.0

Source: DoE, Basic pivot table 2015–2019, December 2018.

Overseas share of higher education enrolments 

DoE’s higher education statistics provide a breakdown of overseas student enrolments at Australian higher education institutions, and allow comparison of overseas and domestic enrolments. The latest full-year for this data is 2017. Table 3 below shows total higher education enrolments for both overseas students and domestic students from 2008 to 2017. A breakdown by institution is at Appendix 1.

Table 3: higher education enrolments, domestic and overseas students, 2008–2017

OS students (temporary entry visas)

Other OS students(a)

Domestic students

Total

OS students (temporary entry visas), % of all OS higher education enrolments

2008

207,100

87,063

771,932

1,066,095

19.4

2009

231,167

89,803

813,896

1,134,866

20.4

2010

245,737

89,536

857,384

1,192,657

20.6

2011

242,903

89,674

888,431

1,221,008

19.9

2012

232,867

90,745

934,110

1,257,722

18.5

2013

236,332

92,070

985,374

1,313,776

18.0

2014

254,383

93,177

1,025,670

1,373,230

18.5

2015

273,817

89,481

1,046,835

1,410,133

19.4

2016

304,957

86,179

1,066,073

1,457,209

20.9

2017

345,686

85,752

1,081,945

1,513,383

22.8

Source: DoE, ‘Student data’, DoE website, all students data tables, various years, and Parliamentary Library calculations.

(a) ‘Other overseas students’ includes those students who are not domestic students, and who are residing outside Australia during the unit of study/time of application. Students studying in Australia on student visas make up the bulk of the enrolments shown in the ‘temporary entry visas’ column. Further information about the citizenship classifications is available via DoE, HEIMSHELP.

Visa arrangements

Types of overseas student visas

Recent changes have reduced the number of student visas from seven to one, the Student (subclass 500) visa. Instead of distinct visas for different types of overseas students, there are now seven streams within the one visa: higher education; post-graduate research, VET, schools, independent ELICOS, foreign affairs or defence, and non-award. There is also a distinct student guardian visa, but these students are outside the scope of this quick guide.

International students studying in the higher education sector are predominantly granted student visas under the higher education and postgraduate research streams (see Tables 4 and 5 below).

Visa processing

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) assesses and grants student visa applications. However, under the DHA’s Simplified Student Visa Framework (the Framework), higher education providers also have a role, with the intention of reducing duplication and streamlining the process.

Two key areas where higher education providers have a role are in confirming English language proficiency and assessing the financial capacity of students to live in Australia. Depending on the higher education provider and the student’s country of origin, these requirements may not be further assessed by DHA. While the DHA retains the ability to assess any requirement for a student visa, the Framework does not mandate this.

Visa grants

Overseas student visa statistics are available from DHA, via the data.gov.au portal under Student visa program. The most recent full-year data is for 2018. The data show the number of visas granted, which is distinct from the number of overseas students as one overseas student may be granted more than one visa in a period of time, depending on their circumstance.

As shown in Table 4 below, there were 188,567 primary student visas granted in 2018 for the higher education and postgraduate research streams. ‘Primary’ refers to the person who holds the visa for the original purpose while ‘secondary’ refers to any spouses and/or dependent children.

Table 4 also shows the growth in primary student visas granted in the higher education stream from around 2011 to 2018, after a period of sustained downturn between 2008 and 2011.

Table 4: primary student visas granted—higher education and postgraduate research streams, 2008–2018

Primary student visas granted

Growth rate

2008

126,470

14%

2009

119,570

-5%

2010

108,507

-9%

2011

104,277

-4%

2012

110,978

6%

2013

128,964

16%

2014

146,128

13%

2015

138,334

-5%

2016

152,017

10%

2017

168,149

11%

2018

188,567

12%

Source: DHA, ‘Student visa program’, February 2019, data.gov.au

Note: these figures include the higher education and postgraduate research streams of the student (subclass 500) visa.

When using visa statistics, including student visa statistics, the number of visas granted should not be used as a proxy for the number of people migrating to Australia. This is because a significant proportion of higher education overseas student visas are granted to people who are already in Australia, as shown in Table 5 below. Students gain visas in Australia for a variety of reasons, including moving from one mode of education to another, or transitioning from a different category of temporary visa to a student visa.

Table 5: primary student visas granted in Australia–higher education and postgraduate research streams, 2008–2018

Primary student visas granted in Australia

Proportion of total primary student visas granted

2008

38,269

30%

2009

42,365

35%

2010

49,673

46%

2011

52,715

51%

2012

50,939

46%

2013

49,707

39%

2014

47,292

32%

2015

42,486

31%

2016

44,158

29%

2017

49,871

30%

2018

61,590

33%

Source: DHA, ‘Student visa program’, February 2019, data.gov.au

Note: these figures include the higher education and postgraduate research streams of the student (subclass 500) visa.

Table 5 also shows primary student visas granted to people already in Australia over the past decade. The share of student visas granted in Australia as a proportion of the total has been relatively stable at about one-third, except from 2009 to 2013. Due in part to immigration policy changes, the proportion of primary student visas granted in Australia grew from 2008 to 2011 and then declined.

Eligibility

Under the Migration Regulations 1994, in order to be granted a student visa, applicants must:

•        be enrolled full-time in an approved Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) course (that is, a course approved to be offered to overseas students) [section 500.211]

•        have sufficient money to support living in Australia (section 500.214)

•        have adequate health insurance (section 500.215)

•        be a ‘genuine temporary entrant’ with the intention to return home after studying (section 500.212) and

•        meet English language requirements (section 500.213).

Full-time study

An overseas student cannot undertake part-time study. A full-time course of study is required and this is linked to the length of each student visa. In most instances, this means overseas students are unable to vary their course load (medical and other exceptions are available). 

English language requirements

In practice, English language requirements for overseas students are subject to two thresholds:

•        the Australian Government sets a minimum test score for overseas student visas—the Legislative Instrument, Migration (IMMI 18/015: English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (student) visa) Instrument 2018, requires:

–      a minimum International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 5.5 (out of 9) or

–      a minimum IELTS score of 5.0 paired with 10 weeks of ELICOS or

–      a minimum IELTS score of 4.5 paired with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

•        higher education providers also include their own English language proficiency requirements as part of entry requirements, which can be higher than the minimum entry score prescribed by the Australian Government.

IELTS is a widely used English language proficiency testing system. Four other types of proficiency tests are available for visa applicants, with equivalent minimum test scores.

Work rights

While the purpose of the overseas student visa program is study, rather than employment, people on student visas do have work rights. Currently, they may work up to 40 hours per fortnight when their course is in session (that is, during term time) and unlimited hours in holiday periods.

Tuition fees

Under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, the Higher Education Provider Guidelines 2012 (the Guidelines) specify (subject to some exceptions):

•        fees charged to overseas students must be sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the course to the student and

•        the fee cannot be less than the relevant domestic student fee, unless the course is fully offshore or permission for the lower fee is granted by the responsible department (currently DoE).

The Guidelines do not set an upper limit for overseas student fees.

According to the Australian Government’s Study Australia webpage, Australian higher education providers charge on average $15,000 to $33,000 for an undergraduate bachelor degree and $20,000 to $37,000 for a postgraduate Masters degree. (These figures do not include high-cost courses such as veterinary and medical degrees.)

Overseas student fees as a proportion of university revenue

For Australian universities, overseas student fees have been the largest source of revenue growth in recent years.

As shown in Table 6 below, revenue from overseas student fees has grown as a proportion of total revenue, from 15.5 per cent in 2008 to 23.3 per cent in 2017 (latest year available). The $1,208 million increase in revenue from overseas students from 2016 to 2017 accounted for 64.2 per cent of the total increase in all revenue for the same period ($1,881 million).

Table 6: Australian university revenue from fee paying overseas students, 2008–2017

Total revenue from all operations ($’000)

Change from previous year

Revenue from fee paying overseas students ($’000)

Change from previous year

Percentage of revenue from fee paying OS students

2008

$18,955,909

$2,946,127

15.5%

2009

$20,468,862

8.0%

$3,414,687

15.9%

16.7%

2010

$22,158,466

8.3%

$3,881,656

13.7%

17.5%

2011

$23,658,742

6.8%

$4,124,064

6.2%

17.4%

2012

$25,210,033

6.6%

$4,134,768

0.3%

16.4%

2013

$26,332,964

4.5%

$4,290,808

3.8%

16.3%

2014

$27,751,858

5.4%

$4,741,973

10.5%

17.1%

2015

$28,609,979

3.1%

$5,349,879

12.8%

18.7%

2016

$30,147,079

5.4%

$6,249,049

16.8%

20.7%

2017

$32,028,091

6.2%

$7,457,002

19.3%

23.3%

Source: DoE, Financial Reports of Higher Education Providers, various years, and Parliamentary Library calculations.

Legislative protections for overseas students in Australia

Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards)

Under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011, all higher education providers must meet the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 as a minimum condition of registration. Under the Threshold Standards, all institutions that offer higher education to students in Australia on a student visa are required to provide support services, including initial orientation and academic support.

The Education Services for Overseas Students legislative framework

In addition to the requirements of the Threshold Standards, the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and related legislation, including the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code), make specific provision for the protection of overseas students studying with Australian providers in any education sector.

In the higher education sector, these arrangements are primarily enforced by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), which also enforces the Threshold Standards.

Student satisfaction

DoE conducts an international student survey every two years, the latest being the 2018 International Student Survey. For overseas higher education students in Australia, compared with the 2016 International Student Survey:

•        89 per cent are satisfied with their overall study experience (stable compared with 2016)

•        91 per cent are satisfied with the quality of support provided (up from 89 per cent in 2016)

•        88 per cent are satisfied with the overall learning environment (up from 87 per cent in 2016)

•        92 per cent are satisfied with the expertise of lecturers (down from 93 per cent in 2016) and

•        94 per cent are satisfied with the safety of living in Australia (up from 90 per cent in 2016).

Student achievement

Attrition rates

The DoE’s higher education statistics collection includes attrition (‘drop out’) data by citizenship status. For overseas students, the attrition rate increased from 8.9 per cent in 2008 to 9.4 per cent in 2016, while for domestic students the increase was from 12.6 per cent to 15 per cent in 2015, before declining to 14.3 per cent in 2016.

Table 7: domestic and overseas bachelor university student attrition rates 2008–2016, per cent

OS student attrition rate

Domestic student attrition rate

2008

8.9

12.6

2009

8.3

12.3

2010

8.3

12.9

2011

8.9

12.7

2012

8.9

13.3

2013

8.4

14.7

2014

8.7

15.0

2015

9.3

15.0

2016

9.4

14.3

Source: DoE, Selected higher education statistics – 2017 student data.

Note: the best available attrition measures for domestic and overseas students differ. The domestic student attrition rate used in Table 6 is the ‘new adjusted attrition rate’, which uses student ID and the Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) to track students within and between institutions, so a student is not counted in the attrition figures if they move to another institution. The overseas student attrition rate used in Table 6 is the ‘new normal attrition rate’, which is based on student ID only (overseas students do not have a CHESSN). This means overseas students who move to another institution are counted in the attrition figures, leading likely to over-estimates of attrition among overseas students in the Table 7.

Post-study visa pathways

There is no automatic pathway from a student visa to a permanent residency visa in Australia.

However, overseas students can transition to various types of permanent residency visas if they meet the relevant eligibility criteria. A joint Treasury and Department of Home Affairs report published in 2018 found that, of 1.6 million overseas students (from all education sectors) granted a visa between 2000–01 and 2013–14, 16 per cent transitioned to a permanent residency visa at some stage after arriving in Australia.

Table 8 below shows 13,138 permanent residency visas were granted to people holding an international student visa in Australia in 2017–18, the lowest figure in a decade.

Table 8: permanent residency visas granted to former international students in Australia, 2008–09 to 2017–18

Total permanent residency visas granted

Skilled

Partner

Other

2008–09

20,141

15,878

4,087

176

2009–10

13,286

8,143

4,919

224

2010–11

29,755

24,450

5,172

133

2011–12

28,473

21,558

6,689

226

2012–13

30,170

21,714

8,011

445

2013–14

18,100

10,591

7,179

330

2014–15

17,638

10,006

7,173

459

2015–16

18,251

11,912

5,804

535

2016–17

17,102

9,451

7,118

533

2017–18

13,138

7,139

5,619

380

Source: DHA, Australian Migration Statistics, 2017–18, data.gov.au

Note: these statistics are only available for financial years. Also note the title for this table is drawn directly for the sourced material from the Department of Home Affairs.

However, international students who transition to another temporary visa, before gaining a permanent residency visa, are not included in the departmental data above. Given the increasing number of Temporary Graduate visas (Table 9 below), it is likely more people are transitioning from a student visa to a different category of temporary visa and then gaining a permanent residency visa. There is no publicly available data on this group of people.

A Temporary Graduate visa allows a migrant to live, study and work in Australia after completing their study. Only people who hold a student visa are eligible for the various streams of the Temporary Graduate visa.

Table 9: Temporary Graduate visas granted, 2008–2018

Total Temporary Graduate visas granted

Graduate Work

Post-Study Work

Skilled Graduate

2008

4,056

0

0

4,056

2009

20,025

0

0

20,025

2010

24,575

0

0

24,575

2011

27,736

0

0

27,736

2012

43,879

0

0

43,879

2013

25,657

5,184

32

20,441

2014

21,147

16,423

3,751

973

2015

25,624

13,345

12,203

76

2016

37,472

11,454

25,999

19

2017

46,340

8,752

37,580

8

2018

54,932

8,452

46,478

2

Source: DHA, ‘Temporary Graduate visa program’, April 2019, data.gov.au

Further information

There is a range of additional research and information available via the DoE’s international education website, including research papers, data visualisations showing student origins, locations and pathways, data on the offshore delivery of Australian courses, and Australian students studying overseas.

See also:

•        Department of Home Affairs, Student visa and Temporary Graduate visa program reports.

•        Spinks, H, Overseas students: immigration policy changes 1997–2015, Parliamentary Library, Research paper series, 2015–16, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2016.

Appendix 1. All higher education students by state and territory, higher education institution, citizenship and residence status, 2017

State and institution

Domestic students

Overseas students

TOTAL

Australian citizen

New Zealand citizen

Other domestic

Temporary entry permit

Other overseas

New South Wales

Charles Sturt University

32,754

307

587

8,942

1,569

44,159

Macquarie University

31,814

333

1,218

11,365

292

45,022

Southern Cross University

13,148

170

234

2,696

602

16,850

The University of New England

21,746

160

393

1,026

155

23,480

The University of Newcastle

28,180

173

599

4,010

1,388

34,350

The University of Sydney

38,494

819

2,149

22,564

418

64,444

University of New South Wales

36,957

np

2,114

20,196

np

59,782

University of Technology Sydney

28,928

216

1,450

13,442

846

44,882

University of Wollongong

18,946

101

408

7,652

7,340

34,447

Western Sydney University

36,790

355

1,660

5,569

372

44,746

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

33,260

407

720

15,174

4,033

53,594

Victoria

Deakin University

42,885

424

1,150

11,170

478

56,107

Federation University Australia

8,238

61

231

3,818

1,374

13,722

La Trobe University

28,470

281

728

7,535

1,625

38,639

Monash University

42,103

625

1,966

22,058

11,505

78,257

RMIT University

33,960

457

1,785

14,495

14,841

65,538

Swinburne University of Technology

30,702

290

912

5,610

3,926

41,440

The University of Melbourne

37,771

1,002

2,628

23,680

176

65,257

University of Divinity

1,347

25

49

124

24

1,569

Victoria University

15,663

239

900

5,117

4,749

26,668

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

6,351

46

259

24,039

707

31,402

Queensland

Bond University

2,906

68

111

2,813

273

6,171

CQUniversity

16,440

187

372

6,187

29

23,215

Griffith University

36,850

908

1,203

7,495

804

47,260

James Cook University

14,335

173

404

3,041

2,874

20,827

Queensland University of Technology

39,636

642

1,194

8,315

43

49,830

The University of Queensland

34,690

680

1,530

15,365

66

52,331

University of Southern Queensland

21,831

353

705

2,341

918

26,148

University of the Sunshine Coast

12,736

217

226

3,205

101

16,485

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

7,398

np

67

2,064

< 5

9,697

Western Australia

Curtin University

32,935

403

1,862

6,708

7,002

48,910

Edith Cowan University

22,554

365

1,024

4,777

734

29,454

Murdoch University

13,832

224

672

1,842

6,657

23,227

The University of Notre Dame Australia

11,332

129

235

216

0

11,912

The University of Western Australia

18,310

238

1,213

5,066

432

25,259

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

1,494

16

107

1,863

1,315

4,795

South Australia

Flinders University

19,667

92

792

3,160

1,558

25,269

The University of Adelaide

18,305

123

819

7,233

331

26,811

Torrens University Australia

5,219

17

10

3,697

202

9,145

University of South Australia

24,419

100

1,168

5,068

331

31,086

Private Universities (Table C) and Non-University Higher Education Institutions

5,442

92

368

2,508

2,805

11,215

Tasmania

University of Tasmania

28,985

336

1,840

5,039

1,448

37,648

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

0

0

0

0

0

0

Northern Territory

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

18

0

0

0

0

18

Charles Darwin University

8,433

114

655

2,212

18

11,432

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian National University

15,218

288

776

8,671

402

25,355

University of Canberra

12,926

96

404

2,614

711

16,751

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

926

10

65

8

0

1,009

Multi-State

Australian Catholic University

29,401

254

631

3,783

248

34,317

Non-University Higher Education Institutions

3,162

38

115

113

23

3,451

TOTAL

1,027,907

13,330

40,708

345,686

85,752

1,513,383

Source: DoE, ‘2017 Section 2 All students’, DoE website, September 2018.

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[1].               Export income figure is from Parliamentary Library calculations based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), International Trade: Supplementary Information, Financial Year, 2017-18, cat. no. 5368.0.55.003, Table 9.1, ABS, Canberra, 2018.