Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education and Youth. Will the minister advise the House about the return of international students under the Morrison government's plan to reopen Australia and what opportunities it will create for Australians as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Berowra for his question. I congratulate you, Mr Speaker. The member for Berowra is a fantastic advocate for the tertiary sector, and that includes the private higher education sector, which adds so much diversity to the educational landscape. All of us, at least on the side of the House, are pleased that the borders are reopening on 1 December, which means international students will be able to come back to complete their studies or to start new courses early next year. That's clearly beneficial for the education institutions themselves as well as those individual students. That's why the Chair of Universities Australia has said he was thrilled by the Prime Minister's decision earlier this week.

As the member for Berowra knows, international students also create enormous opportunities for Australians. It's little known that typically the international education market is actually our third-biggest export industry, constituting about $40 billion in revenue for Australia, about half of which is in fees. The other half is actually in expenditure from those international students on accommodation, restaurants, other small businesses and tourism opportunities. Indeed, through that expenditure they support 250,000 Australians in work, about one-third of which are in the member's home state of New South Wales.

They also support Australians in other ways, and that is by filling many of those job vacancies that we presently have. International students not only come here to study but also are able to do some part-time work. As all members of this House would know, we have critical shortages of labour at the moment, and so bringing back those international students enables more of those students to be able to fulfil those jobs and, in doing so, keep the cafes open, keep the restaurants open and keep those other businesses open that we enjoy and expect to be open.

This is why the business community has so warmly welcomed international students coming back from 1 December, with the Business Council of Australia saying that international education is responsible for creating thousands of jobs and that getting students back is crucial. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry say that this will accelerate Australia's recovery. This was always part of our plan; phase D of our national plan. We're delivering on it. We said we'd do it. From 1 December, international students will start to come back, and that's good for Australia.