Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to be the final speaker in this evening's debate. I would like to speak about the international education sector. As we're probably all aware from just a few hours ago, this week was to mark the return to Australia of international students. Australia's world-class education sector has been such a vital resource to our economy and society. In 2019 it was Australia's third largest commodity, at $40 billion, and on the Gold Coast was worth $1.6 billion. As I said probably an hour ago, due to the new omicron variant, the government has paused this reopening until 15 December, following advice from the Chief Medical Officer and in order to gather more information on the new variant to continue to keep Australians safe. So I will continue to talk about the sector and what our government has planned for the immediate future and, of course, the intermediate future, in the hope that re-entry for this very important international sector will recommence as soon as possible.

Part of the past success comes from our attraction to international students who want to get a taste of the Australian way of life. Australia is the most successful multicultural society in the world. Almost half of our current population either was born overseas or has at least one parent born overseas. We come from every culture and every race, every background and every faith. For international students, Australia is home away from home, and it quenches the desire to explore a foreign land while being safe yet familiar at the same time.

To support the recovery of our education sector as a global commodity and economic contributor, and when it's safe to do so, the Morrison government is introducing further targeted measures that support the international education sector to bounce back as and when those borders open. In the last year-and-a-half, the government supported the sector with $53.6 million, which included innovation grants to assist with changes to business models. Three organisations in my electorate, providers of English as a second language, were grateful recipients of just under $150,000 each to pivot their business to new areas where they could innovate and change their business model. In addition, more than $37 million will be delivered to support international education providers most affected by COVID-19. This support includes extending regulatory fee waivers and providing additional grants, which is good news for the sector.

Australia's visa framework will be enhanced, with more flexibility for international students as they prepare to return to our shores. The new framework will further extend current measures to protect the post-study work rights of international students as well as extend the temporary graduate visa from two years to three years for masters by coursework graduates. As I said, this is good news for international students and regional and rural communities experiencing the worker shortages that we talk about.

Two weeks ago, I spoke directly to more than 250 foreign student agents, all via Zoom, from all over the world in an online forum to prepare them for this milestone in Australia's recovery, in terms of enrolment, visa application requirements and, of course, the recognised vaccination list that we have. I believe there are eight on that list now. It was clear that international students want to study and experience our diverse society, but they also want to explore Australia and contribute to our economy post study. They love, of course, visiting the Gold Coast, surfing at Surfers Paradise and cuddling a koala at Currumbin. I'm sure the member for McPherson is listening as I spruik the beauty of my electorate and, of course, her electorate as well.

Before the pandemic, Australia had more than 589,000 international students. Locally, there were more than 19,000 international students calling the beautiful Gold Coast home, and we can't wait to welcome them back. These changes implemented by our government are practical and fundamental to Australia's recovery process and the future of our education sector. There are very many other changes. Goodness me! Five minutes goes very quickly at this time of night. But there are very many other changes that the government is putting in place to make sure that we can welcome back international students when it is safe to do so, and we look forward to that day when we can welcome them back with open arms.

Question agreed to.

House adjourned at 22:01

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Rob Mitchell) took the chair at 10:30.