Australian state’s plan to bring back foreign students likely to exclude Chinese
- Chinese students will not be eligible to participate in the scheme as China’s Covid-19 vaccines are not recognised by Australia
- Chinese nationals are Australia’s biggest source of international students, followed by those in India, Nepal and Vietnam
The phased plan was approved by the federal government and the first flight carrying some 500 fully-vaccinated international students will arrive in New South Wales by the end of the year, the state government said on Friday.
Chinese nationals are Australia’s biggest source of international students but they are likely to be ineligible to participate, because China’s vaccines are not recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.
“They will need to be double vaccinated with a vaccine that our federal authorities deemed to be adequate and effective and that is just the way it is,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
Those wanting to participate in future need to “find access to a vaccine that is regarded as effective by our authorities. We don’t want additional risk put into our system”, she said.
International education was worth A$14.6 billion (US$10.7 billion) to New South Wales in 2019, the state government said. Macquarie University, The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney, UNSW and UTS are among the universities that will participate in the pilot plan.
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More than 57,000 students are estimated to be overseas, according to the state government. Chinese nationals are Australia’s biggest source of international students followed by those in India, Nepal and Vietnam, according to the Australian Trade Department.