Good news! The NSW and Victorian governments plan to bring back international students to NSW from early December 2021.
NSW’s Pilot Plan
The NSW government has planned to bring back international students to NSW from early December 2021.
The pilot plan will initially allow a limited number of 250 international students studying in NSW.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet had been working on this plan since last year. However, it was in halt after the Delta outbreak. The pilot program will restore the economic loss, jobs creation, and growth in the state, says Mr. Perrottet.
Inbound international students need to be fully vaccinated with Therapeutic Goods Administration recognized vaccines including Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. The students with other types of vaccinations cannot enter Australia initially.
International students will stay in quarantine in purpose-built student accommodation in Sydney. All the students need to adhere to the same health and quarantine requirements set by the Australian Government.
International education contributed $37.6 billion to the Australian economy in 2019 and more than $14 billion to NSW. The delays to bring back international students to NSW will eventually lead the state to lose its international students over its competitors, such as Canada and the UK.
So, the education providers along with the other NSW government agencies have been closely working together to ensure the arrival of overseas students back to the state as soon as possible.
The education sector with the operational support of the NSW government and its agencies will be funding this pilot plan.
To read more about the pilot plan, visit Study NSW’s website →
Victoria’s Pilot Plan
The Victorian Government has announced their plan for the return of international students by the end of 2021 and is awaiting approval from the Federal Government.
Under the first stage of the plan, 120 places will be available each week for Victorian university students, prioritising those who need to undertake practical work to continue or complete their degrees, such as health and medical degree students, as well as postgraduate research students.
Afterwards, the second stage will enable more places with larger-scale international student arrivals from across the sector, including those enrolled in TAFEs, English-language courses, private education providers and secondary schools.
To read more about the pilot plan, visit Study Melbourne’s website →