After a rather turbulent period for Australia's international education sector, which saw a 7% drop in foreign student enrolment to 882,482 in 2020 compared to 2019, a positive trend has emerged in Australian universities as one of their largest cohorts, Indian students, is inching closer to pre-pandemic numbers.
According to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, there were 52,186 Indian students in Australia as of June 2022, down from 63,264 in 2020 and 48,346 in 2021. The figures are noteworthy given the country's declining enrolment of Chinese students, which fell by 16% in April 2022 compared to April 2021.
The largest state, bigger ambitions
Western Australia is one of the biggest winners in Australia's race to maintain its position as one of the key leaders in overseas education, as it is home to five of its top educational institutions for international students, University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, and Notre Dame University.
The largest state in Australia, which encompasses the entire Western third of the country, has recently begun to leave its impact on the Indian subcontinent. According to official data, there were 40,035 foreign students enrolled in educational institutions in WA between January and September 2022, with 7,900 of the students being Indian.
The enrolment figures for Indian students for the academic year that ended in September 2022 are favourable compared to the 7,733 and 8,552 admissions for the same period in 2021 and 2020, respectively. The majority of Indian students enrolled in Western Australian institutions are taking higher education programmes, making up almost half of the total. A representative for the WA government said that about a third of students enrolled in higher education programmes pursue postgraduate studies.
The most common courses taken by Indian students in WA are those in management, commerce, health, engineering, information technology, with vocational training in hospitality also ranking highly among their options.
How long does it take to get a work visa for Canada?
Depending on the complexity of the application form and the type of work visa, the processing time might range from one to twenty weeks. The headquarters where you submitted your application will also play a role. It could take from a week to several months because some take longer than anticipated.
Perth still lacks direct flights despite having top universities.
Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, routinely ranks as one of the best places to live. The City of Lights is a key component of WA's goals for international education since Indian students studying abroad are concerned with how they will maintain their physical and mental health while living away from their relatives.
David Templeman, the minister of international education, culture, and the arts, mentioned the government's initiatives to promote direct flights between Perth and India to FPJ during his most recent visit to the nation, but sources say that negotiations are still ongoing to achieve the same. Indian citizens can currently fly to Perth from Singapore or via connections in Melbourne and Sydney.
Grants and budgetary allocations from WA seek to advance the state.
With the recent focus on allowing education providers to apply for up to $50,000 in grant funding to promote the state as a “study destination” for international students as per its International Education Familiarization Program, WA has also increased its efforts to attract international students through a number of initiatives.
In addition, the state has declared that the 2022–23 budget will include $41.2 million in new efforts to support the state's foreign education sector. Since July 2022, six new initiatives have been implemented with the help of this money, including family programmes, the continuance of student support, a new agent incentive, and two new scholarships.
Threats to Australia's reputation as a top study destination persist despite the sector’s vigour, as seen by the rejection of student visa applications and the delays in granting them, as highlighted in the case of Ph.D. candidates by FPJ. WA claims that the amount of student visa approvals is regular even though studies indicate that visa awards for students pursuing vocational education would be below 50% for the most of 2022.
Every state in Australia is affected by the length of time it takes to process visas. Since May 2022, 400 more employees have been hired by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs (DHA), which oversees processing visas, to help with the backlog.
Due to this, the Department of Home Affairs has reported that the visa backlog—particularly for student visas—has returned to normal levels.
Despite reports, the DHA claims a rise in student visas.
International students received a record 1,65,700 offshore student visas between June 2022 and December 2202, a rise of 58% from the previous year. These figures, obtained by FPJ from the Department of Home Affairs, indicate normalcy.
The Australian government also recently announced a fresh budget allocation of AUS$36 million that would be used to speed up decision-making and simplify the visa application procedure for international students. In their efforts to make Indian and international students as comfortable as possible, states like WA stand to gain the most if they are successful.
If you need further clarifications regarding Canadian Work Visas, please feel free to contact the experts at MWT Education Consultancy.
