Australia

Australian international higher education faces a crisis as visa approval rates plummet and enrollment caps loom. With the government urging offshore delivery, institutions must rethink their transnational education value proposition beyond business-as-usual.

Proposed caps on international enrollments and visa restrictions threaten Australia's higher education system, risking regional ties and economic losses. A new commission may increase ministerial control, challenging institutional autonomy in international student strategy.

Australia’s universities have long relied on international students, who form one-fourth of total enrollments. Forty percent come from China. But the US–China cold war, US pressure on allies to align themselves accordingly.

The heavy reliance of Australian universities on international student tuition has been exposed by the pandemic and, in particular, the federal government’s closure of international borders.

US actions to restrict research collaboration with China in key high-tech science and technology fields is increasingly recognized as part of a tech war, if not an ideological war.

Australian universities appear to be doing well in the latest versions of the most influential global rankings, for example doubling their representation in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings’ top 100.