An ambitious target has been set by Austrade in its market development plan, to double the number of foreign students here to 1 million by the year 2025.

This could see the value of the education industry rise to over $36 billion in just 10 years. According to the report Australian International Education 2025, part of the growth plan is to promote Australian education in new markets more aggressively. John Angley, general manager at Austrade, said several regions have been earmarked for development and they include Brazil, Colombia, West Africa and the Gulf States.

“We’ll always be welcoming eligible Indian and Chinese students but we think that if we’re going to grow the size of the market, we should also take the opportunity and diversify where students come from,” Mr Angley told PIE news. He added that these are “markets which aren’t new to Australia but have potential to build stronger relationships.”

The sector however faces numerous challenges including capacity, maintaining quality and keeping public opinion on its side.

The Australia International Education Conference held in Adelaide earlier this month warned that the government was not doing enough to explain to the Australian public the importance of the education industry and international students to the economy.

Commentators pointed out that in a slowing economy, foreign workers and foreign students are unfortunately targeted by politicians as the source of the problem with many often threatening to reduce the numbers with no due consideration of the actual and significant contribution of these international visitors to the economy.

Migration Alliance is in receipt of the following information from an RMA:

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I have a client currently under consideration for a Health Waiver in respect of a spouse application and she received the attached email  to her personal email address yesterday. 

On his first international visit as prime minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull has announced that New Zealanders who have been living in Australia since childhood will be given access to student loans for the first time next year.

Under the plan, Kiwis who have lived in Australia for at least 10 years and hold a Special Category Visa will be eligible for a loan to help them study at TAFE or university from January, according to a report on the ABC.

Mr Turnbull said if the bill is passed this year, about 2,600 Kiwis will be able to take advantage of the scheme in 2016.

The announcement that New Zealanders will be able to access student loans in Australia, was however overshadowed by the continued criticism in New Zealand of Australia’s stance on deporting non-citizens who have been cumulatively sentenced to 12 months or more in prison.

Australia is reportedly deporting 1 New Zealander a day under the tough laws. It is estimated that up to 1000 criminals could be sent back to New Zealand in the next five years, despite having few or no ties with the country.

Issues relating to the cancellation of visas on character grounds are continuing to receive a great deal of attention both in the news media and in the courts.

Indeed, just last Friday there was a story in the Age about an Australian-born man who has two teen-aged children who appeared to have lost his Australian citizenship (under complicated circumstances described in the news article) and had received a notice from the Department of its intention to consider cancellation (an “NOICC”) of his Bridging Visa E.  The article reports that the NOICC refers to the visa holder’s having been jailed twice for theft and burglary.  The news story also states that the proceedings relating to the cancellation of this person’s visa are being “put on hold” by the Department while it undertakes an investigation to clarify the visa holder’s citizenship and immigration status.

And of course, a great deal of the news coverage concerning Prime Minister Turnbull's first visit to New Zealand focused on concerns raised by NZ Prime Minister John Key that a significant number of Kiwis who have spent most of their lives in Australia are facing deportation back to New Zealand, even in circumstances where it is claimed that the offences they have committed in Australia have been "relatively minor".  The news article that is linked in this paragraph indicated that PM Turnbull has made representations that the appeals of New Zealanders against the cancellation of their visa may be "fast-tracked".

Regional Director of the DIBP sets the tone for future dealings with RMAs

Please find a link to the communication received by the Convenor of Migration Alliance late yesterday from the DIBP:

MJJ-let-to-MA.pdf 

Please find a copy of the reply from Migration Alliance.