Australia’s mercurial international education industry has put the pandemic behind it, enticing more foreigners into the country than at any other time in its history.

Department of Home Affairs show that almost 655,000 people were in Australia on temporary student visas at the end of July, up from 569,000 just a month earlier.

The latest figure eclipses a previous peak in September 2019, when 634,000 foreigners were in the country on various subclasses of student visas.

The surge follows nine consecutive record months of student visa processing, particularly in the higher education sector. Between November 2022 and July 2023 an average of 47,100 student visas were granted every month, 53 per cent of them for bachelor’s and master’s study.

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Notwithstanding concerns that rampant discounting is dampening universities’ profits from international education, the students they attract are generating unprecedented economic activity in the wider community.

The March and June quarters saw record spending by international students in Australia, according to the .

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With almost A$21.4 billion (£10.8 billion) spent between January and June, the industry is on track to surpass its record calendar-year earnings of A$40.1 billion in 2019.

Over the first six months of the year, Australia garnered another A$510 million by delivering online courses to overseas students in their home countries, although this figure is well down on revenue from that source during the peak of the pandemic.

“Education is surging back, adding billions of dollars to the economy and paying for the essential services all Australians rely on,” said Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson.

She said the mass return of students was a testament to the quality of education and the “enviable lifestyle” in Australia. “These students also make us stronger socially and culturally, enriching the communities they join,” she added.

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Meanwhile, Canberra has closed another loophole exploited by foreigners seeking work rights under the guise of study. The government that it would immediately ban students and most other temporary residents from applying for the “pandemic event” visa, which will be phased out altogether in February.

More than 100,000 students are believed to have transferred to this visa, securing the right to full-time employment while relieving themselves of study obligations. Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said the new arrangements would “ensure that the visa is only used by those who have a genuine need” for it.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com