Working in Australia on student visas: Nepali, Filipino numbers surge on back of migration loophole

Nepal and the Philippines are Australia’s top source markets for international students, after the much larger and more populous China and India

Lax oversight and visa rules that allow unlimited work rights are at least part of the reason, industry insiders say. ‘Push factors’ also play a part

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University graduation day in Melbourne. The number of students coming from Nepal, Colombia and the Philippines to Australia has surged more than 300 per cent in recent years. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:00pm, 31 Mar 2024Updated: 12:41pm, 1 Apr 2024

Three decades ago, Malaysians, Singaporeans and Hongkongers dominated Australia’s international student cohorts, accounting for about half of the student population at the time.

Now they are no longer among the majority, nor do they even feature in Australia’s top 10 source countries for international students, national statistics show.

Instead, mainland Chinese, Indian and Nepali students top the rankings, followed by those from the Philippines, Vietnam and Colombia.

Students walk around campus at a university in Brisbane. International education is now Australia’s fourth-largest export. Photo: Shutterstock

Over the past decade, the number of students coming from Nepal, Colombia and the Philippines has surged more than 300 per cent, albeit from a low base, while there are now nearly 200 per cent more Indian students than there were 10 years ago. Their numbers continue to pale in comparison to their peers from mainland China, however, who make up the bulk of international students in Australia today.

It all marks a sea change for Australia’s international education industry, which is now worth some A$36 billion (US$23.6 billion) and is proving increasingly difficult for Canberra to oversee as students, education providers and migrant agents alike find fertile ground for manipulation and fraud.

International education is now Australia’s fourth-largest export after coal, iron ore and natural gas, providing a major source of income for the country’s universities and colleges.

With about 600,000 students – up from just 40,000 in 1994 when Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong topped the international-cohort charts – the sector has ballooned to encompass a complex ecosystem of interrelated services including accommodation provision and even assignment writing.