Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hints at green light for international students as he visits Adelaide on post-Budget tour

Josh Frydenberg has hinted at a green light for SA’s plan to bring international students back, and left the door open to Australia’s borders reopening sooner.

Josh Frydenberg has left the door open to reopening Australia’s border sooner than mid 2022.

The nation’s Treasurer has also offered the strongest sign yet the Federal Government will green light South Australia’s plan to bring back international students if chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier approves the strategy.

At a post-Budget business breakfast in Adelaide on Monday, Mr Frydenberg indicated Australia wasn’t locked into a plan to reopen its borders from mid-2022.

“We’ve made an assumption in the budget that the international border will gradually reopen from the middle of next year. That is not a policy decision, that is just an assumption,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“We will continue to follow the medical advice with respect to the international borders.”

On international students, Mr Frydenberg noted Premier Steven Marshall had spoken to Prime Minister Scott Morrison about reviving the sector, which is worth $2bn to the state’s economy.

“When it comes to international students, we will look favourably on state proposals, including in South Australia, where they have the support of their chief medical officer and the support of the universities to bring in cohorts of international students over and above their existing caps,” he said at a press conference after the event.

Asked whether Chinese international students would also return in strong numbers, Mr Frydenberg said: “I hope we will be able to get Chinese international students to Australia and certainly our intention is to support the international student sector by enabling these cohorts to arrive.”

He noted the China-Australia relationship had been “challenging”, but said it remained the country’s biggest two-way trade relationship and mutually beneficial for both nations.

Mr Frydenberg was in town to answer the business community’s questions over his $87bn budget cash splash to help Australia’s economy bounce back from COVID-19.

Ahead of the breakfast, Business SA chief executive Martin Haese indicated the sector wanted to know more about the government’s timeline to reopen the borders, where the next travel bubbles would be, and whether there would be any changes to Australia’s migration system to plug skills gaps.

He said the business community needed more certainty, particularly given the budget’s underlying assumption that Australia’s international borders would not reopen until 2022.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with the 2021 Federal Budget. Picture: Gary Ramage

“[There needs to be] more clarity and support around what the Federal Government can do, possibly in partnership with the State Government, to support the ongoing heavily-impacted businesses, which we suggest would sit around 15 per cent of all businesses in SA.”

“Those that are reliant on international borders in any capacity, business conferencing, major events, international students – we still have a lot of evidence that there are businesses who are still fundamentally challenged and they can’t be forgotten.”

Mr Haese said a “multi-month, multi-year” roadmap which identified Australia’s next travel bubbles after New Zealand and measures to plug skills shortages would provide more certainty and assist Australia’s recovery.

A plan for reviving the international student sector was also “very important” to SA’s economy and other states, he said.

Josh Frydenberg with Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time. Picture: Gary Ramage

One change Business SA wants is a temporary increase to the number of hours migrants in Australia on temporary visas can work each week, to help fill skills shortages.

Mr Haese strongly welcomed the 2021 Budget overall, particularly extended tax relief for businesses and road funding for the Truro bypass and the Augusta Highway duplication.

He also welcomed a scheme to help businesses hire apprentices being extended until March 2022.

Scott Morrison yesterday said Australia was still “many months away” from allowing travel to safe countries without 14 days hotel quarantine on return, but indicated reviving international education was now a priority.

“We are always working on the next step and the next step is how we can safely have international students come back,” the Prime Minister said.