SA borders stay shut and student return in doubt

The plan for 800 international students to return to South Australia this month has been thrown into doubt.

SA Premier Steven Marshall has postponed the opening of his state’s borders.

The plan for hundreds of international students to return from overseas this month to study in Adelaide has been thrown into doubt by the South Australian government’s decision to postpone the opening of the state’s borders.

SA Premier Steven Marshall said on Tuesday that, following the serious outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria, the plan to open the state borders on July 20 will be scrapped.

With borders still shut, the state won’t be able to go ahead with the plan to fly about 800 international students into Adelaide to resume study at the state’s universities, which was a pilot for the return of students in larger numbers next year.

Last month Scott Morrison agreed to the go ahead of the pilot project in SA, and another in the ACT, on condition that they opened up to the rest of Australia first.

“If you want to open up borders for international students, then you have to open up borders for Australians,” the Prime Minister said on June 12.

On Tuesday Mr Morrison’s office declined to respond to questions on the issue.

The South Australian government said it was still committed to the pilot program for student return and would “work closely with the federal government on the details”. But any delay will mean students will miss the July 27 second semester starting date at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University.

The ACT is still pushing ahead with its pilot project for the return of 350 students, who are expected to fly into Canberra on a chartered jet later this month.

The international education industry is waiting for the Morrison government to announce changes to student visa policy that will allow students who have studied online from overseas to have the same access to the post-study work visa scheme that they would have enjoyed if there had been no coronavirus and they had continued their study uninterrupted in Australia.

The visa adjustments are important to keep Australia competitive as a student destination with other countries, particularly Britain. Universities are hopeful that the Morrison government will announce the changes when it has political clear air after the Eden-Monaro by-election this weekend.

While Australia is still taking very tentative steps towards bringing back international students, Britain — now Australia’s major competitor — has opened the way for students to return to the country for the new academic year starting in September.

Last week, in an open letter to prospective international students, the British government, backed by the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, assured them they would be welcomed and that student visas would be issued in timely fashion.

Although Britain still has a major COVID-19 problem with nearly 1000 new cases a day, international students arriving in the UK will not be forced into restrictive quarantine but only will be asked to self-isolate in their accommodation for 14 days.

In the letter, jointly signed by education and trade ministers, international students are told that they have access to the National Health Service and that COVID-19 tests are free.

International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said it was clear that national governments in Australia’s competitor markets were giving strong support to their international education providers.

“For example, Canada has consistently kept open its borders for international students and the UK is pro-actively informing international students that they are now very much welcome,” he said.

“In contrast, even though Australia has shown global leadership in containing COVID, we are now lagging our competitors in having a clear reopening timetable.”