Universities face a $10bn hit after Scott Morrison dashes hopes

Scott Morrison has warned universities it is too early to foresee vaccination passports for foreign students this year as the education sector faces losing up to $10bn.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Martin Ollman

Scott Morrison has warned universities it is too early to foresee vaccination passports for foreign students this year, and any potential new quarantine camps will focus on stranded Australians, as the education sector faces losing up to $10bn in tertiary fees.

After Education Minister Alan Tudge told The Australian last week it would be “very difficult” to get significant numbers of foreign students to Australia before the end of 2021, he flagged vaccination certificates for international students as one way to facilitate their future entry.

The idea was raised in a meeting of key cabinet ministers and the international education sector last year, as the sector looks to revive its $40bn industry.

The Prime Minister on Monday said his priority remained getting stranded Australians back, and he did not want to raise hopes regarding vaccination passports. “I don’t want to create any false expectations or false hopes there,” he said.

“The issue around vaccination passports is one that the EU is very focused on at the moment.

“Our priorities in terms of entry into Australia are very clear. We’re doing everything we can to get as many people back as we can, safely, without compromising the pressures … placed on our quarantine systems.”

The education sector expects an $8bn loss in tertiary fees in semester one alone if no foreign students are let into Australia. That rises to $10bn if there are no international students this year.

Pilot programs to bring more international students into the country have been delayed in NSW, South Australia and the ACT in recent months.

International Education Association chief executive Phil Honeywood said it would take the premiers to generate a new plan to restart the international education export market. “Given competitor countries are open for international students, every quarantine option must be explored,” he said. “We need a premier to step up and insist on genuine ­student returns.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said it will be “frankly not possible” to take significant numbers of foreign students this year, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian delayed plans to bring foreign students in and Western Australia and the ACT have said they will not move on international students for the moment.

Universities have embraced Queens­land Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s proposal to use mining camps as quarantine sites, but Mr Morrison said the camps, if they went ahead, would provide overflow capacity for stranded Australians.