International students to return in December as uni chiefs call for vaccine clarity

The first plane carrying international students to NSW will touch down on December 6, as uni chiefs call for clarity on vaccines.

The first flight to depart from Singapore will bring students from about a dozen countries.

The first chartered flight bringing international students to NSW will touch down on December 6, as university chiefs warn that if Australia does not lift tough quarantine and vaccine requirements on arriving students it will lose business to other countries.

Health authorities have been urged to expand the list of recognised vaccines – including Russia’s Sputnik V, China’s Sinopharm and India’s Covaxin – as well as develop a system of “vaccine certification” for arrivals.

Chinese vaccine Sinovac and Indian produced Covidshield, were granted official recognition by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last month.

“Australia is part of a very strong and significant international market for students and with open free access to northern hemisphere universities, unless we can provide that assurance, we do run the risk of students being tempted to go elsewhere,” University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott told The Australian.

Mr Scott said the sector needed clarity on vaccines as well as its future beyond the pilot scheme if it was going to recover.

“Our feeling is if these students have vaccines that have been recognised with the Australian authority, they should be treated in the same way as other returning passport or visa holders who have also received the same vaccines,” he said.

“We also advocate strongly for clarity for when borders will be more fully opened for international students and skilled migrants, beyond the current pilot program.”

NSW’s pilot scheme, which will ferry 250 students into the country every fortnight, will mark the much anticipated arrival of international students to Australian shores, with Victoria and SA also promising to launch their own schemes by the year’s end.

The first flight to depart from Singapore, which will bring students from about a dozen countries, prioritising already enrolled students who need to return to campus to complete their studies, has a target arrival date of December 6, industry sources told The Australian.

Students will be required to be fully vaccinated with an approved Covid-19 vaccine and will also undergo two weeks of quarantine at Scape Redfern, with the total cost for flights and accommodation per arrival estimated at $9000, which will be shouldered by students and the universities.

Quarantine requirements will no longer be imposed on Australian citizens and residents arriving in NSW from Monday.

NSW Vice-Chancellors’ Committee convener Barney Glover said it was “vitally important” to return overseas students to university campuses, and he hoped the quarantine and strict vaccine requirements would be lifted “as soon as possible”.

“We’re pleased that the NSW government has approved our NSW plan and are working diligently on the first planes to arrive in December,” he said.

“Our students will have the best possible support and will be required to go into quarantine, but we hope those conditions are lifted as soon as possible in the new year.

“There’s a strong push around the world for greater vaccine recognition and it’s an important step, considering the range of vaccines, if you want to encourage tourism for migrant workers and international students,” he said.

Wollongong University deputy vice-chancellor Alex Frino said that although it was “paradoxical” that students would be required to isolate just as NSW reopened its international borders, universities were relieved to have students return to campus.

“They’re all chomping at the bit to come back,” he said.

“It’s a little bit paradoxical, but the deal is the deal and we’re working with it. I wish we could open up more quickly but we’ll work with what we’ve got.”

University of NSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs said he anticipated that the quarantine requirement would be “lifted soon”.

Despite speculation that Canberra’s strained relationship with China might deter its students from studying in Australia, International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said students from China would be undeterred.

“There is no reason why (Chinese students) can’t be here,” he said.