Renewed agreement signals Australian universities’ commitment to Chinese students despite domestic and international pressures
Chinese students pump $12.7bn into Australia's economy as universities double down on their commitment to the lucrative education partnership despite political tensions.
One in four dollars made in the $51bn Australian international education economy come from Chinese students.
Students from the world’s second most populous country spend billions in Australia, benefiting everyone from universities to local cafes.
And despite simultaneous debates around Australia’s relationship with China and international student numbers, the university sector has doubled down on Chinese students as the pupils of choice.
Last Wednesday, Universities Australia and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) renewed their memorandum of understanding, recommitting to the exchange of students and research between Australian and Chinese universities.
At the time, Universities Australia chairwoman Professor Carolyn Evans said education was the cornerstone of the two nation’s relationship.
The non-binding agreement does not commit to more Chinese students coming to Australia.
But it clearly signals the priorities of the 39 university members of Universities Australia in terms of who will fill their precious international student allocations.
A Department of Education report found the 198,641 Chinese student enrolments in 2024 generated $12.7bn in economic activity in Australia, classified as exports.
This spending obviously includes tuition fees, but the majority was goods and services spending.
A separate report by the Reserve Bank of Australia found international students’ yearly spending was more than the average Australian residents, especially on transport, accommodation and food.
Chinese students are overwhelmingly the biggest cohort of international students, comprising of 210,254 of the total 955,317 international enrolments by August, 2025.
The next largest is Indian students, comprising of 163,952 enrolments.
The Department of Education could not confirm the number of Australians studying in China.
But the most recent data available from the Chinese Ministry of Education states there were 4,796 Australians studying there in 2016.
The growth in international student arrivals from all countries is set to steady through “soft cap” allocations by the federal government, which is set at 295,000 new international student commencements for 2026.
The finetuned “soft caps” include specific allocations for Australian universities, ranging from 11,900 new international students at University of Sydney, to 700 for the University of New England.
Monash University professor of higher education Andrew Norton said the “soft cap” system works by slowing down the processing of student visas once education providers reach 80 per cent of its target number.
However, he said there were no real penalties for institutions that exceeded their allocation.
Prof Norton calls these “soft caps” as the government’s attempts at formal caps were knocked back by the Senate in November 2024.
Legislated caps on international students were also quietly dropped in the government’s latest education bill introduced to the Senate on Monday.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the “soft cap” system was “sustainable”, with visa applications down 26 per cent last year.
“Australia welcomes international students from countries across the world in a managed way and at sustainable rates,” the spokeswoman said.
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Originally published as Renewed agreement signals Australian universities’ commitment to Chinese students despite domestic and international pressures
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