The 2024 Australia-China Education Briefing, co-hosted by AustCham China and the Australian National University (ANU) China Centre, provided a comprehensive overview of the evolving educational landscape between Australia and China.

Held in-person at the Beijing ANU China Centre, with a live audience tuning in from the Shanghai ANU Liaison Office and online, the event attracted a diverse audience keen to understand current trends, policies, and emerging challenges within transnational education (TNE), student mobility, and international visa regulations.

We welcomed speakers from the Department of Education at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, Austrade, and the Australian Department of Home Affairs to share their insights.

Recent trends in Chinese student mobility to Australia were examined by our speakers, highlighting shifts in student demographics and motivations, along with the newly announced “soft cap” on international student numbers.

Notably, certain student cohorts will be excluded from the soft cap, such as standalone ELICOS courses, higher degree by research students, non-award students, government-sponsored scholars and visa holders, and students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

These exclusions were made following feedback during consultations for the draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework, considering the unique circumstances of these student groups.

Updates to international student visa policies to ensure the integrity of applications, including increased English-language requirements, revised financial capacity proofs, and the new Genuine Student (GS) requirement, were also discussed in detail.

Participants engaged in a Q&A and networking session, discussing strategies for adapting to these policy shifts and fostering positive educational exchanges.

A big thank you to the ANU China Centre for co-hosting and to the Australian Embassy for their support!