The ability to engage in part-time work and the possibility of permanent migration remain significant “pull” factors for international students in selecting Australia as a study destination, according to a recently released government-endorsed report.
Data from the tertiary sector’s annual Student Experience Survey shows that work rights and the “possibility of migrating to Australia” are still among the most popular reasons given by foreign students in choosing Australia as a locale, especially among respondents from the Philippines and the Indian Subcontinent.
Statistics from the 2024 report, which surveyed 90,000 students at over 130 local institutes of higher learning, showed that among international undergraduates an average of 82.6% said that the “ability to work part-time” was an important factor in them coming to Australia.
This amount was even higher among South Asian undergraduates, with 96.1% of Nepalese and 89.3% of Indian undergrads stating that the possibility of part-time work was a key consideration in their choice of destination.
Among international postgraduate-coursework students this was even higher, with an average of 83.2% of international postgraduates regarding part-time work as a key concern.
This was again higher among Subcontinental respondents, with 96.8% of Nepalese, 96.1% of Bhutanese and 92% of Indian postgraduates classifying part-time work as important. 95.2% of Filipino postgraduates also selected part-time work as highly significant.
These results differ widely according to student nationality, with the extremely high percentages recorded among Subcontinental and Filipino respondents in contrast to the less than 65% of Chinese respondents who saw part-time work as “highly important”.
Emigration to Australia was another key factor for many foreign students.
An average of 71.4% of international undergraduates surveyed said that the option of migrating to Australia was a key consideration in their choice of destination. This was again higher among Subcontinental students, with 82% of Nepalese and 74% of Indian undergrads viewing emigration to Australia as important.
This total was essentially the same among international postgraduate students, yet it was again larger among South Asian respondents. 80% of Nepalese and 77% of Indian postgraduates surveyed said that migrating to Australia was an important factor. This was larger still among Filipino postgraduates, with 91.3% ranking migration as a key concern.
The centrality of emigration to Australia also varied widely by nationality, with the report noting that the high numbers seen among South Asian and Filipino students were not seen among Chinese respondents, with only around 50% of Chinese students viewing migration as a key concern.
Notably, the number of Nepalese students selecting migration to Australia as important has grown to almost 85%, with the report stating that Nepalese students were “especially positive about employment while studying”.
At the same time, various academic metrics were seen less positively among foreign students than the ability to work while studying.
Among Bhutanese and Nepalese postgraduates, for example, only 55% and 65% gave a positive rating to “work experience in field of study”, yet these same groups gave a 74% and 80% positive rating to “employment while studying”.
The report further notes the significance for many foreign students in having friends or family in Australia as a factor, especially for students from South Asia. The survey shows that compared to the undergraduate international-student average of 62%, almost 85% of Nepalese and 70% of Indian undergrads chose Australia because they already had friends or family living here.
This was reflected in students’ choice of accommodation. As compared to an undergraduate international student average of just 20% who live with friends or relatives, over a quarter of Indian and almost a third of Nepalese undergraduates live with their friends or family. This again stands in contrast to students from countries such as China, with just 7% of Chinese undergraduates living with friends or relatives.
Independent expert on higher education Andrew Norton wrote of the growing trend of foreign – particularly South Asian – students coming to Australia due to existing links with friends or family: “International education builds its own momentum, with past cohorts making Australia a more appealing place for new cohorts – including solving accommodation problems.”
The survey comes after a different government report released in September found far more international students end up staying in Australia than previously thought, with about 40% ending up gaining permanent residency.
Header image: Students at the University of Sydney (USU)
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