The myth that Australia’s international education sector is a vital export industry has been demolished by economist Dr Cameron Murray.
Earlier this month, Dr Murray released an explosive report showing how the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) international education export figure is “statistical trickery” because the ABS counts all expenditure by somebody on a student visa as an export even if it is funded by income earned by living and working in Australia.
Dr Murray also explained his findings to Sky News.
In reality, the majority of people on student visas are from low-income nations and must immediately begin working in Australia to fund their living and tuition expenses.
In recent months, we have witnessed reports of international students struggling to make-ends-meet and having to rely on charities and food banks.
This had led to calls for greater taxpayer support for international students.
A significant number of ‘students’ have also enrolled in fake courses in Australia with the intention of permanently living and working here.
The erroneous calculation of international education exports gives the impression that the sector is a major earner for Australia, when in reality most of this “export” income is in fact earned within Australia.
In turn, politicians have pandered to the industry by providing work and migration pathways in a bid to grow students numbers and “export” volumes.
Last week, The Age reported that employers continue to ruthlessly exploit international students.
Temporary migrants represented 4% of the nation’s workforce in 2022, but they were involved in 26% of enforcement proceedings undertaken by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
International students, in particular, continue to be among the most exploited, with some reporting that they had been paid as little as $10 an hour for jobs in sectors such as hospitality.
”The fast food, restaurants and cafe sector remains one of the FWO’s key compliance and enforcement priorities due to persistent high levels of non-compliance and the fact that the sector employs a large number of vulnerable workers”, a spokeswoman for FWO said.
Research released last week by Unions NSW and the Migrant Workers’ Centre also shows that employers are continuing to exploit foreign-born workers, particularly international students.
The survey of 1,192 migrant workers found that 37% reported being offered lower wages because they were on temporary visas.
Unions NSW also argued against capping the number of hours that student visa holders can work while studying, claiming restrictions on work hours act “as a powerful push factor towards the need for international students to work additional hours to simply afford to live in Australia”.
While we sympathise with their suffering, what is the point of having “exports” of international education who are more accurately classified as the working poor?
Many international students are struggling so much that they rely on charity and financial aid. Most also compete vigorously with younger Australians for jobs and housing, making their lives more difficult.
This represents a ‘race to the bottom’ for both international students and young Australians alike.
International education was never a genuine “export”.
Instead, they are the key conduit of Australia’s immigration ponzi scheme, which raises housing costs and lowers wages, depressing living standards for the younger and working population.
Rather than continually lowering the quality bar to entice more students into Australia, financial requirements for admission should be severely tightened and enforced, and employment rights should be curtailed.
Making international students pay for their living expenses and course fees with money earned in their home countries would transform them into a legitimate exports and boost their economic value to Australia.
It would also lower student numbers to sensible and sustainable levels, thereby reducing immigration levels, and removing competition for housing and jobs with younger Australians.
