ABS admits education export figure is wildly exaggerated

For years, MB has argued that the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) estimate of education exports is wildly exaggerated because it:

Incorrectly includes income from international students working in Australia.
Does not adjust for remittances sent home from Australia by international students or former students (which are an import).

The ABS estimates that education exports will hit a record high of $53.6 billion in 2024-25:

However, to its credit, the ABS has released a note explaining that this education export figure is exaggerated because it counts all expenditures in Australia by student visa holders regardless of where the money is earned. The ABS also estimates that one-third of this expenditure was earned in Australia:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.